PIERROT SEXTET REPERTOIRE
Pierrot Ensemble Repertoire
This page explores Pierrot Sextet music, featuring the unique Pierrot Ensemble instrumentation. As a landmark of 20th century music, the collection presents modern chamber music for the ensemble famously used in Arnold Schoenberg’s "Pierrot Lunaire."
SEXTET
for Pierrot Ensemble
Duration:
22 minutes
Instrumentation:
flute/piccolo/bass flute; clarinet/bass clarinet; violin; cello; percussion and piano
Year Composed:
1998
Movements:
Eastern Winds
The Old Castle at Dusk
Elegy
Drunken Ballerinas
Darkness
Independence
Premiere Performance:
16, February 1999
Boston, MA, USA
Orlando Cela, flutes / piccolo
Marissa Byers,clarinets
Miguel Perez-Espejo, violin
Ruti Machnai, cello
Thomas Guldborg, percussion
Eliko Akahori, piano
Lior Navok, conductor
Movements:
Eastern Winds
The Old Castle at Dusk
Elegy
Drunken Ballerinas
Darkness
Independence
About Sextet
Sextet is a 22‑minute work for Pierrot ensemble, composed in 1998 and structured in six contrasting movements. Each movement explores a distinct atmosphere or image, using the ensemble’s wide palette of colors to create a series of vivid musical scenes. Eastern Winds introduces melodic and timbral elements drawn from the Middle East, filtered through the chamber‑music language of the Pierrot ensemble. The Old Castle at Dusk, the longest movement, focuses on timbre and color within the standard instrumentation, unfolding slowly like a landscape seen in fading light. Two gong strokes lead directly into Elegy, a brief, reflective movement. Drunken Ballerinas shifts to a more playful, off‑balance character, portraying dancers swayed by alcohol. Darkness returns to a contemplative mood, and the final movement, Independence, depicts the humorous struggle of the triangle to assert itself — a small instrument fighting for recognition among its colleagues.
For the Performers
Level: Suitable for professional contemporary‑music ensembles or advanced conservatory groups familiar with Pierrot‑ensemble repertoire and flexible character shifts.
Programming: Well suited for Pierrot‑ensemble concerts, contemporary chamber‑music programs, or recitals built around multi‑movement works with contrasting scenes and colors.
Style: Color‑driven writing; clear character distinctions between movements; interplay between lyricism, humor, and atmospheric writing.
Program Notes
Sextet consists of six movements:
Eastern Winds aims to introduce some of the colors and melodies of the Middle East within the sextet medium. The Old Castle at Dusk is the longest movement of the piece, where I explore different timbres using standard instrumentation. Two gong beats connect this movement to the Elegy. Drunken Ballerinas portrays a few dancers influenced by alcohol in my mind's eye. Darkness evokes a reflective atmosphere. The final movement portrays the Triangle's struggle for independence, a theme neither fully understood nor accepted by its colleagues.
