#11– October 07, 2019

AUDIVI MEDIA NOCTE (2011/3)

Oliver Waespi

AUDIVI MEDIA NOCTE was written for Brass Band in 2011, commissioned by the Swiss Band Association for the 34th European Championship of Brass Bands held at Montreux, Switzerland.

Based on a Thomas Tallis motet from the 16th century, Audivi Media Nocte “continually fluctuates between contemplative atmospheres and raving, driving moods”.

The Wind Band version would follow in 2013. It uses a large ensemble including English horn, contrabassoon, contrabass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone and a large percussion set. Two solo trios of brass and percussion, coming off the band and positioned at both sides of the stage, perform lyrical, prayerful lines, as well as triggering very fast rhythms adding momentum.

Audivi Media Nocte is a challenging 20 minutes’ work, innovative and captivating. It is published by Beriato Music

Oliver Waespi, born in Zurich in 1971, studied composition and conducting at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Zurich and pursued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His music is being performed by symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles, soloists, choirs and numerous leading wind and brass bands in many countries and at various festivals. Besides composing, Oliver Waespi is a sought-after clinician and adjudicator and teaches at the Hochschule der Künste Bern.

Oliver Waespi’s musical interests are most versatile, which leads to musical collaborations in different fields. Thereby, he also creates connexions with other art forms. Works like “Viaduct” for the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra or “Hypercube” for the Paris Brass Band can be heard as musical explorations of urban landscapes and architectures. Several pieces are influenced by poetry from different periods, such as “Flut” for the BBC Singers, “Nachtferne” for the Berne Chamber Orchestra, “Weisser Atem” for the Brodsky Quartet, “Ad Astra” for the Nouvel Ensemble Contemporain and the Centre Dürrenmatt Neuchâtel. Music and contemporary dance were brought to interact with each other in a project with the Ensemble TaG.

Some of Oliver Waespi’s works are reflections on folk music or early music, such as “As If A Voice Were in Them”, “Traversada” or “Audivi Media Nocte”, which earned him worldwide acclaim amongst leading brass and wind ensembles. The latter work is also an example for the development of a personal rhythmical language in an orchestral context. More examples for this approach are the “Divertimento” for the Federal Band Convention, “Out of Earth” for the Aulos Wind Symphony or “At the Crossroads”, commissioned by the Jena Philharmonic.

Several concertos complete Oliver Waespi’s portofolio, including more recently the Horn Concerto for Lukas Christinat, the Euphonium Concerto for Thomas Rüedi and the Zuger Sinfonietta conducted by Philippe Bach or the Tuba Concerto for Perry Hoogendijk, solo tuba player of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam.

For his music, Oliver Waespi received numerous awards, including the International George Enescu-Composition Prize in 2003, the London Fellowship awarded by the Landis and Gyr Cultural Foundation in Zug in 2005/2006, a prize at the 2009 Uuno Klami-Composing Competition in Finland, composition grants of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Dutch Eduard van Beinum Foundation, the 2011 Composition Prize of the Swiss Federation of Orchestras, the 2013 NBA Revelli Award in the USA, the 2014 Stephan Jaeggi-Preis or the 2015 International BUMA Brass Award. (source: Swiss Music Edition)