Arch アーチ

Programme notes

Robert Casteels composed Arch opus 140 in 2024, following the premiere of his Sixth Symphony, a major work where the architectural principle of the vault (or arch) was central. Just as music unfolds sequentially in time, from past to present to future, a physical vault unfolds from left to right. The keystone of the vault serves as the mid-point of the composition, after which the preceding compositional elements reappear in exact reverse (retrograde) order. Within this sonic arch, motives are heard in a sequence that is played backward. The structure of Arch consists of 18 small vaults contained within one large vault. These smaller units vary in shape: some are concave, others convex, and some are horizontal (meaning only their rhythms are retrogradable). Additionally, the trio of performers itself constitutes an arch-like unit in the way the music is distributed among the three players.he keystone of Arch is provided by a short poem from Megumi Matsuyama, whose style is characterized by succinctness, sensitivity, and metaphor. Casteels has a deep and respectful appreciation for Japanese culture, as evidenced by earlier compositions such as:

• Dotted Line (Opus 71, 2010) for koto and string quartet.

• In Praise of Sake (Opus 88, 2020) based on a poem by Ōtomo no Tabito.

• Kaze ni noru (Opus 98, 2013) for orchestra, based on a story by Miyazawa Kenji.

• Heiwa no Kane (Opus 148) for string ensemble.

Handwritten sketches and drafts

to be found in chapter XL of white cover, A3 size, 600 pages book

Completion of the composition 

5-VI-2024  

Analysis

see 1.10 in The Vault (2025) under Articles

Score follower

link #1

Videos

link #2: Japan premiere

link #3: Singapore premiere