Mono-Tonics (2023)

Burkhard Mohr (b. 1955) — Mono-Tonics (2023) for organ

0:00 | 1. Mono-Tonics-Prelude
2:49 | 2. Mono-Tonics-Andante
6:43 | 3. Mono-Tonics zu Sonne der Gerechtigkeit
9:37 | 4. Mono-Tonics-Finale

The composer writes the following about this work: “Easter Tuesday, April 11, 2023: [My wife] Petra plays a monophonic line on the piano, probably something from an organ piece she is preparing. The musical image immediately comes to my mind of writing something that is primarily monophonic, which does not occur very often in organ literature. The result is these four movements. Not strictly monophonic—sometimes there is a pedal point in the background or sometimes there is a formation of smaller, overlapping lines in dialogue. At times, when writing a piece, it is difficult to find the suitable title after the music is written. Here it was the other way around: ‘Mono-Tonics‘ came to mind right away. The association is not with ‘monotony’ but perhaps instead tonic water—raw material, the basis for a drink. As it was imagined this piece might be played on the historical organ in Bärstadt, so extravagance is not appropriate: robust, everyday things instead.”

German composer Burkhard Mohr (b. 1955) was born in Gambach/Oberhessen and was educated in Frankfurt where he studied music and theology. He also attended the Darmstadt new music courses with Stockhausen, Kagel, Ligeti, and Xenakis. He has worked as a church musician in Frankfurt-Höchst and Wiesbaden and also taught music for many years at the technical university in Frankfurt. Mohr has composed numerous musical works in many genres, including several operas and orchestral works along with much chamber music and music for choir and organ. Mohr’s music usually concerns itself with the blurry boundaries and connections between atonal (12-tone) and tonal (triadic) materials and with the unexpected (or traditionally extended) formal designs that can result from teasing out these connections.