Frank Martin's Polyptyque was commissioned in 1973 by the famous virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin and conductor Edmond de Stoutz as a violin concerto.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Frank Martin's Polyptyque was inspired by a small polyptych by Duccio, an Italian painter, depicting the Passion of Christ, which gave Martin the idea for a musical 'succession of images'.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Frank Martin did not intend his Polyptyque to be a literal illustration of Duccio's paintings, but rather a transposition of the emotions those scenes evoked in him.
Interpretation
The album breaks down the scenes of Frank Martin's Polyptyque and intersperses them with other works to create a musical panorama reflecting influences and directions.
Compositional Technique
Bach often imitated, arranged, and transposed works by other musicians, including Vivaldi and Antonio Lotti, using these as pretexts for creative stimulation.
Album & Artwork
The album's architecture interweaves old and new works to highlight the continuum of human emotions and question the boundary between the sacred and the secular.
Compositional Technique
Frank Martin's Polyptyque sets the solo violin against two chamber orchestras, a spatial arrangement likely inspired by the spatial aspect of Duccio's painting.
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