Joel Hoffman • Ei Jauga Jauga • Trio Agora

Trio Agora
Žilvinas Brazauskas - clarinet
Natania Hoffman - cello
Robertas Lozinskis - piano

0:00 Ošei pati, martala
03:02 Motula mano, širdela
06:55 Išjoja joja, sodauto
10:14 Ei jauga jauga


Each movement of Ei Jauga Jauga is a response to one of the traditional north Lithuanian dance pieces called Sutartinės, dissonant and distinctive. The four movements may be grouped into pairs: the first and third are lively and animated, contrasting with the second and last which are slow and haunting.

‘Ošei Pati, Martala’ is a vigorous, spiky movement in which the instruments overlap in canon to create a heterophonic texture characterised by its rhythmic vitality more than clear melodic elements. Short motivic units propel the movement forwards, with overlapping ostinati creating momentum until they are halted by the wittily abrupt ending. ‘Motula Mano, Širdela’ begins with a spacious piano introduction accentuated by cello drone, setting the scene for a powerful melody sung by the clarinetist, Žilvinas Brazauskas, and answered by the cello. The harmony is static, with the piano used to create impressionistic swathes of sound, punctuated by voice and cello. The folk-like atmosphere is further enhanced by the music’s rhythmic freedom, articulated with conversational spontaneity. ‘Išjoja Joja, Sodauto’, is based on four Sutartinės and is characterized by its rhythmic impetus and intricate textures, Hoffman ratcheting up the tension via minimalistic devices but concluding with a softer, more contemplative postlude. In ‘Ei jauga jauga’ a haunting melody is heard five times in different guises, first on the piano, decorated by a delicate, higher-pitched version in the upper register with gentle interjections from the clarinet and pizzicato cello. The clarinet takes up the melody, enveloped by the piano’s ornamental texture and underpinned by the cello’s drone, after which all three instruments play the theme. There is a pointillistic episode, then piano and pizzicato cello play the theme, somber and mysterious, to close the movement, the piano’s left hand rumbling like storm-clouds receding into the distance.