I like Vidmantas Bartulis (Auscultare) will be performed at Tones past Transformation.
I like Vidmantas Bartulis (Auscultare)
Lithuanian composer Vidmantas Bartulis was largely unrivalled in his use of a variety of styles, and genres surprising audiences with every new work. He could write anything – from chamber miniatures to opera and large orchestral works, from harmonizations of folk songs to huge open-air events, from a monumental Requiem to music for fashion shows, arrangements of pop hits, etc. His musical language was not complex but transparent, with some features of minimalism. In nearly all his compositions, Bartulis recalled his favourite music from the past, inserting fragments and remodelling their meaning within a contemporary paradoxical context. His most iconic compositional series was called “I like…” which were musical ‘dialogues’ with his beloved composers of the past. As a symbol of my biggest gratitude – for his friendship, encouragements, and lessons – I chose to allude to his famous series. The word in parentheses ‘auscultare’ comes from the Latin word ‘auscultatio’ which means ‘to listen’ as in during a doctor’s appointment to listen to a patient's heart. This comes as a symbol of grief – the wish to hear one’s heart beating again.