Schweitzer, Benjamin: Sonett

for mixed choir (SSAATTBB) and bassoon solo

Text by Martin Opitzaund Francesco Petrarca

The text of this ‘small sound piece’ combines material from Petrarch’s well-known Sonnet No. 132 and its Baroque adaptation by Martin Opitz, alternating between – and sometimes mixing – Italian and German. The choir and solo bassoon oscillate between fore and background, creating an ‘echo space’ in which sounds are repeated and developed. The horizontal structure of the bassoon part thereby develops a harmonic vertical plane and, conversely, linear structures detach themselves from the harmony of the choral texture and enter the bassoon part. Benjamin Schweitzer