Vellum by Justina Repečkaitė

Vellum (2020) for Symphonic Orchestra.

Commission of the festival Gaida. Performed by Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Anu Tali on the 30th of October in the Congress Hall, Vilnius.

Vellum is a “membrane” or animal skin, - a parchment to write on, widely used in the medieval ages. Vellum material represents the membrane of the drum since the vibrational modes of percussive instruments are used to create a harmonic structure of the piece as if writing a manuscript on a vellum. The vibrational modes of untuned percussion used for the harmony in the orchestra are prolongated and pulsing according to it's frequency and contrasting to the more noisy-percussive and whispering expressions. The distinctive composition parts are fading in and out until the arrival of the climax where whole sound of the hybrid instrument is illuminated. Untuned percussive instruments lead the composition with sustained sounds. Metal instruments are prepared by coupling them with drums, filling the sound and changing the material itself. It is an allusion to a written word transforming a piece of parchment into a manuscript.