The title is a diminutive Bulgarian version of the Italian word ricercar, used in the 17th century to denote an improvisatory instrumental piece that “searches.” I composed Ricercarcheta in memory of the outstanding Bulgarian composer Dimiter Christoff, with whom I worked closely and whose more substantial Ricercari for cello I have performed on several occasions.

 

Ricercarche No. 1 is an impetuous piece based on an ominous three-note bass sequence and begins to explore the implications of D minor.

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Ricercarche No. 2 is a quiet, inconclusive meditation on D minor that hovers delicately on the sounding side of silence.

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Ricercarche No. 3 is a rambunctious ricocheting piece based on a four-note ascending scale (tetrachord).

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Ricercarche No. 4 continues the “search” for D minor, ending up... somewhere else.

 

The music of Dimiter Christoff (1933-2017) was laced with the humor and austerity born of self-imposed creative limits (he rarely used an interval larger than a semitone). He taught polyphony at the National Music Academy and New Bulgarian University. Polished, punctual, and persistent, Prof. Christoff had a cheerful, yet earnest manner, always wore an elegant suit, and was never less than 45 minutes early to any scheduled appointment. Read my remembrance of Prof. Christoff here.

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Image: Rosso Fiorentino, "Madonna dello Spedalingo" / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain