Gargoyles is a set of four short, contrasting character pieces written by American pianist, conductor, and composer Lowell Liebermann. Gargoyles was composed in 1989, when the composer was 28 years old, and is actually the first twentieth-century piece post-dating Impressionism that I have done in a long time. Numerous sources indicate that the four movements of Gargoyles were meant to evoke imagery associated with the carved stone figures, but none of the movements refer to a specific gargoyle.
What exactly each of the movements depict is largely left to the listener's imagination. For example, the first movement (0:00 to 2:02) conjures up images of more demonic-looking gargoyles; marked Presto (fast), this movement is a scherzo whose mischievous and sarcastic character is achieved through the irregularity and unpredictability of the music. The movement is full of dramatic and sometimes schizophrenic dynamic changes, including the sudden loud dissonant chordal outbursts throughout the middle section and the long crescendos. Liebermann also employs hemiola to add rhythmic unpredictability, switching from the standard 3 + 3 partition of the 6/8 time signature to a 2 + 2 + 2 division. The polyrhythms in the beginning and at the end also contribute to the irregularity of the rhythm. The unresolved dissonances everywhere and the lack of familiar major and minor chords also gives this movement its demonic character; out of the four movements, this one is the most dissonant.
Meanwhile, the second movement (2:08 to 4:41), marked Adagio semplice (slow and simply played), is a pensive aria that could depict a weathered, time-worn gargoyle, like one fixed to the ruins of a church. Here, Lieberman uses stagnant harmonies, sparse textures, and dynamic markings that never rise above mezzo-piano to achieve an atmosphere of desolation and loneliness. The beginning and end of the movement feature a chromatic melody in the right hand, played in bare octaves, over a plodding accompaniment in the left, whereas the contrasting middle section features a chorale over slow repeated notes. The music is also entirely restricted to the higher registers of the piano, giving the movement not only a lonely character, but a haunted feel as well.
The third movement (4:50 to 7:24), marked Allegro moderato (moderately fast), is a reverie that seems to evoke imagery of water; after all, many gargoyles serve not only as decorations, but also water spouts to drain rainwater from the roofs and walls of buildings. The water-like feel of the music is achieved through a continuous harp-like arpeggio accompaniment, which, throughout most of the piece, is to be shared between the two hands, which makes for a challenge in maintaining evenness. Most of this movement consists of a simple theme in F-sharp major with some chromatic inflections in the soprano over this arpeggio accompaniment, with the addition of a bass melody that imitates the soprano toward the end.
Finally, Liebermann returns to a depiction of the demonic in the last movement (7:32 to 10:31), marked Presto furioso (fast and furious). This movement, which most pianists would agree is the most technically demanding of the four by far, takes the form of a very energetic dance. The unrelenting triplet rhythm, abundance of accented notes, extended passages in the lower registers of the piano, and the dense chordal passages gives this movement a savage character also.
Gargoyles is perhaps the most frequently performed work for solo piano piece of Liebermann's, and has been becoming a favorite among pianists and audiences; threads on piano-related message boards requesting recommendations for modern piano pieces often get Gargoyles as an answer. Its outwardly virtuosic writing certainly could be a reason for its popularity; technical challenges in Gargoyles include rapid scales, arpeggios, broken octaves, dense chords, and leaps, which not only give the pianist an opportunity to show off a diverse set of techniques, but also are almost certain to excite audiences. But more notably, Gargoyles is a twentieth-century piano piece with Romantic Era characteristics. The twentieth-century characteristics of Gargoyles, particularly its use of atonality in the first, second, and fourth movements (none of these movements can be reliably said to have a central key) and its avoidance of more traditional harmonic progressions of the Classical and Romantic Eras, including unresolved dissonances in the first movement and the use of exotic scales in the first and fourth movements introduce some variety and novelty, but the resemblance of Gargoyles to character pieces and etudes of the nineteenth century prevent the piece from becoming so foreign that it would be unenjoyable to most pianists and audience members.
Each of the four movements of Gargoyles have structures similar to those of piano pieces from the Romantic Era. The first, second, and fourth movement are all in ternary (ABA) form, namely an exposition of the main theme (A), followed by a central section in which either a contrasting theme is presented or the main theme is developed (B), and then a reprise of the main theme (A) with a coda. The third movement is in rondo (ABACA) form, consisting of three statements of the main theme (A) with two intervening interludes (B and C). As a result, these pieces are easier to follow than most others composed around the same time, which often tended to be more loosely structured. Dissonances, although prevalent in all four movements, serve functions such as for shock purposes in the first movements and to build tension in the second, third, and fourth movements, similar to those they serve in the pieces of eighteenth and nineteenth-century composers. In the third and fourth movements, dissonances even resolve into familiar major and minor chords. Thus, these dissonances, although sometimes jarring and even harsh at times, are placed in contexts where they make sense to most listeners, which would tend to make the audience more receptive to these harmonies.
The video above is of my performance of the complete set at the Washington Music Teacher's Association (WMTA) Annual Adult Recital on January 17, 2015 (thanks to Thorne for taking the video.) Somehow, I managed to accurately execute the runs in the first movement cold; I did not get much of a chance to warm up prior to the recital, and I was fifth in the lineup, which meant I had to wait another forty minutes or so before I finally performed (do not try this at home, kids. Always precede a performance of this piece with a proper warm-up or a performance of a more sedate piece. I'm just a little crazy and have a tendency to do dumb things like this.)
Overall difficulty assessment: Difficult.
First movement (Presto):
- Technical difficulty assessment: Difficult. Technical problems include rapid scale passages, alternating martellato chords, and irregular polyrhythms.
- Musical and interpretive difficulty assessment: Straightforward. This is not a subtle movement. Playing the notes and following the dynamic markings will result in an effective performance, but pianists should be sure to play the soft passages very softly and hammer the louder chords to make the contrasts more stark and the crescendos more dramatic.
Second movement (Adagio semplice):
- Technical difficulty assessment: Easy. This movement contains no substantial technical difficulties.
- Musical and interpretive difficulty assessment: Tricky. Attention to phrasing and dynamic detail and a sensitive touch is needed to create the atmosphere that Liebermann wants from this movement. Any carelessness in phrasing, touch, and dynamics will be exposed due to the sparse textures and lack of technical fireworks.
Third movement (Allegro moderato):
- Technical difficulty assessment: Difficult. Technical problems include maintaining evenness in the arpeggiated accompaniment shared by both hands, balance of sound between the melody and the accompaniment, and voicing of the canon in the recapitulation.
- Musical and interpretive difficulty assessment: Tricky. In addition to difficulties in voicing and balance of sound, the pianist must put some thought into how to prevent this movement from becoming monotonous.
Fourth movement (Presto furioso):
- Technical difficulty assessment: Very difficult. This movement contains alternating martellato chords, leaps, dense chordal passages, and rapid repeated octaves, all of which are to be executed at a very fast tempo. This movement also requires endurance.
- Musical and interpretive difficulty assessment: Straightforward. Like the first movement, this is not a subtle piece of music. Here also, playing the notes and following the dynamic markings will capture the spirit of this movement and result in an effective performance, but performers should be sure to really capitalize on the softer passages for make the contrast with the louder passages more pronounced and the crescendos more dramatic.
