Detto II

“Detto II” for violoncello and chamber ensemble was composed in 1972 for the Russian cellist Natalia Schachovskaya. The Italian word “Detto” (“that which is said”) in the title of the one-movement work refers to the narrative character of the music. The special expressive quality of the work is essentially determined by the quarter-tone glissandi played on the solo instrument. During the course of the composition, there is a development of initially meditative stasis leading to a dramatically impulsive middle section. Finally, the work concludes in contemplative peace. This conception corresponds to the idea of a gradual expansion of the melodic steps in the solo violoncello from quarter-tones to several octaves and back again to quarter-tones. Such a compositional design lends the work a wavelike dynamic. “Detto II” is also striking for its colourful use of the richly endowed percussion apparatus. Especially interesting is the sonic dissolution of the coda in which the violoncello theme dies away almost to the point of inaudibility, with ppp inserts by the flute, celesta, glockenspiel, crotales and high strings.