Dana Paul Perna
SOLILOQUY AND VARIATIONS for viola
Bardic Edition BDE1365

Dana Paul Perna composed his Soliloquy and Variations for unaccompanied viola between early-September and mid-October 1977, and it received its premiere performance on December 1st of that year. In 2021, he prepared this version for unaccompanied viola. There is little out of the ordinary in terms of its notation; its technical demands remaining for its violist to circumvent within their own parameters. The only notation-related aspects to mention are the indications of ‘col legno’ that appear in Variation 7 - Epilogue. Due to the nature of striking the strings with ones’ bow, it is always a concern with violists wishing to not cause damage to it, nor to their viola itself. For this reason, the dynamic demarkation of fortissimo may be, perhaps, achieved with a bit less force than that dynamic implies, simply due to the dramatic nature of the action ‘col legno’ produces, and presents to an audience. Another option for the violist may be to tap their bow on the finger board if they wish to add a bit more of a ‘percussive’ sound to it. As for those passages marked ‘pizzicato’ (in the same variation), to perform them at that tempo may prove a challenge. It will not be out-of-the-question if those rapid 16th-notes come off as something more analogous to a ‘portamento’, or as ‘gliding-tones’, or as ‘bends.’ If any of those prove a simpler solution, as opposed to aiming to articulate every pitch individually, that will be a matter for the performer to consider. Like the Soliloquy, each variation concludes with a full double bar. Violists may interpret these as pauses between each variation, or, to perform them attacca, or, in a combination thereof. Their interpretation, in other words, shall remain a decision that is best left up to the performers’ discretion.
Duration 9 minutes