After listening to Cendres I knew that this was the type of piece that I wanted to compose. When I was finished with the piano piece I was composing, I began to think about this Cendres-influenced piece. I checked out a copy of the score from the university library and began to study this piece.
The primary focus of Cendres is timbral. This means that texture and tone color are as important as harmony and themes. After figuring out some of the primary techniques Saariaho employs to create her sound world, I began to think about how I could use these techniques in my music and make it my own. Breath tones in the flute and vertical motion of the cello bow (up and down the strings rather than just across them) were two of the techniques that really stood out to me.
The piece I composed that was inspired by Cendres was Off you go... for flute, cello and percussion. I used a similar instrumentation to that of Cendres which was alto flute, cello and piano. I opted to use percussion rather than piano because of the large palette of sound available with percussion instruments. The three primary percussion instruments I chose to use were vibraphone, suspended cymbal and brake drums. The vibraphone was a logical choice as there are a few different ways to play the instrument. These ways include with mallets, with a bass bow on the edge of the tone bars or with the hands. Also this instrument can sustain pitches like a piano.
Inspired by Saariaho's exploration of the instruments she used I looked at some extended techniques for some of the percussion instruments. I found that using a bass bow on the edge of the tone bars on the vibraphone creates a thin, sustained sound which complements the flute and cello tones.
The gradual unfolding of the harmonic language is another aspect of Cendres that I wanted to explore in my piece. This was accomplished by using the extended techniques. By changing the way in which the tone is played the sound will be different while the pitch stays the same.
Listening to and studying this piece has given me tools that I have used in my piece Off you go... and still use today. This is one of the pieces that has really helped me to develop my compositional voice and one that I think deserves the label: Modern Masterwork.
Showing posts with label Kaija Saariaho. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaija Saariaho. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Program Notes: Lines in the Sand
Lines in the Sand
for solo cello
I. Jagged
II. Blurred
III. Final Line
Composed: April 2004
Premiere: April 15, 2005 – Doctoral Recital: Eugene, OR
This piece was originally composed for a reading session with Third Angle, a contemporary music ensemble based out of Portland, during Spring 2004. The title, Lines in the Sand, represents a metaphor for where I was both professionally and creatively in the time just before and during the compositional process.
I. Jagged – This movement is a recomposition of a collaboration with dancer/choreographer Dominique Chartrand from fall 2003 titled Disjunction. The title of this movement refers to the jagged feel of the opening motive which is developed and manipulated throughout the movement.
II. Blurred – This movement continues work that I have been doing to deconstruct time. The music is composed “out of time” in a similar vein to Witold Lutoslawski's work in the 1960s, specifically Trois Poemes d'Henri Michaux. Notes are at times presented in bursts and at other times as long tones. Extended techniques such as natural harmonics and the use of bow pressure is something that I picked up from Saariaho's work with the cello.
III. Final Line – I really wanted to compose a final movement that sounds more challenging than it is to play. During the compositional process I worked with composer/cellist Chris Thomas to realize my intent. Some of the inspiration for this piece comes from Kaija Saariaho's Spins and Spells for solo cello. The rest of the inspiration comes from insanity!
for solo cello
I. Jagged
II. Blurred
III. Final Line
Composed: April 2004
Premiere: April 15, 2005 – Doctoral Recital: Eugene, OR
This piece was originally composed for a reading session with Third Angle, a contemporary music ensemble based out of Portland, during Spring 2004. The title, Lines in the Sand, represents a metaphor for where I was both professionally and creatively in the time just before and during the compositional process.
I. Jagged – This movement is a recomposition of a collaboration with dancer/choreographer Dominique Chartrand from fall 2003 titled Disjunction. The title of this movement refers to the jagged feel of the opening motive which is developed and manipulated throughout the movement.
II. Blurred – This movement continues work that I have been doing to deconstruct time. The music is composed “out of time” in a similar vein to Witold Lutoslawski's work in the 1960s, specifically Trois Poemes d'Henri Michaux. Notes are at times presented in bursts and at other times as long tones. Extended techniques such as natural harmonics and the use of bow pressure is something that I picked up from Saariaho's work with the cello.
III. Final Line – I really wanted to compose a final movement that sounds more challenging than it is to play. During the compositional process I worked with composer/cellist Chris Thomas to realize my intent. Some of the inspiration for this piece comes from Kaija Saariaho's Spins and Spells for solo cello. The rest of the inspiration comes from insanity!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Influential Pieces: Kaija Saariaho - Cendres - Part 3
One of the aspects of Saariaho's Cendres that really drew me in is the harmonic language. After my initial listening it seemed to me that the harmonic language was relatively static. I had thought that there was little to no progression in the direction of the piece. After repeated listening and a brief study of the score I found that is not the case.
The sonic world of Cendres is one of gentle unfolding. Saariaho starts with a solitary note, an E-flat pizzicato in the piano. A harmonic trill in the cello on E-flat in measure two introduces a G. This gives the listener a hint at a possible major sonority. Then at the beginning of measure eight the F-sharp is introduced dispelling the major notion. Finally at the end of measure eight the B-flat is brought in. An analysis of these eight measures indicate that the opening sonority shifts between E-flat major and minor. The minor third in this case is enharmonically spelled as F-sharp rather than G-flat.
Why do I focus on the first eight measures of the piece? This piece starts at a slow tempo of a quarter note equals forty-four. Therefore these measures constitute almost forty-five seconds. Which in a ten minute piece is substantial. Also in looking at the rest of the piece it becomes apparent that these eight measures are indicative of the sound world Saariaho intends to create.
Another identifier of Cendres is the use of timbre and effects to color the piece. Most of the uncommon effects I have described in part two of this series. The way in which she combines these effects really adds a different sense of motion to the piece. In the first eight measures Saariaho combines pizzicato inside the piano with the harmonic trill in the cello. Both of these techniques produce a thin sound and yet the base of each sound is identifiable to its respective instrument.
In measure sixty-three Saariaho provides another example of using color as forward motion. In this measure both the alto flute and the cello play a rhythm on a single repeated note. In this case the alto flute plays C and the cello E-flat. While the notes are stagnant the rhythm and motion is not. Both instruments play a similar rhythm, but a sixteenth note apart. The interesting part is the way in which each instrument produces the tone. The alto flute gradually changes from a normal tone to a breath tone. The cello changes from a normal tone to a harmonic. Saariaho thins out the sound creating a shift in tone color.
Quarter-tone and half-tone glissandi are utilized for two reasons. This first is to slightly modify the character of the piece. Much of the playing is straightforward and either highly rhythmic or static. The glissandi add a slippery, almost bouncy feel to the sections in which they appear. The second reason is that they also further illustrate the gentle unfolding that I described at the onset of this part. Rather than just mechanically changing the fingering to create the new tone, the instruments slide into the new pitches.
The sonic world of Cendres is one of gentle unfolding. Saariaho starts with a solitary note, an E-flat pizzicato in the piano. A harmonic trill in the cello on E-flat in measure two introduces a G. This gives the listener a hint at a possible major sonority. Then at the beginning of measure eight the F-sharp is introduced dispelling the major notion. Finally at the end of measure eight the B-flat is brought in. An analysis of these eight measures indicate that the opening sonority shifts between E-flat major and minor. The minor third in this case is enharmonically spelled as F-sharp rather than G-flat.
Why do I focus on the first eight measures of the piece? This piece starts at a slow tempo of a quarter note equals forty-four. Therefore these measures constitute almost forty-five seconds. Which in a ten minute piece is substantial. Also in looking at the rest of the piece it becomes apparent that these eight measures are indicative of the sound world Saariaho intends to create.
Another identifier of Cendres is the use of timbre and effects to color the piece. Most of the uncommon effects I have described in part two of this series. The way in which she combines these effects really adds a different sense of motion to the piece. In the first eight measures Saariaho combines pizzicato inside the piano with the harmonic trill in the cello. Both of these techniques produce a thin sound and yet the base of each sound is identifiable to its respective instrument.
In measure sixty-three Saariaho provides another example of using color as forward motion. In this measure both the alto flute and the cello play a rhythm on a single repeated note. In this case the alto flute plays C and the cello E-flat. While the notes are stagnant the rhythm and motion is not. Both instruments play a similar rhythm, but a sixteenth note apart. The interesting part is the way in which each instrument produces the tone. The alto flute gradually changes from a normal tone to a breath tone. The cello changes from a normal tone to a harmonic. Saariaho thins out the sound creating a shift in tone color.
Quarter-tone and half-tone glissandi are utilized for two reasons. This first is to slightly modify the character of the piece. Much of the playing is straightforward and either highly rhythmic or static. The glissandi add a slippery, almost bouncy feel to the sections in which they appear. The second reason is that they also further illustrate the gentle unfolding that I described at the onset of this part. Rather than just mechanically changing the fingering to create the new tone, the instruments slide into the new pitches.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Influential Pieces: Kaija Saariaho - Cendres - Part 2
Prior to hearing Kaija Saariaho's Cendres for the first time I was only familiar with about three of her orchestral works and some of her electro-acoustic compositions. Cendres was the first piece for acoustic chamber music of Saariaho's that I heard. This piece really captivated me. The instrumentation was, at the time, to me different: alto flute, cello and piano.
While the instrumentation seemed different, it is the way in which Saariaho uses the instruments that opened my eyes to the world of color and timbre. The piece opens with a harmonic trill in the cello. This technique creates a thin and airy sound that initiates the sound world that is to come. Another technique for string instruments that Saariaho uses in many of her compositions is the application and changing of bow pressure. Increasing the bow pressure creates a sound that is more noise than tone. Bow pressure can be applied to the point where all sense of pitch is lost. The inverse, less bow pressure, thins out the sound creating an eerie and airy tone.
The alto flute is also used in uncommon ways. Saariaho composes certain passages using breath tones. Breath tones are created by the flautist using the fingering needed to create the notated pitch, but air is blown through the instruments not producing the normal tone. In certain passages Saariaho will alternate between breath tones and normal tones. This creates an effect similar to that of the alternation of the harmonic and normal tone in the cello.
Another of Saariaho's favorite flute effects is the use of phonemes. Phonemes are an elementary part of speech that distinguishes one utterance from another. In the preface of the score Saariaho gives a list of the phonemes used in Cendres and the correct pronunciation. Saariaho explored this technique in some detail in Laconisme de L'aile (1982) for solo flute and electronics. In Cendres Saariaho used the phonemes as coloration which acts as another form of progression.
Another technique Saariaho used in this piece is quarter-tones. There are most easily heard in the alto flute and cello as glissandi. This pitch will be bent up or down a half-step in certain passages. It is with these glissandi that the quarter-tones will be most transparent. Saariaho will rarely use the quarter-tones as exact pitches in this piece as they can be difficult to play with accuracy.
While the instrumentation seemed different, it is the way in which Saariaho uses the instruments that opened my eyes to the world of color and timbre. The piece opens with a harmonic trill in the cello. This technique creates a thin and airy sound that initiates the sound world that is to come. Another technique for string instruments that Saariaho uses in many of her compositions is the application and changing of bow pressure. Increasing the bow pressure creates a sound that is more noise than tone. Bow pressure can be applied to the point where all sense of pitch is lost. The inverse, less bow pressure, thins out the sound creating an eerie and airy tone.
The alto flute is also used in uncommon ways. Saariaho composes certain passages using breath tones. Breath tones are created by the flautist using the fingering needed to create the notated pitch, but air is blown through the instruments not producing the normal tone. In certain passages Saariaho will alternate between breath tones and normal tones. This creates an effect similar to that of the alternation of the harmonic and normal tone in the cello.
Another of Saariaho's favorite flute effects is the use of phonemes. Phonemes are an elementary part of speech that distinguishes one utterance from another. In the preface of the score Saariaho gives a list of the phonemes used in Cendres and the correct pronunciation. Saariaho explored this technique in some detail in Laconisme de L'aile (1982) for solo flute and electronics. In Cendres Saariaho used the phonemes as coloration which acts as another form of progression.
Another technique Saariaho used in this piece is quarter-tones. There are most easily heard in the alto flute and cello as glissandi. This pitch will be bent up or down a half-step in certain passages. It is with these glissandi that the quarter-tones will be most transparent. Saariaho will rarely use the quarter-tones as exact pitches in this piece as they can be difficult to play with accuracy.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Influential Pieces: Kaija Saariaho - Cendres - Part 1
Kaija Saariaho's Cendres for alto flute, cello and piano is for me one of the most influential pieces of chamber music. Composed in 1998 Cendres was commissioned for the Wolpe Trio. The word cendres is French for ashes. The basis of the musical material was derived from Saariaho's double concerto ...a la fumée (1990) for alto flute, cello and orchestra. The title Cendres is appropriate as the English translation of "a la fumée" is "into smoke." ...a la fumée is part of the music diptych paired with Du Cristal (1990) for orchestra. The whole translation of the title of the diptych is "From crystal into smoke."
Saariaho has noted that in composing Cendres special attention was paid to the balance of two extremes of musical performance. Tension was created and controlled throughout by the instruments coming close in terms of range, rhythm, dynamics, articulation and tone color and by allowing each instrument to express the musical ideas in their own idiomatic way. Saariaho believes that it is in these extremes where one can find infinite possibilities to create more or less homogenic musical structures.
The instrumentation of Cendres allows Saariaho the ability to explore the area between the two extremes. Each instrument in the ensemble produces tones in different ways. In addition these instruments have a couple of different ways in which it can produce notes. This gives Saariaho a larger palette from which she can compose. At the same time these instruments can blend together to make more homogenic combinations. In the liner notes for this piece Saariaho stated, "awareness of this variety was the rope on which I was balancing when working on the piece." Saariaho was able to brilliantly navigate this rope.
Saariaho has noted that in composing Cendres special attention was paid to the balance of two extremes of musical performance. Tension was created and controlled throughout by the instruments coming close in terms of range, rhythm, dynamics, articulation and tone color and by allowing each instrument to express the musical ideas in their own idiomatic way. Saariaho believes that it is in these extremes where one can find infinite possibilities to create more or less homogenic musical structures.
The instrumentation of Cendres allows Saariaho the ability to explore the area between the two extremes. Each instrument in the ensemble produces tones in different ways. In addition these instruments have a couple of different ways in which it can produce notes. This gives Saariaho a larger palette from which she can compose. At the same time these instruments can blend together to make more homogenic combinations. In the liner notes for this piece Saariaho stated, "awareness of this variety was the rope on which I was balancing when working on the piece." Saariaho was able to brilliantly navigate this rope.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Influential Pieces
Every now and then I think about what composers influence my music. There are pieces by these composers that I turn to time and time again. Some of these pieces directly impact my compositional style. Others are just great pieces to which I enjoy listening. I thought that it would be a good idea to share these pieces and write about why they are influential pieces.
I believe that doing this will give me a better understanding of this music. Also this could not only help me to better develop my compositional voice, but to better understand my musical output. In addition these write ups will help me in my research of color music.
This week I will make the first posting in this series. The first piece to be presented will be Kaija Saariaho's Cendres for alto flute, cello and piano.
I believe that doing this will give me a better understanding of this music. Also this could not only help me to better develop my compositional voice, but to better understand my musical output. In addition these write ups will help me in my research of color music.
This week I will make the first posting in this series. The first piece to be presented will be Kaija Saariaho's Cendres for alto flute, cello and piano.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Listening Journal: November 8-14, 2010
Kaija Saariaho - Laterna Magica (2008) for orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, op. 81a "Les Aideux" (1810)
Olivier Messiaen - Rondeau (1943) for piano
Olivier Messiaen - Prelude (1964) for piano
Igor Stravinsky - Double Canon (1959) for string quartet
Kaija Saariaho - New Gates (1996) for flute, viola and harp
Pierre Boulez - Notations I-IV (1945) for orchestra
György Ligeti - Le Grand Macabre CD #2 - CD
an opera (1977)
Act II - Erste Arie des Chefs der Geheimen Politischen Polizei through Finale
Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 3, op. 36 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (1976) Dawn Upshaw, soprano, London Sinfonietta, David Zinman, conductor
Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 1, op. 14 "1959" (1959)
Henryk Górecki - Three Pieces in the Old Style (1963) for orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, op. 31 no. 2 "Tempest" (1802)
Kaija Saariaho - Serenatas (2008) for piano, cello and percussion
Henryk Górecki - Choros I, op. 20 (1964) for orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat major, op. 81a "Les Aideux" (1810)
Olivier Messiaen - Rondeau (1943) for piano
Olivier Messiaen - Prelude (1964) for piano
Igor Stravinsky - Double Canon (1959) for string quartet
Kaija Saariaho - New Gates (1996) for flute, viola and harp
Pierre Boulez - Notations I-IV (1945) for orchestra
György Ligeti - Le Grand Macabre CD #2 - CD
an opera (1977)
Act II - Erste Arie des Chefs der Geheimen Politischen Polizei through Finale
Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 3, op. 36 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" (1976) Dawn Upshaw, soprano, London Sinfonietta, David Zinman, conductor
Henryk Górecki - Symphony No. 1, op. 14 "1959" (1959)
Henryk Górecki - Three Pieces in the Old Style (1963) for orchestra
Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, op. 31 no. 2 "Tempest" (1802)
Kaija Saariaho - Serenatas (2008) for piano, cello and percussion
Henryk Górecki - Choros I, op. 20 (1964) for orchestra
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Modification
I have been struggling with what to write between the sound walls in the opening section of Time in Memoriam. I tried a few different ideas and none of the seemed to work for me. On Wednesday I was listening to Kaija Saariaho's Lichtbogen and it gave me some ideas. At the time the issue with these ideas was that they would require me to rewrite the opening. This would mean no sound walls at the beginning. I was fine with this as I would be able to move on with the piece and I thought about how to use the sound walls later in the piece.
On Thursday I listened to Saariaho's Solar and I heard something at the beginning of this piece that showed me how I could the sound walls in this new approach. My original intent was to have a driving pulse underneath long tones. I have eliminated the pulse and the rhythmic motion is now created through figuration in the mallet percussion.
The other primary change is in the tempo. I have essentially cut the tempo in half from a quarter-note pulse at 96-108 to a quarter-note pulse at 54. This new tempo is dictated by the "interlude" material I have composed to go between the sound walls.
As of right now the rest of the form and plan for this piece is still intact. However, as always, I may nee to make some modifications as I continue to write this piece.
On Thursday I listened to Saariaho's Solar and I heard something at the beginning of this piece that showed me how I could the sound walls in this new approach. My original intent was to have a driving pulse underneath long tones. I have eliminated the pulse and the rhythmic motion is now created through figuration in the mallet percussion.
The other primary change is in the tempo. I have essentially cut the tempo in half from a quarter-note pulse at 96-108 to a quarter-note pulse at 54. This new tempo is dictated by the "interlude" material I have composed to go between the sound walls.
As of right now the rest of the form and plan for this piece is still intact. However, as always, I may nee to make some modifications as I continue to write this piece.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
