Xavier Dayer

Cena de le Ceneri for Guitar and String Orchestra

This piece is the third of a triptych: Ceneri for guitar quartet; De le ceneri for guitar alone and Cena de le ceneri for guitar and string orchestra. All are dominated by the image of ashes swept away by the wind as expressed by a text of Giordano Bruno, the italian philosopher who was burned in 1600 on the Campo dei Fiori in Rom by the Inquisition. Non sta, si svolge e gira Quanto nel ciel e sott'il ciel si mira. Ogni cosa discorre, or alto or basso, Benché sie 'n lungo o 'n breve, O sia grave o sia leve; … Ch'una medesma parte Or di su in gi¨ or di gi¨ in su si parte Ed il medesmo garbuglio Medesme tutte sorti a tutti imparte. Giordano Bruno, De l'infinito, universo e mondi (1583) First performance of Cena de le Ceneri: October 22, 2008 in Münster (Germany) with Reinbert Evers (Guitar), the St. Christopher Chamber Orchestra Vilnius (Lituania) conducted by Donatas Katkus.