Michael Nyman

Mose

Composer's Notes:
When I was asked to write a piece to celebrate the restoration of Michelangelo's Mosè, I returned to the paper written by Sigmund Freud on the sculpture which I had discovered by chance many years ago. Freud's fascination with the Mosè began in 1901 when he visited San Pietro in Vincoli for the first time. A series of subsequent visits culminated in the publication of the Moses of Michaelangelo in 1914, from which I have used two extracts to 'frame' the main body of my text which consists of selections from Michelangelo's own letters.
In 1505 Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Julis II and was commissioned to build a tomb which would reflect the magnificence of the Pontiff's reign. Forty years and four Popes later, the tomb, modified and scaled down due to a variety of financial and political changes of circumstance, was completed. The letters give the impression of an idealist at work: Michelangelo personally selected each piece of marble and supervised its transportation to Rome by his more worldly and capricious paymasters. His creative and artistic frustrations are mirrored by problems of a more a practical nature; payment for both his services and the materials is erratic. At one point his is accused of embezzling funds.
The complete text tells the story of an artists struggle and eventual triumph against external circumstances. The Mosè, by virtue of its very nature combines the elements of the physical and the spiritual with which Michelangelo challenged and eventually triumphed over the restraints of the context in which he had to work. The lovingly selected and cared for marble in the hands of the unpaid, exploited artist is transformed into something more substantial and eternal. Michael Nyman