INTERCALATIONS, by Richard Wilson, performed by pianist Margaret Mills. Photos of Vassar College campus by Maria Hoehn.
What makes an 'intercalation' more appealing to a composer than an 'interpolation' or 'insert' is its association with time: a day added to the calendar in order to reconcile our figuring of the twelve months with the solar year. The 29th of February, that mysterious gift of extra time available every fourth year, is an intercalation. It stands outside the system and does not seem to make us any older.
My INTERCALATIONS were commissioned in 1986 by Margaret Mills, who gave their premiere in Merkin Concert Hall, New York City on November 19, 1986. Each of the four pieces bears a subtitle and can be related to a traditional keyboard model. The first, INTERSPACE, alternates passages of imitative counterpoint with excursions that often involve figuration or ornamentation rather in the manner of a preludial ricercare. INTERPLAY is toccata-like, with steady rapid motion that features repeated notes. INTERLACING is a song without words: meditative, lyrical, improvisatory and moody. The last, INTERACTION, the most orchestral of the four, is a narrative perhaps akin to the ballade or tone poem.
Margaret Mills recorded INTERCALATIONS on Newport Classics (NCD 60048; NCC 60048 on cassette.
