Ondřej Štochl: Sotto voce

Premiere: 2nd December 2020, Fortna

Barbora Šimůnková – French horn, Adam Honzírek – double bass, Jan Tuláček – guitar

Sotto voce (under the voice) is a place governed by a different form of time. Here, the monthly siren, the only sound “from outside”, is different. “Inside”, over the fence, behind the wall, it neither disrupts nor provokes. It leads us to questioning and looking back. A month on, are we somewhere else, close to inner harmony and further away from the demons we were fleeing from? How to go on, break free… but also accept much in ourselves? The siren is a timer for our quieting.

Ondřej Štochl (*1975) studied viola and composition at the Prague Conservatory, followed by further studies in composition at HAMU. He is the artistic director of the Konvergence chamber ensemble and the Helix Trio. He teaches composition and theory at the Jan Deyl Conservatory and regularly lectures at the Postfest courses in Kroměříž. In recent years, he has focused on extensive spatial compositions and chamber music based on fragile nuances of expression. The themes of his works are both contemplative (sometimes involving Taoist symbolism) and psychosocial, based on experiences with people with autism.
www.ondrejstochl.info