Op. 8 – HIGH STRANGENESS (2027) — ca. 19′30″
Composed in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Music (MMus) in Composition, Brescia Conservatory
Woodwind and piano quartet · ca. 19′30″ · Four movements
flute, clarinet (in B♭), bassoon, piano
View score and parts · Listen · Discuss a performance
Companion text: Composer’s thesis
Programme note:
High Strangeness, quartet for piano and winds, navigates the subtle boundary between classical form and dreamlike disintegration. Structured in four movements, the piece unfolds as a dialogue between order and its erosion—which the composer refers to as a process of deformation. Unlike traditional variation, where a theme evolves internally through melodic, harmonic, or rhythmic transformation, here the emphasis lies on transforming the context in which musical ideas appear. Musical materials may recur almost identically, yet sound altered or re-signified due to their new surroundings—producing an effect that is at once surreal and familiar.
High Strangeness thus dances along the fault line of perception—lucid, haunting, and impeccably strange—offering a meditation on repetition, perception, and the instability of meaning. The result is a kind of musical hallucination: structured, detailed, but always threatening to drift out of frame. The title itself, borrowed from the vocabulary of paranormal studies, gestures toward this duality: High Strangeness evokes something undeniably real yet faintly impossible. In this piece, classical conversation meets the surreal logic of dreams, and the listener is invited to inhabit both worlds at once.
Composition: Como, 01 Jan–16 Mar 2025 (s. 1); Jan 2027 (s. 2), final authorial text completed 27 Jan 2027
Form/structure: 4-movement cycle — I. Tempo d’Attacco; II. Tempo di Mezzo; III. Arioso; IV. Finale
Performing-medium series: WOODWIND and PIANO QUARTET No. 1
Instrumentation:
FLUTE, CLARINET (in B♭), BASSOON, PIANO
Textual history:
– s. 1 (Mar 2025): digital autograph; score only, in concert pitch; examination state; catalogued as Op. 11 prior to the renumbering adopted from 24 Mar 2025; included in the composer’s MMus thesis, La composizione cameristica per legni e pianoforte dalle origini ai giorni nostri, Part III, pp. 55–83 (cf. Supplementary texts).
Note. First public presentation corresponding to this textual state: degree session / thesis discussion, 24 Mar 2025, Salone da Cemmo, “L. Marenzio” Conservatory, Brescia; computer-generated playback (no live performers).
– s. 2 (Jan 2027): fully revised digital autograph; score and parts, in transposed notation where applicable; final authorial text.
Publications:
– Casaccia, Alexandre. High Strangeness, Op. 8. Score and parts. Self-published edition, 27 Jan 2027. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17981201 → Reflects s. 2
Supplementary texts:
– Casaccia, Alexandre. La composizione cameristica per legni e pianoforte dalle origini ai giorni nostri; l’esempio del quartetto “High Strangeness” per flauto, clarinetto, fagotto e pianoforte, W. 1. MMus thesis, “L. Marenzio” Conservatory, Brescia, Scuola di Composizione, academic year 2023/24. Supervisor: Federico Biscione. Presented 24 Mar 2025. Self-published edition, 02 Oct 2026. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.23101732 → Contains s. 1 (Part III, pp. 55–83)
Rights: © 2027 Alexandre Casaccia. All rights reserved.