TSAR:  (Continued from page 2.) There is a quality of expression in your music that coexists with the high-modernist formalism that seems an essential part of your language. in this way it is almost romantic, a yin-yang of expressionistic gesture and a very tight structure, which I sense in your use of register in particular; certain types of gestures associated with a particular register, so that a drama is achieved when one crosses another such as that extended kinetic section ending with a loud multiphonic, when the material that the listener associates with the low register suddenly enters a new range.

ANNETTE MENGEL:  REIGEN explores the bass clarinet’s large range of four octaves by disruptive movements. In general the high register is connected to slow tempo whereas the lower register is mostly employed for rapidity. The form of this piece is equally disruptive and uses elements of rondo-form (alternance and repetition).

TSAR:  There is an ease of proportion, a clear and logical unfolding of the piece in time. Do you find proportion to be an elusive element in composing, as I do? For me it becomes the thing that I ultimately become most conscious of and consider endlessly...

ANNETTE MENGEL:  Your observations about the importance of proportion (what I would call “form”) are totally right.

TSAR:  Regarding your use of extensive extended instrumental techniques—did you work closely with a particular performer when writing REIGEN? Do you need a music “personality” as part of your inspiration? I know it helps me tremendously. This piece is quite demanding, particularly in the sudden and extreme registral shifts.

ANNETTE MENGEL:   I wrote REIGEN  in 1996 for Olivier Voize, the clarinetist who is performing on the CD.

TSAR:  Do you generally write for specific performers? Does writing for a specific performer have a strong effect on the material you create? Are you thinking of that player’s particular style or do you write more for the instrument and less for the specific performer? (I hope this makes sense!)

ANNETTE MENGEL:  The situation we are usually facing makes us think of our music as “création.” Since most of the time a lot of uncertainty remains about whether a piece will be replayed, I rather think of the performer and the situation of the première. The performer does inspire me, especially when it is somebody whom I appreciate also personally.

TSAR:  What motivated you to explore Ottoman music, and how do you assimilate the concepts of this musical language with your own?

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Annette Mengel’s REIGEN can be heard at Interviews

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