Captivity

Dallapiccola... Songs of Captivity.

What I hear: In the first movement, the voices are calm and legato.  Even the crescendos are calm.  The piano plays some seemingly random chords.  I am sure they are connected somehow, but listening to it, without the score in front of me and without trying to understand the cleverness behind it, it makes no sense to me.  "O Domine Deus" is the cry surrounding the prayer of the first movement (Mary Stuart's prayer).  12 tone stuff, according to my notes, which is why it could sound a bit random to me.  Very lyrical, however.  The second movement has pianos that are playing arpeggios, like rain.  Quick tempo.  Bells.  There is supposed to be a Dies irae in this movement and in the first movement, but I have a difficult time hearing it.  There is a Dies irae against a 12-tone row.  The third movement starts off rather "in your face", but later becomes fairly fairly calm, at least at the end.  Perhaps "calm" is bad word.  Because the intention is not to make everything sound calm.  It is "melodic-like."  I have heard many descriptions as "lyrical," but I think that is a bit misleading.  The piano, throughout the entire three movements, has a very distinct sound.