Ananda

Using a scordatura of strings 3,5 and 6 tuned to F#, G and B respectively, this work unfolds with the freshness of a stunning improvisation. Whilst this is not a work to be undertaken lightly, musically it is not only easily accessible but very exciting. The written score explores and develops a motif which is constantly developing and changing, therefore a highly developed and highly intelligent musical technique is require if this piece is to be heard with the freedom yet logic which it deserves. For, while the music is complex, the delivery by the performer needs to sound fluent and spacious. Stylistically the language of this music is absolutely up to date but is played out within a lyrical and melodic framework. A most valuable addition to the contemporary guitar literature.
John Arran (Classical Guitar Magazine)

Johannes Möller One of the distinguishing attributes of Western music over the past millennium has been its ability to synthesize new styles from pre­viously existing ones, as in the blending of national idioms to create a wider cosmopolitanism or the mixing of Western and non-Western traditions to forge a modern multicultural aesthetic. Increased global­ization since World War II has especially stimulated artistic intercourse between East and West, and Ananda is a shining example of this on guitar. Moller’s inspiration is India and the sitar. He dedicates his work to yogi Ramakrishna Babaji and explains in his preface chat Ananda is a Sanscrit word of great importance in eastern philosophy and spiritu­ality translating to English as ultimace bliss and happiness. The com­poser evokes the Indian ethos not as a mere exercise in exoticism, like one finds, say, in a Puccini opera, but as the sincere embrace of a distant culture. Ananda uses a tuning of B1-G2-D3-F-sharp3-B3-E4, in which all strings at one point or another serve as drones or pedal tones. Coupled with the work’s strict modal idiom - B aeolian through­out - these ever-present open notes create a harmonie stasis chat effec­tively depicts a mood of quiet contemplation, at least initially. This is furthered by flexible tempos and unmetered rhythm as well as by a limited number of themes, frequendy recurring in exact or varied form but undergoing no extensive development. One motive in particular, which includes the instruction “bend (sitar-like)” appears in all sections of the piece and provides both a principal means of unity and a striking aural allusion. Moller’s work begins calmly with lyrical phrasing, frequent slurs, and colorful use of cross-string unisons and natural harmonies while spanning four full octaves: the complete range of the instrument from the open sixth-string B (a fourth below standard pitch) to the first string’s nineteenth fret. Midway through, the music gains inten­sity, climaxing in a dramatic flurry of arpeggio and rasgueado figures, most of which are based on chords presented earlier. Near the end of its six-minute run, the piece returns to the themes and serenity of its opening. Moller is a virtuoso guitarist, and like all his published solos for the instrument, Ananda is for the advanced player. Given its purely diatonic language, coupled with substantive form and content, this music appeals to connoisseurs and casual listeners alike.
-Robert Ferguson (Soundboard Magazine)