The piece Longings for double bass and piano was commissioned by Ron Merhavi. In the piece there are two motives that characterize every longing: pain and hope. The pain motif is expressed by long lines with chromatic touches, while the hope motif is expressed by leaps and further rhythmic character. The two motives appear alternately and simultaneously.
My point of origin was the idiomatic writing for the double bass: one note – G – that opens the piece and appears as an organ point in “two voices”, one in an “open” string and the other in a “held” string that moves chromatically around the same note. Against the double bass, the piano plays the rhythmic motif. Towards the end the roles swap and the chromatic motif appears in the piano, yet this time with chords in a wide range, letting gateway for hope.
Moshe Rasiuk
Moshe Rasiuk (b. 1954): Longings (2010)
Ron Merhavi – Double Bass, Ariel Halevy – Piano
IASA – Israel Arts and Science Academy, 17.2.2011