phil-harmonie (for philipp)

The score of phil-harmonie (for philipp) has survived as nine Sibelius files of a piano solo, a pdf of the last saved file, a recording (shown below and downloadable free), and some notes by Reddy about what he wanted to do next. There was a great deal more to notate, to judge from the recording, which is far longer than the score published here, and has a definitive ending. The incomplete score is already 120 bars of frenetic jazz harmonies spread over a number of different piano techniques and it would be no easy task to transcribe the rest of the piece. It is intended for jazz combo, and the recording, which Reddy made in Konstanz with drummer Andreas Apitz is for piano and drums, with the drums really driving home the rhythms of the music. It can, however, also be played as a piano solo.

Philipp Eden, for whom the work was written, was a much-loved young friend of Reddy’s and a bass player, whose name features on other works from Reddy’s last few years. Although it is listed in Reddy’s catalogue as a piece written in 2003, the Sibelius files are from 2005/6 with the final one dated 27 December 2006.

The score has been left more or less unchanged except for reformatting. Reddy’s timings and his ‘style brisé’ indication towards the end are left in. The latter is a term associated with uneven arpeggiated figures in Baroque music, a tongue-in-cheek reference perhaps to Reddy’s earlier life as a virtuoso pianist and harpsichordist.