Four Novelettes for chamber orchestra (1967)

The composition was commissioned by the Hopkins Centre, Dartmouth College from Hanover (New Hampshire, USA), where it was premiered. The piece (dedicated to the institution which commissioned it) is written for chamber orchestra comprising 22 soloists. It is characterised by a rich sound and virtuoso nature of the various instrumental parts. The whole is a four-part cycle, devoid, however, of references to the sonata cycle:

I. Molto andante (traunquillo), II. Tempo di valse lente (calmatissimo), III. Allegro moderato, IV. Andante.

Each movement fulfils the general premises of the literary genre in its title: its progression is condensed, transparent and comprises one thread only, it is short and concise thanks to the use of one main theme or motif. The musical events presented in the first three novelettes reach their climax in the fourth novelette. An important structural element comes in the form of fixed notes which are evidence of the fact that the material is organised around some axes. What comes to the fore in the piece is its unconventional sound stemming not only from the instrumentation or varied articulation, but, above all, from the composer’s holistic approach to the sound matter. As Zdzisław Sierpiński wrote:

It is by no means an easy work, its texture is elaborate, its mood is that of a chamber piece (it is written for 22 soloists), and yet it dazzles with the richness of its colours achieved by modest means and affecting the listeners with its atmosphere of emotional thrills.

The Four Noveletts consolidated Tadeusz Baird’s international fame and became his new showpiece. Within the first five years (from July 1967 till April 1972) it was performed nearly sixty times in Europe (e.g. in England, Belgium and Switzerland), both Americas and Asia (Japan). By 1969 it was also recorded (Rome and Paris).