DEVOTION (2014)
REVIEWS OF THE VERSION FOR HORN, HARP, AND STRING SEPTET
“The first of the premieres was by Kati Agócs…her Devotion is a septet for horn, harp, string quartet and double bass, but it often reads as a concertante piece for horn...the motives are developed in the strings with a skillful assortment of moods and colors, with the harp and horn extending the discussion…. The horn part is especially wide ranging, and Sommerville executed it to perfection, earning him a big hug from the composer. The ensemble was conducted by BSO Assistant Conductor Andris Poga, whose sense of line, pacing and dynamics seemed perfectly attuned to the score’s requirements…. there was evidence of ample breathing room for the music to speak its say, which was a moderate and decorous discourse.”
– THE BOSTON MUSICAL INTELLIGENCER, Review of Devotion as premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players, 9 February 2014 (Vance R. Koven)
“Agócs’s septet, “Devotion,” boasts angular yet lyrical horn writing...the work engages the ear primarily by gathering and dispersing its energy in unexpected ways...”
– THE BOSTON GLOBE, Review of Devotion as premiered by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, 9 February 2014 (Jeremy Eichler)
“Agócs’s contribution, Devotion, hovered in an area somewhere between chamber and orchestral music—one could imagine the strings, at times, blown up to a full symphonic complement….The harp (Jessica Zhou) primes the piece with a healthy dose of glitter, a kind of harmonic respiration between diatonic and synthetic scales, under which the strings provide a cushion; over it all, the horn sweeps and soars....The middle section was triggered by Sommerville shifting from the highest part of the horn’s range to the lowest, one snarling pedal tone after another; the viola tiptoes around a melody; the violins and cello stalk soft chords; harp and double-bass keep a hesitant tick-tock. The horn rises back up to the top of its range, an A-section recapitulation, and a wheels-on-the-tarmac unison ending.”
– NEW MUSIC BOX, Review of Devotion as premiered by the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, 9 February 2014 (Matthew Guerrieri)