Concerto grosso Nr. 2 "La nuova Follia"

The Staunton Music Festival in Virginia provided the inspiration for this work. The local musicians are equally familiar with both modern and historical instruments which gave me the idea of composing a concerto grosso in which two orchestral groups are juxtaposed antithetically and synthetically. The composition consists of a set of variations on a theme of my own which is reminiscent of the famous La Follia theme. The key is D minor but sounds as E flat minor when played by the modern orchestra. All conceivable variants are played within this tonal distance, resulting in repeated collisions but also syntheses. The 32 variations are grouped into three movementlike sections in which I have also touched on Baroque forms such as the overture, bourrée, minuet and gigue. 
Stefan Heucke