Chamber Concerto No. 1 by Sonia Jacobsen is constructed with rhythmic tensions that ultimately resolve within the orderly melody. It is as if the dynamics of her string ensemble was generated by these ceaseless contrasts between abrupt plucked cords and legato phrases in crescendo. The relentless presence of rhythm is emphasized by the violent mistreatment of the instruments: deep basses plucked, violins’ wood tops drummed, staccato phrasings aborting suddenly in the high point of tension of a brief silence. Odd meters, poly-rhythms and metric modulations constantly create unexpected reliefs in the lyrical configuration of the concerto.

At each break, the quiet wave of sounds unfurls again, dynamically growing and pulling behind itself new and richer versions of the melody. Sometimes the melodic phrase collapses soon after and drifts away in evanescent quotes of jazz standards, tango reminiscences or Eastern European languid moods. Emerging from silence, the melodicphrase discloses itself to disquieting accords, to aquatic harmonies indangerous imbalance, fading away in sliding descents or exploding into abrief strident cacophony... Still, the mighty musical tide obsessivelycomes back with more to tell, like a glorious and enthusiastic march.

Beyond these free and dauntless improvisations left to the violin, Sonia’s music conveys some grave moments without ever falling into drama. The three movements seem to narrate three chapters of a classical novel, with a preface, a climax and an epilogue. The mysterious resonance of the strings always coexists with a sense of focus that never surrenders. In the end, one perceives a sense of a resolved crisis, a feeling of a won battle which settles in the purest modesty.