Det var en lørdag aften
Det var en lørdag aften (on a saturday afternoon) is a well-known
Danish folk song about a man waiting for a woman, who disappoints him
by not turning up at the agreed meeting place.
First draft was a standard variation layout, with the melody going
through variations in form, tempo and tonality, but after variation 3
the piece, almost by itself, changed character. It was as if the music
forced me in a new direction. Suddenly it was no more standard
variation
(where you always should be able to hear/identify
the theme); but the theme itself was altered, and changed form.
Variation was no more an appropriate title, mutation was far more
adequate.
The mood through the piece's 7 mutations undergoes a change from
initial optimism through anger to total despair.....
There is also an 8 celli version.
The Finale music notation program simulations (that are used for most of the excerpts), are far from perfect. I could have used recordings from an actual performance, but the simulations provide a "neutral" interpretation, and together with the score, they give a fairly relevant picture of the music in question.