Publisher's Synopsis
Gy÷rgy Kurtßg's The Sayings of PÚter Bornemisza, Op. 7 for soprano and piano (1963û68) is probably the most significant piece of music to have been composed in Hungary since the death of Bart¾k in 1945. It crowns Kurtßg's first mature phase, and its musical motifs have continued to reappear in his works ever since. Rachel Beckles Willson discusses the autobiographical associations at work in the piece, but also its essentially European character. The nature of the reflections on suffering and death in The Sayings, she argues, is emblematic of art from East Central Europe. - - Peter Bornemisza was a persecuted reform preacher in sixteenth-century Hungary. Beckles Willson examines why Kurtßg chose particular texts by Bornemisza and explores the themes in the work of moral duty, sin, fear and death, and the ways in which these are played out in the music. The inspirational models of Sch³tz and Schoenberg are also discussed, and a series of interviews with performers of Kurtßg's music offers particularly rich perspectives on the position of The Sayings in his output. - - The book features an accompanying CD of the work.
