Kerekate - Gypsy Invocation for Oboe Solo - Sylvie Bodorová
“I was delighted to accept the call from the Czech Radio for a composition for the purpose of the Concertino Praga competition. I like oboe for its beautiful and unmistakeable timbre, for its urgent expressive force. The emotional drive and the dance-like nature of gypsy music – for me these were the motives in which the world of the oboe and the world of the Roma culture interweaved.
In Romany, Kerekate means “in a circle, round and round”. Should I name some typical features of the Roma culture I find inspiring, it would be the return to certain topics, the recurrent processing of grievous experiences on the one hand, and the unrestrained, joyful spontaneity on the other. That is why I decided to divide my “Kerekate” Invocations for solo oboe into two parts, different in nature: The 1st section “Lamentosamente” is inspired by typical gypsy lamentations, whereas the 2nd part “Quasi czardas” evokes the sensuous joy of Roma music in a whirling dance with the characteristic microstructural recurrences.
The piece was written at the beginning of the year 2013. I am grateful to the signifiant Czech oboist Liběna Séquardt for an expert revision of the score.” S. Bodorová