From Darkness to Light, Movement 3 for clarinet, mandolin, piano and dancers

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT, for clarinet, mandolin, and chamber orchestra is a re-orchestration of my Concertino. The composition for clarinet, mandolin and orchestra was originally commissioned by the Geneva Chamber Orchestra in 2011, and was premiered by the same orchestra in Geneva, Switzerland in January 2012. Later, in 2013, the work became part of a mega-collaborative performance project titled “A journey of the Human Spirit.” The composition explores the sound combination of two, seemingly opposing, instruments and sound characters: the clarinet and the mandolin. Thus, the three-movement work is a short double-concerto for clarinet and mandolin, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. The third and final movement, “Bulgar, Allegro con brio,” is a festive klezmer dance with a traditional Bulgar (or Freylech) rhythm, where the regular 8/8 meter is constantly divided into the irregular count of 3+3+2. In the middle of this movement the two soloists play a cadenza, which allows them to present their virtuosity in contrasting yet complementary instrumental characters.

- Ofer Ben-Amots