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The image of the shadow is explicit in 'im Schatten' (2010), a work originally written for the CD recording 'In shadows' (Riverrun Records RVRCD82, 2011). It is based on a 2004 violin solo, 'Eigenschatten', an unusual feature of which is the use of tape playback: the solo violin is recorded during the first half of the piece; in the second half this recording is played back simultaneously with the live performer so that the soloist is in effect in duo with him- or herself. In 'im Schatten' the parts of soloist and tape playback are transcribed directly for first and second violins. The remaining instruments present an amplification of the first violin’s line, expanding and reflecting it texturally and harmonically.
'Eigenschatten' itself is an incredibly spare piece. Although it sustains a high emotional charge, much of it is just single notes or intervals punctuated by whole-bar rests (characterising even the most basic elements is a particular skill of Wilson’s). Nevertheless, it maintains a presence through the use of repetitions and recapitulations: opportunities to intensify and reinforce each utterance. That spareness is maintained in 'im Schatten', but in the echo chamber of the string quartet the reflections and echoes begin to bury the original. As though in a hall of mirrors, the original violin line is heard in multiple distorted and fragmented versions of itself, such that it almost becomes overwhelmed by its own reflections. Subject and shadow become interchangeable: reality and apparition are blurred.
Tim Rutherford-Johnson, 2011
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Dromahair
Ireland