Stiacciato

Orchestra - 2222/2200/1/65442 (celesta, accordion)

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Stiacciato is an extremely refined sculptural technique from the Renaissance characterized by a shallow relief, where delicate incisions create a subtly carved and almost even surface. The resulting aesthetic effect is remarkable, as this method allows light to play a central role in the perception of the artwork. Gentle variations in lighting induce significant changes in perspective, creating a dynamic visual experience, as if the light itself were carving the artwork anew. At candlelight, the changing reflections add an additional dimension to this technique, constantly transforming the perception. By chiseling the material with extreme delicacy, artists of stiacciato, such as its inventor Donatello, seemed to do only little more than scribing it, and established a unique symbiosis between form and light. This approach highlights the power of shadow and light, the meaning of nuances, and the strength of softness, accentuating the slightest details of the artwork while preserving a subtle elegance.

This technique fascinated me when I first discovered the Dudley Madonna reproduced on the cover of this score. Indeed, it was this magnificent work of art – with its sober marble and subtle, flowing etchings – that guided my thoughts as soon as I began to think about a new composition for the Uuno Klami International Composition Competition. The beautiful, delicate curves of the stiacciato technique amazed and intrigued me, and I sought to transpose them into the realm of music. As a musician, similar to a sculptor carving marble, I wished to evoke a sense of depth and dimensionality, creating a sonic experience that aims to draw a parallel with the stiacciatosculpting technique. Four main working directions emerged for this project. First of all, I felt it necessary to work with a very reduced and coherent material, which would be the raw sound material to be sculpted. The entire composition is therefore based on four original figures. They are presented at the very end of the composition in their original version, and reproduced below as they were composed during the work phase. These four figures, echoing the smooth contours of stiacciatosculptures, serve as the organic foundation for all composition material: notably influencing harmony, melodic motifs, scales and pitch relationships.

The use of recurring melodic motifs and their gradual sonic transformation throughout the piece were inspired by the way in which the play of light transforms the perception of a stiacciato work under changing lighting conditions, and were made possible by the emphasis placed on orchestration. I used orchestration as a tool for sculpting acoustic space, to evoke a sense of relief and musical depth. The interplay of relief and perspective in the stiacciato finds its musical counterpart in the careful examination of dynamics and spatial distribution within the orchestration. Alongside the exploration of a sonic palette, this composition seeks to embody a diaphanous quality, like the translucence of stiacciatosculptures.

The dynamic nuances, from the most delicate pianissimos to the most concrete shades, often very short, create a musical equivalent of stiacciato’s play of light and shadow. Periods of stasis provide a contrasting stillness, akin to the pause between each delicate chisel stroke. Finally, I also explored variations in tempo and rhythm to evoke the way changes in light alter the perception of stiacciato. By employing passages where the music gradually evolves from a quiet and slow pace, subtly coming to life, I attempted to recreate the dynamic experience felt at the sight of a sculpture made using this technique.

My composition strives to encapsulate the essence of the stiacciato technique, not in a literal way, but by embodying its ethos and exploring its potential as a means of shaping new music and evoking emotion in the audience. In doing so, I have sought to communicate, through music, a deep involvement with works of art that have left a lasting impression on me.