Lachrymae (1999)

“The work was composed in 1999 at a time when a close member of the composer’s family was seriously ill. The ode of lamentation, which is about seven minutes in length, is assigned to the two instruments in such a way that they play singly in swift succession, frequently in unison, and then together as in a contrapuntal duet . . . The sound emanates from two sources, the tone colours of which are complementary and do not form a contrast. The vibrations are strictly synchronized, so that the intoned lamentation seems to come from a single source. This determines the rich simplicity of Mansurian’s music.” (Hanspeter Krellmann)