In croce

“The symbol of the cross plays a central role in Sofia Gubaidulina's work. In her view, its horizontal bar symbolises our life in earthly time. The vertical bar stands for the connection of man with the divine, with a force that stands outside our time, which makes art in the true sense of the word possible in the first place, as it removes everything we do from the real world and raises it to a higher level. The cross is Sofia Gubaidulina's life principle, with which she interprets the world, which gives her life meaning and which gives her strength and comfort. Accordingly, the composer works with this symbol of the cross in many different ways. In her double concerto ‘Seven Words’ for violoncello and bayan, for example - probably Gubaidulina's most frequently performed work - she arranges the notes in the score at a central point in such a way that they form the shape of a cross. The string instruments also embody the symbol of the cross, as their players draw their bows across the strings, crossing them. In the following work ‘In croce’ from 1979, the cross is already mentioned in the title, albeit in Italian. But what is even more important: both instruments begin in opposite registers - the bayan very high, the double bass very low -, cross each other in the course of the work and end in the register of the other instrument - i.e. the bayan very low and the double bass very high. At the point where the two instruments cross, there is a kind of explosion in the form of excited double bass tremolos and bayan clusters (hold up the sketch).” (Hans-Ulrich Duffek)