The instrumental cycle “Little Night Moths” was composed by Leonid Rezetdinov in 1996 for the ensemble “Sound Ways”. The opus is provided with the dedication to this group. After the successful premiиre in the St. Petersburg Maly (Small) Hall the cycle was included to the “Sound Ways” repertoire. Time passed while the “Moths” were on roll via Russia, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Mongolia, Finland, USA performed by such ensembles as Da capo Chamber Players (New York), “World Harmony” (Odessa) ÖENM (Salzburg) etc. Good luck is waiting for this music.
Every part of the suite is filled with its own instrumental idea. Spectral prelude is a true flute improvi-sation by means of the whole-tone scale on the ground of three pairs of piano chords consisting of 9 sounds and built in different registers.
The second movement is waltzing intermezzo pierced with alarmed contradiction between linear duet of flute and clarinet. The central third movement is a steady toccata of flute-piccolo, clarinet, violin and piano.
Dashing rollicking culmination causes instrumental call-over passing to slight violin tremolo sul ponticello. Rather random glissando of the high register extinguishes evenly.
Dreamy weightless meditation of the fourth movement is composed as interchanging duets: flute — piano, flute — clarinet, violin — piano and flute — piano once again.
Evenly shaking metre of five beats sign the instruments meeting as if for to recollect everything that happened in previous movements. These themes interlace in canonic constructions melting on the ground of the hovering piano chord.
The author varies instrumental phonations spread in different strata, resorting to vast scale of performing devices, such as glissando with a head joint, inhalation with clarinet, diverse violin strokes, piano pizzicato, muted strings, glissando and beats with the timpani stick.
However, such extreme means are not used purposefully (for their own sake). The composer creates this special sounding of weightless, glimmering air, nearly unreal rarefied atmosphere reigning via diverse instrumental timbers.