Il Mondan Romore [score]

With its title evoking a passage from Dante’s Inferno, Il Mondan Romore (2016) is the composer’s third wind quintet, the two previous ones being Chronography I and Pentagram. The first movement has a very pronounced rhythmic character and is built on a very short basic cell that will gradually generate all the material that will be developed.

The second movement is in ABA’ form. Written in a brisk tempo, A uses asymmetrical measures of 3, 5 and 7 beats and has an obsessive character, calling exclusively on the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon. The horn’s sudden entrance marks the beginning of B, which is much more lyrical and dramatic. A’ uses the material of A, but transforms it profoundly.

The last movement opens with a fast element, on which another melodic element is superimposed, and it is the various modulations combined with canon writing that lead to the brilliant final conclusion.

It is dedicated to the EtCaetera Quintet, which premiered it on 19 April 2017 as part of the Courants d’Air Festival (Royal Conservatory of Brussels).