Mélodie Infinie

The piece for string orchestra Infinite Melody is dedicated to the great shadows in Bayreuth, Wagner and Liszt. An evocative miniature, like a style study, it was requested by youth ensembles participating in the artistic festival in this city.

A polyphonic technique involving immanent sounds is used, which was also used in The Modal Column. The passage of the melodic relief from one group of instruments to another induces a feeling of perpetual quest.

From Wagner and Liszt’s infinite melody a few external, characteristic aspects are employed:
1. the grupetto, which tends to amplify the importance of a sound, and
2. the Auftakt fromthe beginning of each phrase, as in Tristan and Isolde

At the climax of the piece an impact with a few authentic themes takes place, cited from Wagner (Siegfried-Idylle) and Liszt respectively (Faust-Symphonie).