In 2023, Méline Le Calvez and Clare Juan approached Turkish composer İlayda Deniz Oğuz with an idea: a companion piece for Saariaho’s Oi Kuu. It was a fateful decision; although the project was conceived while Saariaho was still alive, Oguz only began work after her passing, when such a homage clearly took on greater emotional resonance.

 

A response to Saariaho’s duo, it draws on many of the extended techniques exploited by the older composer, including extensive multiphonics in the bass clarinet. The title of the piece refers to the reflection of moonlight on water, which is clearly depicted through the use of wave-like dynamic surges and unstable notes throughout for both instruments.

 

Yakamoz runs continuously into Oi Kuu: the first note of Saariaho’s piece, a single D played solo by the bass clarinet, is anticipated as the last note of Oğuz’s piece, a solo trill in the cello.

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Joshua Ballance