Hymn - 2001

This work is a noble song of praise with a fanned-out texture on a tonal and harmonic basis. 'My hymn is enveloped in silence although it appears like a customary string setting on the outside. The paradox of Cage's ('4:33') is also present in latent form, but this is the 'silence of new music'. All melodic content from my other compositions can also be found here. A rest does not only constitute a lack of sound, but is also a state of retardation and paralysis or a suspension of time. In early music, there was an occasional need for silence, but here it is a fundamental feature.' (Valentin Silvestrov)