Triptychon der Psalmen, for Viola solo

A triptych is a three-part altarpiece. In the middle of these fantasies for viola stands a biblical psalm, on each side a poem from the 20th century that refers to psalms. After Georg Trakl's «De Profundis» the first fantasy captures the lonely landscape at the beginning of the poem as well as the longing voice of the orphan girl. In the second fantasy (after the 23rd Psalm of David), the pastoral and comforting mood frames the heaviness of the «Wanderung im dunsteren Tal». The third fantasy after Paul Celan's «Psalm» lets the music emerge from emptiness, unfolds a melody with discreet allusions to psalmody and Jewish music, which, despite shadowy clouding, finally allows for flowering («over the thorn»).

Viola solo

• Simrock, 2018