Ditokous

violin

U nfamiliar and a little funny sounding, the word “Ditokous” means “producing two kinds of young,” or simply “twin bearing.” The unique relationship that biological twins have with each other corresponds to how I view the two movements of this piece; that “genetic” similarities, i.e. musical ideas, are shared between movements in an intimate and structural way.

The fundamental idea behind the first movement is a diatonically rising and chromatically falling melody, framed within an imitative two-voice texture. Marked “Sustained, heavy, trance-like,” the first movement is slow but intensely emotional. The music is really an exploration of violin technique: double stops, large broken chords, and open string accompaniment.

The second movement, marked “Animated, bright, dance-like,” picks up the opening idea of the rising and falling melody and explodes into a gigue-like dance. The material shifts between gestures that are jagged and aggressive to more legato and lyrical. Late in the movement, the opening idea returns intrusively, breaking the calmness of the delicate, arpeggiating music. But the ethereal texture wins out, floating ever upward to a silent conclusion.