The Vermeer Room (1989)

The work was inspired by Vermeer’s painting A Girl Asleep, which when X-rayed reveals hidden shapes. The composition, first written in 1989 for large chamber ensemble, was transcribed for symphony orchestra the same year. The honor of premiering it fell to the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. In the chamber version, the rhythmic contours of the music are presented considerably more precisely, while the single scoring of the wind section permits the emotion brought out by the effect of the solo character of the instrumental parts to be shown. This work lasting a little over 10 minutes resembles an allegory of a surreptitious glance at a young woman in a deep sleep, as well as a subtle suggestion of the content of her dreams. Here, the narrative’s center of gravity has shifted to the play of the musical layers, the merging of illusions and a delicate melodic contour. The atmosphere of the Dutch master's painting is conveyed here through the prism of personal aesthetic views.

[Maciej Jabłoński]