For recorder (or any of the following: violin, flute, oboe, clarinet), viola and accordion. 1990. Commissioned by recordist Peter Hannan, violist Douglas Perry and accordionist Joseph Petric with a grant from the Ontario Arts Council. 1990. Commissioned by recordist Peter Hannan, violist Douglas Perry and accordionist Joseph Petric with a grant from the Ontario Arts Council. Duration: 7 minutes. Score and parts available through Promethean Editions. A subsequent version for string quartet is also available.
For more information on the compositional technique associated with this composition, please visit The Art of the Palimpsest: Compositional Approaches to the Music of Johann Sebastian Bach
CBC Radio recording of Stylus Marie Berard, violin Douglas Perry, viola Joseph Petric, accordion David Jaeger, producer
Stylus is the second installment in a series of compositions based on J.S.Bach’s music, principally The Art of the Fugue, collectively titled 3/21 (see also: Equivoque, The Gouldberg Variations, Overscript, Farewell to Bach). Stylus exists in two versions; the original version for tenor recorder (or flute or violin), viola and accordion, and a subsequent arrangement for string quartet.
I was intrigued by the possibility of changing the semantic continuity of Bach’s music (Contrapunctus VII) by means of strategically-placed asymmetrical repetitions. In aural terms the effect is similar to that created by the skipping of the stylus of a record-player. By using repetitions within repetitions, phasing repetitions (where the left or right bracket advances or retreats by a sixteenth-note after each iteration), and by occasionally choosing similar beginning and end points which result in continuous melodic and contrapuntal flow within a loop, I sought to create a composition which parallels the original but nevertheless possesses a character and style of its own.
Christos Hatzis’s Stylus is Bach re-imagined, a tour de force of precision ensemble playing and imaginative artistry with Airi Yoshioka (vln), Sharon Wei (vla) and Joseph Petric (accordion).Simon Docking, ScotiaFest
Joseph Petric plays Christos Hatzis’s great Orbiting Garden as a sound explosion with impeccable control and florid musical rock star lines. This is a powerhouse performance on a disc to be heard time and again.The Whole Note
. . . graceful, cool, refreshing playing… (Joseph Petric's) Mozart was liquid and flowing… the Hatzis dramatic and satisfying. His effortless technique and interpretive dimensions masterfully transported a near full house.Maribor Vecer, Slovenija
May 31, 7:30 PM. Stylus. Joseph Petric, accordion; Airi Yoshioka, violin; Sharon Wei, viola. Scotia Festival of Music, Joseph Strug Concert Hall, Halifax, NS, Canada.
March 02, 1:00 PM. The music of Christos Hatzis for accordion. Christos Hatzis presentation to the aMuz accordion students. Akademia Muzyczna im. Stanislawa Moniuski (aMuz) in Gdansk, Poland.
July 24, 8:00 PM. Stylus. Steven Sitarski, violin; Julie Baumgartel, violin; Patrick Jordan, viola; Margaret Gay, cello. Part of a program called Back to Bach. the Co-operators Series; Elora Festival of Music. St. John’s Anglican Church, 33 Henderson Street, Elora, ON, Canada.
June 06, 8:00 PM. Farewell to Bach, Equivoque (harpsichord version) & Stylus (string quartet version). World premieres. World premieres of Farewell to Bach, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Christos Hatzis, conductor. Equivoque (harpsichord version), Charlotte Nediger, harpsichord. Stylus (string quartet version). Members of the Tafelmusik string section.. St. Andrew’s United Church, Halifax, NS, Canada.
January 10. Stylus. "Two New Hours" studio recording. Marie Berard, violin; Douglas Perry, viola; Joseph Petric, accordion. Glenn Gould Studio, CBC Broadcast Centre, Toronto. Glenn Gould Studio, CBC Broadcast Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.