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ORTYGIA

from NORDIQUE by QRN

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about

Ortygia is the island set in the heart of the city of Siracusa, in Sicily, and on which the old part of the city rests. A couple of years ago, I wrote an instrumental, 'travelogue' kind of piece of music about it after spending time there.

The first section represents a brisk walk through ‘modern’ Siracusa, with its traffic and bustle, and across the Ponte Nuovo that connects it to the ancient Greek settlement of Ortygia. The walking cadence tempo is orchestrated to reflect the noise and commotion, car horns, church bells (there always seemed to be church bells going off somewhere). 

Once across the Ponto (appropriately depicted by the "bridge"), we found ourselves in a maze of narrow, shaded and ancient alleyways. This is represented by the middle section, with a slower tempo, and orchestrated with acoustic guitar, synth pads and a lonely accordion. We wandered this little maze of alleys for quite a while, breathing in its cool, secluded and secretive atmosphere. Eventually we found ourselves ascending the back steps to the cathedral, the Duomo di Siracusa, in which a small choir was rehearsing. After listening a few minutes in the still, cool, musty air, we exited through the main doors of the cathedral, into the bright sunlight of the piazza, already festive with musicians and noisy children running around in the late afternoon sun. We walked off into the afternoon in search of some gelato. 

The ‘travelogue/picture postcard’ aspect of Gershwin’s ‘American in Paris’ inspired me to structure this the way I did. In listening, you will hear the following influences/quotes in the piece: The middle section is based on a chord progression from Jean Francaix’s ‘Concertino for Piano’. The ascending chord sequence (up the steps to the cathedral) at 4:53 uses the motif from the ‘Pines of the Appian Way’ section of Ottorino Respighi’s “Pines of Rome” juxtaposed with another melody borrowed from the bridge in Frank Zappa's composition “Inca Roads”.

The accordion solo is dedicated to Flavio Premoli, with thanks.

Copyright ©2021 by Peter Tutak. All Rights Reserved.

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from NORDIQUE, released November 20, 2022
Peter Tutak: All real-time and virtual instruments and samples.

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QRN Seattle, Washington

My name is Peter Tutak. I'm originally from Jersey City NJ, and now live in Seattle, WA. I studied bass and classical composition at the university level in New Jersey and Chicago, and I've been a bassist for over 50 years. I write and record my own progressive rock music, in the 1970s/80s style of the progressive rock genre, incorporating influences from classical music, world music, and jazz. ... more

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