RELIEF

On the occasion of a Christmas concert with string quintet in the Cologne Philharmonic Hall in 2006, Markus Stockhausen wrote this composition to feature Tara Bouman on clarinet. Later several perfomances took place with string orchestra.

Relief opens with a simple theme on the clarinet, accompanied by a homophonic string setting. Immediately after this, the clarinet begins to improvise over changing harmonies and a calm, uniform accompaniment on the strings. The dynamic gradually increases in a gentle wave motion: The performance instructions “bright” and “jubilant” describe this moment in the score. A clarinet improvisation follows over a cantus firmus on the ‘cello. Little by little, a further player from each string section begins to improvise (unusual for classically-trained musicians) within a predetermined harmony. The theme returns in the coda to conclude this seven-minute piece, whose charm is directly related to its simplicity.

RELIEF was completely written with Tara and her sensitive way of playing in mind. It allows her a lot of room for her own creativity.