p s s a c d 170 k ntkent olofsson olofsson cordescordes Kent Olofsson (född i Karlskrona 1962) har gjort sig internationellt känd för kammarmusik — skriven i nära samarbete med ensembler och musiker — som virtuost utforskar nya klangvärldar och spelarter, ofta i kombination med elektronik. Vårt samarbete började för ungefär femton år sedan och har sedan dess varit intensivt. Kents bakgrund som gitarrist i symfonirockgruppen Opus Est är en av flera anledningar till de många projekt som brutit ny mark för instrumen- tet. Corde och The Bells utgör två kulminationer i hans produktion; verkserier för gitarr, för slagverk, för kör och soloröster och för kammarensemble sammanförs här till en kraftfull syntetisk konklusion. Corde (2002–06), för gitarrist och orkester är ett verk i tre delar; 1) Fascia (BMW kompositionspreises der Musica Viva 2002) för charango, midi-elgitarr, elektronik och orkester 2) Collagène/Fascia II för Glissentar, 11-strängad altgitarr och orkes- ter 3) Colloïde/Fascia Épilogue för 5-strängad banjo och ensemble. Fascia (2002) är musik som sammanför olika genrer, kulturer och tidsepo- ker. Denna del av Corde uruppfördes 2004 med Bayerska Radions symfoniorkester under Lothar Zagrosek. ’Fascia’ betecknar i medicinska sammanhang den bind- väv som håller samman musklerna. Titeln syftar på hur orkestern binds samman med soloinstrumenten, men också på hur element från olika musikaliska kultu- rer förenas. Solistens instrument representerar olika musikaliska kulturer och världsdelar och hur dessa binds samman med en komplex samtida orkestermu- sik är verkets gåta. Charangon är en liten oktavgitarr med sitt ursprung i barockgitarren. Med kolonisationen av Latinamerika kom den att leva vidare som ett folkmusikinstru- ment, som traditionellt görs av bältdjurskal. Dess traditionella scordatura går till- Foto: Åke Hedström baka på barockgitarrens stämning och ger den en del idiomatiska likheter med barockgitarren. Charangons dubbla referenser till latinamerikansk folkmusik och västeuropeisk barock överbryggs i Fascia genom elgitarrens många roller. Med

2 3 MIDI-teknik styrs en sampler på vilken samplingar av charango spelade på elgit- Collagène fungerar som ett slags efterbild av Fascia. Gestik och förlopp återkom- arr utökar instrumentets register bortom det möjliga och låter den klinga sam- mer här både i solostämman och i orkestersatsen, transformerade in i ett mer tidigt med elgitarren och ”akustisk” stålsträngad gitarr! Elgitarren spelas i stor lågmält och flytande tillstånd. Denna sats är tillägnad György Ligeti, som gick ur utsträckning med e-bow, men också med klassisk högerhandsteknik. En e-bow tiden mitt under arbetet med orkestersatsen och vars orkestermusik kan urskil- är ett tidigt elektroniskt verktyg som utvecklades under slutet av 1960-talet, den jas som en tydlig inspirationskälla. Utöver dessa ”transkriptioner” av material ur första kommersiella modellen presenterades 1976. Sedan dess har den använts Fascia är glissentarstämman en omtolkning av ett tidigare soloverk för samma av många ledande rockgitarrister och ett antal virtuosa tekniker har utvecklats, instrument, Alambic II (2004), som skrevs som en förstudie till konserten och vars som arpeggiospel, volym och klangfärgsförändring som spelar en väsentlig roll i material här utökas och varieras. I epilogen, för banjo med e-bow och liten ensem- de tre e-bowpartierna i Fascia. ble, återtas några motiv från Fascia: ett rasgueadoackord från öppningstakterna Ur charangostämmans första 23 takter utvinner tonsättaren verkets struktu- som snabbt diminuerar, ett ”col-legno” med e-bow, några campanella-figurer rella byggstenar. Det rytmiska materialet som presenteras här överförs till olika à la charango, fragment som leder fram till ett långt glissando och en kadens i orkestergrupper i olika tidsliga skikt, de längsta lika långa som hela satsen. Cha- banjon med e-bow som en diminutiv aria, ett övertonsspel som blivit möjligt med rangons fem strängpar stäms till olika intervall och den harmonik och de melo- Plus E-bow (1988). Verkets utklingning, med ett ackord i harpa, viola och banjo följt diska tvåstämmigheter som uppstår därav är en karaktärsgivande faktor i verket. av släpande händer på banjons lock, utgör den sista minnesbilden från Fascia, i Rasgueado, tremolo och arpeggio som används i charangostämman har också landskapet av rasslande maracas från de inledande takterna. transformerats in i orkestersatsen och i elgitarrstämman. Utöver dessa strategier för att binda samman soloinstrumentens musik med orkestern är överlappningen Den tematiska inspirationskällan i The Bells är Edgar Allan Poes dikt med samma av olika skikt och formdelar en bärande princip. namn, men verkets referenser sträcker sig långt utöver denna text. De första I Collagène/Fascia II och Colloïde/Fascia Épilogue (2006) tillförs ytterligare tre impulserna att tonsätta dikten fick tonsättaren i slutet av 1980-talet, och den första stränginstrument i solostämman, Glissentar (en bandlös 11-strängad gitarr) och versionen är ett fragment på tre partitursidor för sopran flöjt och gitarr från 1992. 11-strängad altgitarr respektive 5-strängad banjo. Den 11-strängade altgitarren (1966) Arbetet styrdes sedan över till ett storskaligt verk för kör, ensemble och elektronik utvecklades av prof. Per-Olof Johnsson och gitarrbyggaren Georg Bolin som en gitarr som påbörjades under 1990-talet. På beställning av Vox Nova och Fredrik Malmberg med samma tekniska förutsättningar som en italiensk archiliuto under tidig barock. uruppfördes 2000 en version med en tonsättning av de två första verserna. Den Godin’s Glissentar är en senare skapelse, en bandlös, dubbelkörig ”planka” med slutgiltiga versionen, beställd av SR Berwaldhallen, färdigställdes till Stockholm 5-dubbla strängpar och en enkel lägsta sträng, ett slags hybrid mellan en arabisk New Music 2005 och uruppfördes av Radiokören under James Wood. oud och en elgitarr. Med de dubbla strängparen kan det harmoniska materialet från Under sommaren 1848 var Poe på besök hos en väninna i New York. Han greps de olikstämda strängarna på charangon föras vidare in i andra satsen. av lust att skriva en dikt men kunde inte komma på något lämpligt ämne. Detta

4 5 hinder för kreativiteten irriterade Poe, och det hela förbättrades inte av det distra- rikedomen i partituret delar Kent Olofssons ”The Bells” de tydliga motiven samt herande ringandet i kyrkklockor i den närliggande kyrkan. Hans väninna, som ville det direkta och suggestiva anslaget med Poes dikt. Den stort upplagda formen hjälpa sin bekymrade gäst, tog kyrkklockorna som utgångspunkt och gav honom hämtar bärande drag ur dikten, särskilt det expansiva rytmiska motiv som bär ett papper och skrev överst: ”The Bells, by E. A. Poe” och lade till ”The Little Sil- fram emot den fjärde satsens rungande järnklockor och ger hela verket samma ver Bells” och föreslog sedan också ”The Heavy Iron Bells”. Poe skrev den första additiva kulmination som hos Poe. Klockringningarna, som relaterar till refrängen versionen av ”The Bells” den eftermiddagen. Det slutliga resultatet är en dikt i i Poes text, är hårt stiliserade i Olofssons verk, med en rytmisk struktur som fyra verser med en expansiv form, som med återkommande mönster från strof till påminner om ett centralt material i Tarpeian Rock (1996–97) för kammarensem- strof ger upphov till ett slags refränger. De fyra verserna gestaltar olika funktioner ble och elektronik. som klockor fyllt i olika skeden och skiften i mänskligt liv: slädars silverklockor Konstmusiklitteraturen är full av elaborerade gestaltningar av klockringningar, som klingar lyckligt i vinternatten i den första versen; gyllene bröllopsklockor och och här tycks tonsättaren välja att istället gå mot en abstraktion, mot en komple- glädjen i den andra; farans, larmens och skräckens malmklockor i den tredje och mentär metrisk rytmisk figur som ger verket ett formmässigt bärande motiv. Ver- dödens järnklockor i den fjärde. ket sjunker allt djupare in i klangen av de fyra klockor som också är ursprunget för Förhållandet till Poes dikt genomgick en radikal förvandling efter uruppföran- harmoniken i de olika satserna. I den tredje satsen leder det rytmiska materialet det av den första versionen. Denna process skulle kunna beskrivas som en tolk- fram till den första stora kulminationen i en avslutande gigantisk klockklang, en ning av traditionen från t.ex. Berio, som resulterar i omstrukturerandet av verkets föraning av den avslutande ”klockringningen” i verkets slutminuter. Den andra text till den polyfoni av olika källor som blev verkets slutliga ”libretto”. Tonsät- satsens deliriska bröllopsfest tycks, precis som Delights-satserna i Olofssons The tarens eget urval av texter utvidgar Poes olika tematiska tolkningar av ringande Garden of Earthly Delights (för gitarr och kammarensemble, 1992) vara gestaltad klockor. Citaten spänner över ett brett fält från utdrag ur tidningsartiklar från 2004 efter Hieronymus Bosch. Här närmar vi oss tonsättarens serie av Ikonofonier, en via olika epoker i europeisk litteraturhistoria till inskriptioner på de fyra franska serie verk som skrevs 1988–1994 ­— flera av dem just med inspiration från Bosch. kyrkklockor vars klangspektra ligger till grund för harmoniken i verket. Valet av Den dansanta 6/8 rytmiken och det luftigare anslaget skiljer ut denna sats från de texter av Baudelaire och Mallarmé tillför ett väsentligt tolkningsskikt i verket. De omkringliggandes tyngre pulsationer. Den fjärde delen fyller en funktion i formen franska symbolisterna var, oberoende av varandra och med olika intressen för sin som påminner om den avslutande satsen i Il Liuto d’Orfeo (för charango, 6- och amerikanske förgrundsgestalt, den första gruppering som tillerkände Poes verk 10-strängad gitarr och tape, 1998–99) och utgör en gravitetisk konklusion av ver- en avgörande betydelse i litteraturen. När Baudelaire skrev Les Fleurs du mal (i kets material och expressiva register. Här träder samklangen mellan Poes fyra vilken La Cloche fêlée ingår) utgjorde hans läsning av Poe en avgörande faktor för verser och verkets fyra satser i förgrunden, den symfoniskt upplagda formen i verkets storform och struktur. Olofssons verk framstår som utvuxen ur Poes dikt ”The Bells”. Trots den kontrapunktiska väven av olika röster och komplexiteten och detalj- Stefan Östersjö

6 7 THE BELLS THE BELLS THE Part I

Hear the sledges with the bells– Sta Evrosia Cristi Martir Et Sponsa Ab Omni Fulgur Silver bells! Et Tempestate Tibi Fidentes What a world of merriment their melody foretells! Libera Iacobus Fleys Prior 1678 How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, In the icy air of night! Saint Evriosa, martyr of Christ and our patron, from all thunder While the stars that oversprinkle and tempest deliver us your faithful. All the heavens seem to twinkle Jacobus Fleys, Prior, 1678 With a crystalline delight; Keeping time, time, time, In a sort of Runic rhyme, Inscription on church-bell I, Vieillevie, Aveyron, France. To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells One of the bells that are used for the harmonic material in the piece. From the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells– From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells.

Edgar Allan Poe

8 9 La Cloche fêlée The Cracked Bell

II est amer et doux, pendant les nuits d’hiver, Bitter and sweet it is on these long winter nights D’écouter, près du feu qui palpite et qui fume, To sit before the fire and watch the smoking log Les souvenirs lointains lentement s’élever Beat like a heart; and hear our lost, our mute delights Au bruit des carillons qui chantent dans la brume. Call with the carillons that ring out in the fog.

Bienheureuse la cloche au gosier vigoureux What certitude, what health, sounds from that brazen throat, Qui, malgré sa vieillesse, alerte et bien portante, In spite of age and rust, alert! O happy bell, Jette fidèlement son cri religieux, Sending into the dark your clear religious note, Ainsi qu’un vieux soldat qui veille sous la tente! Like an old soldier crying through the night, ”All’s well!”

Moi, mon âme est fêlée, et lorsqu’en ses ennuis I am not thus; my soul is cracked across by care; Elle veut de ses chants peupler l’air froid des nuits, Its voice, that once could clang upon this icy air, II arrive souvent que sa voix affaiblie Has lost the power, it seems, — comes faintly forth, instead,

Semble le râle épais d’un blessé qu’on oublie As from the rattling throat of a hurt man who lies Au bord d’un lac de sang, sous un grand tas de morts Beside a lake of blood, under a heap of dead, Et qui meurt, sans bouger, dans d’immenses efforts. And cannot stir, and in prodigious struggling dies.

Charles Baudelaire Translated by Edna St. Vincent Millay

10 11 Part II

Hear the mellow wedding bells, Golden bells! What a world of happiness their harmony foretells! Through the balmy air of night How they ring out their delight! From the molten-golden notes, And all in tune, What a liquid ditty floats To the turtledove that listens, while she gloats On the moon! Oh, from out the sounding cells What a gush of euphony voluminously wells! How it swells! How it dwells On the Future! how it tells Of the rapture that impels To the swinging and the ringing Of the bells, bells, bells, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, Bells, bells, bells– To the rhyming and the chiming of the bells!

Edgar Allan Poe

12 13 Denn wo das Strenge mit dem Zarten, Muß wirken und streben Because where austerity and tenderness, Must work and strive Wo Starkes sich und Mildes paarten, Und pflanzen und schaffen, Where strength and mildness paired, And plant and produce, Da gibt es einen guten Klang. Erlisten, erraffen, There’ll always be appealing timbre. Calculate, gather, Drum prüfe, wer sich ewig bindet, Muß wetten und wagen Therefore test, who wants to bind himself forever, Must wager and risk, Ob sich das Herz zum Herzen findet! Das Glück zu erjagen. Whether heart will find right heart. To hunt for fortune. Der Wahn ist kurz, die Reu ist lang. Da strömet herbei die unendliche Gabe, The elation is short, the remorse is long. There streams to him the endless gift, Lieblich in der Bräute Locken Es füllt sich der Speicher mit köstlicher Habe, Lovely in the curls of the bride, The warehouse fills with precious goods, Spielt der jungfräuliche Kranz, Die Räume wachsen, es dehnt sich das Haus. The bridal wreath does play, The rooms grow, the house expands. Wenn die hellen Kirchenglocken Und drinnen waltet When the bright church bells And inside rules Laden zu des Festes Glanz. Die züchtige Hausfrau, Invite to the splendour of the feast. The modest housewife, Ach! des Lebens schönste Feier Die Mutter der Kinder, Alas! life’s most beautiful feast The children’s mother, Endigt auch den Lebensmai, Und herrschet weise Will end the May of life too soon, And reigns wisely Mit dem Gürtel, mit dem Schleier Im häuslichen Kreise, With the bridal dress, the veil In the domestic circle, Reißt der schöne Wahn entzwei. Und lehret die Mädchen, The beautiful illusion is torn. And teaches the girls, Die Leidenschaft flieht! Und wehret den Knaben, The passion flees! And guides the boy, Die Liebe muß leiben, Und reget ohn Ende Love must endure, And stirs without end Die Blume verblüht, Die fleißigen Hände, The flower wilts, The industrious hands, Die Frucht muß treiben. Und mehrt den Gewinn The fruit must grow. And multiplies the gains Der Mann muß hinaus Mit ordnendem Sinn. The man must go out With orderly mind. Ins feindliche Leben, Into hostile life,

Friedrich Schiller, from ”Das Lied von der Glocken” Translated by Walter H. Schneider

Sancta Maria Mater Dei Ora Pro Nobis Lan Mil / 1582 Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us. AD 1582.

14 15 Inscription on church-bell II, Vieillevie, Aveyron, France Foto: Åke Hedström

16 17 Part III

Hear the loud alarum bells– How they clang, and clash, and roar! Brazen Bells What a horror they outpour What a tale of terror, now, their turbulency tells! On the bosom of the palpitating air! In the startled ear of night Yet the ear it fully knows, How they scream out their affright! By the twanging, Too much horrified to speak, And the clanging, They can only shriek, shriek, How the danger ebbs and flows; Out of tune, Yet the ear distinctly tells, In a clamorous appealing to the mercy of the fire, In the jangling, In a mad expostulation with the deaf and frantic fire, And the wrangling, Leaping higher, higher, higher, How the danger sinks and swells, With a desparate desire, By the sinking and the swelling in the anger of the bells– And a resolute endeavour Of the bells– Now–now to sit, or never, Of the bells, bells, bells, bells, By the side of the pale-faced moon. Bells, bells, bells– Oh, the bells, bells, bells! In the clamor and the clangor of the bells! What a tale their terror tells Of despair! Edgar Allan Poe

18 19 VH Lan 1808. Lauteur de ma Construcsiont & Ioseph Delrieu Negt an Cuivre Habitant de la Ville d’Aurillac. Les Dubois Fonduers

AD 1808. The author of my construction is Joseph Delrieu, copper merchant of the town of Aurillac.

Inscription on church-bell II, Vieillevie, Aveyron, France

20 21 Wohltätig ist des Feuers Macht, Benevolent is the fire’s might, Wenn sie der Mensch bezähmt, bewacht, If it’s tamed and watched by man,

Doch furchtbar wird die Himmelskraft, But terrible this heavenly power is, Wenn sie der Fessel sich entrafft, If she, casting off her shackles,

Einhertritt auf der eignen Spur Strides along on tracks her own

Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen Beware when she is let loose

Durch die volkbelebten Gassen Through the much populated by-streets Wälzt den ungeheuren Brand! Rolls the monstrous blaze! Denn die Elemente hassen Because the elements hate Das Gebild der Menschenhand. The structure created by human hand.

Hört ihr’s wimmern hoch vom Turm? Do you hear the yammering high from the tower? Das ist Sturm! That is the storm! Rot wie Blut Red as blood Ist der Himmel, Is the sky, Das ist nicht des Tages Glut! That is not the glow of day!

Leergebrannt Burnt out Ist die Stätte, Is this place, Wilder Stürme rauhes Bette, The rough bed of wild storms, In den öden Fensterhöhlen In the empty window openings Wohnt das Grauen, Lives the horror, Und des Himmels Wolken schauen And the heaven’s clouds look Hoch hinein. Into all from on high.

Friedrich Schiller, from “Das Lied von der Glocken” Translated by Walter H. Schneider

22 23 … Without revealing their identities, soldiers…told…television how their officer sprayed … with automatic gunfire … We saw her from a distance of… She was fired at ... from the outpost. She fled … wounded…lying, wounded or dead…the… com- mander approached her and fired two bullets from close range at her head… His capacity is only to destroy… He knows how to kill, how to put fire, how to put vio- lence, how to arm 12-, 13-, 14-year-old young people… Four … were killed in … on The bell invites me. the final day of … An air strike killed three men … were part of a militant group try- Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell ing to approach … positions … A 70-year-old … woman … was killed by a … bullet That summons thee to heaven or to hell. as she gathered with her family to … Hundreds of … children have been killed by … troops during … Uprising… Firefighters backed by military helicopters and troops William Shakespeare: Macbeth. ACT II Scene 1. battled for more than 12 hours… A fire has destroyed the upper portion of one of the tallest buildings… … were injured after inhaling poisonous fumes… … he was prepared to be tough and use aggressive means to bring the capital under control. Silence that dreadful bell: it frights the isle The killing of …civilians does not always make much news ... And it is unusual … to From her propriety. launch an investigation into the circumstances of such incidents. At least a third of the dead during the operation were civilians… …who was being held by …militants William Shakespeare: Othello. ACT II Scene 3. in the … died on Thursday during a rescue … are not immune from becoming the targets of militants. … young life ended in a foreign land. This is … blood … shed … in the global upsurge of terrorist hostage-taking activities …

Fragments from different news reports, November 2004

24 25 And his merry bosom swells Part IV With the pæan of the bells! And he dances, and he yells; Hear the tolling of the bells– Keeping time, time, time, Iron bells! In a sort of Runic rhyme, What a world of solemn thought their melody compels! To the pæan of the bells– In the silence of the night, Of the bells: How we shiver with affright Keeping time, time, time, At the melancholy menace of their tone! In a sort of Runic rhyme, For every sound that floats To the throbbing of the bells– From the rust within their throats Of the bells, bells, bells– Is a groan. To the sobbing of the bells; And the people–ah, the people– Keeping time, time, time, They that dwell up in the steeple, As he knells, knells, knells, All alone, In a happy Runic rhyme, And who tolling, tolling, tolling, To the rolling of the bells– In the muffled monotone, Of the bells, bells, bells–To the tolling of the bells, Feel a glory in so rolling Of the bells, bells, bells, bells– On the human heart a stone– Bells, bells, bells– They are neither man nor women– To the moaning and the groaning of the bells. They are neither brute nor human– They are Ghouls: Edgar Allan Poe And their king it is who tolls; And he rolls, rolls, rolls, Rolls The bell strikes one. We take no note of time A pæan from the bells! But from its loss.

Edward Young, Night Thoughts. Night i. Line 55. 26 27 Le tombeau d’Edgar Poe Edgar Poe’s tomb

Tel qu’en Lui-même enfin l’éternité le change, Such as into Himself at last Eternity changes Him, Le Poëte suscite avec un glaive nu the Poet arouses with a naked sword Son siècle épouvanté de n’avoir pas connu His century dismayed to have ignored Que la mort triomphait dans cette voix étrange! That death still triumphed in this voice so strange!

Eux, comme un vil sursaut d’hydre oyant jadis l’Ange As with the vile convulsion of a hydra, once hearing the angel Donner un sens plus pur aux mots de la tribu Endow with purer a sense the words of the tribe, Proclamèrent très haut le sortilège bu They proclaimed aloud that dishonorable flows Dans le flot sans honneur de quelque noir mélange. imbibe the sortilege with some dark cocktail,

Du sol et de la nue hostiles, ô grief! Out of the warring soil and skies, O hostile holding! Si notre idée avec ne sculpte un bas-relief If with them, our concept cannot carve a molding Dont la tombe de Poe éblouissante s’orne With which Poe’s dazzling tomb is adorned,

Calme bloc ici-bas chu d’un désastre obscur, Calm block fallen here below from some weird tragedy, Que ce granit du moins montre à jamais sa borne At least let with this granite forever be warned Aux noirs vols du Blasphème épars dans le futur. Dark flights of Blasphemy scattered in future day

Stéphane Mallarmé Translated by Gilles de Sèze

28 29 Each matin bell, the Baron saith, Time has laid his hand Knells us back to a world of death. Upon my heart gently, not smiting it, But as a harper lays his open palm Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel. Part ii. Upon his harp, to deaden its vibrations.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Legend. iv.

Von dem Dome, Schwer und bang, Tönt die Glocke Salvator Mundi Cui Flectitur Omne Genu Calestium Grabgesang. Terrestrium Et Infernorum Ab Omni Malo Defende nos Ernst begleiten ihre Trauerschläge Iohannes Fleys Prior Anno 1718 Einen Wandrer auf dem letzten Wege. Saviour of the world, to whom bend all knees in heaven, Friedrich Schiller, from “Das Lied von der Glocken” earth and hell, from all evil defend us. Johannes Flyes Prior AD 1718 From the cathedral, Inscription on church-bell III, Vieillevie, Aveyron, France Serious and uneasy, The bell sounds Funereal song. Gravely, her grieving peals accompany

A wanderer on his last path. 30 31 32 33 Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie och Heidelbergoperan och är sedan 2001 chef- dirigent för Indianapolis Symphony. BIOGRAFIER Mario Venzago är uppfostrad i en kontinental musiktradition och har en stark dragning till 1900-talstonsättare som Janácek och Schönberg, men han brinner lika Stefan Östersjö är en Sveriges mest framträdande solister inom den nya konst- starkt för den romantiska standardrepertoaren, särskilt Schumann och Bruckner. musiken. Sedan sin första solo-cd (svensk Grammis 1997) har han kontinuerligt Venzago har ett gediget internationellt rykte. Han framträder regelbundet spelat in soloalbum och kammarmusik och turnerat i Europa, USA och Asien. Han med Martha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Michail Pljetnov, Maxim Vengerov, Agnes har arbetat som solist med dirigenter som Lothar Zagrosek, Pierre André Valade, Baltsa och Krystian Zimerman, och samarbetar med orkestrar som Berlinfilhar- Mario Venzago, Franck Ollu och Tuomas Ollila. Under de sista 10 åren har Öster- monikerna, Bostons symfoniorkester, Londons filharmoniker, Gewandhausorkes- sjö arbetat med att arbeta fram ny repertoar och nya användningsätt för sträng­ tern och Orchestre de Paris. instrument från olika kulturer och världsdelar. Han bedriver sedan 2002 konst- närlig forskning vid Musikhögskolan i Malmö, har publicerat artiklar i många olika Vokalharmonin bildades 2003 och har sedan dess etablerat sig som en av de sammanhang och föreläst och gjort master-class i USA, Kina och Europa. mest spännande vokalensemblerna i Sverige. Gruppen var ”artist in residence” hos Sveriges Radio 2004–2005 och utsågs till ”Årets Kör” i Sverige 2007. Ensemblen Göteborgs Symfoniorkester bildades 1905 och består idag av 109 musiker. består av sångare som är framstående solister på internationell nivå. Utgångs- Under dirigenten Neeme Järvis ledning 1982–2004 gjorde orkestern en rad inter- punkten för verksamheten är kammarmusiken – den solistiska rösten i samklang nationella turnéer samt ett 100-tal skivinspelningar och etablerade sig bland Eu- och harmoni med andra röster och med instrument. Repertoaren består framför ropas främsta orkestrar. Detta ledde till att Göteborgs Symfoniker 1997 utsågs till allt av tidig musik och Vokalharmonin har fått mycket uppskattning för sin för- Sveriges Nationalorkester. Orkesterns senaste chefdirigent har varit Mario Ven- måga att kombinera historisk autenticitet med nyskapande tolkningar. Ensemblen zago som förenar den nordiska traditionen med det centraleuropeiska arvet. Han värnar också om den samtida musiken, vilket bl a resulterat i uruppföranden av efterträds 2007 av Gustavo Dudamel från Venezuela. verk särskilt komponerade för ensemblen. Medverkande: Vokalensemble I – Sofia Niklasson, Maria Lundell, Anna Zan- Mario Venzago har varit chefdirigent för Göteborgs Symfoniker sedan 2004 och der; Vokalensemble II – Helena Ströberg, Ingrid Aareskjold, Conny Thimander, Lars hans kontrakt löper till 2007. Därefter kommer han att fortsätta att arbeta med or- Johans­son Brissmann; Vokalensemble III – Mikael Stenbaek, Johan Peijler, Ove Pet- kestern som gästdirigent. Han föddes 1948 i Zürich, där han utbildades till pianist tersson; Kör I – Malin Gunnarsson Ljungqvist, Lotta Björkvall, Gunnars Andersson, och tog senare dirigentlektioner för legendariske Hans Swarowsky i Wien. Ma- Bengt Eklund; Kör II – Helena Eklund Stigsdotter, Yvonne Fuchs, Niklas Engquist, rio Venzago har bland annat varit chef för Basels symfoniorkester, Grazoperan, Staffan Alveteg.

34 35 Fredrik Malmberg, dirigent och konstnärlig ledare för Vokalharmonin, är en electronics, and orchestra 2) Collagène/Fascia II for Glissentar, 11-stringed alto guitar av Skandinaviens mest efterfrågade unga kördirigenter och har även framträtt and orchestra 3) Colloïde/Fascia épilogue for 5-stringed banjo and ensemble. runt om i Europa, Asien och Mellanöstern, samt har ett flertal radio- och CD-pro- Fascia (2002) is music that melds different genres, cultures, and epochs. This duktioner bakom sig. Både som orkester- och kördirigent har han främst inriktat part of Corde was premiered in 2004 with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra sig på barockens repertoar men han dirigerar också gärna nutida musik. Malm- under the direction of Lothar Zagrosek. In medical terminology, ’Fascia’ means the berg är även fast dirigent för Danska Radiokören och DR Vokalensemblet. Bland tissue that holds the muscles together. The title refers to the way that the orchestra de ensembler som han också ofta arbetar med finns Svenska Radiokören, Eric is connected with the solo instrument, but also to the way in which elements from Ericsons Kammarkör, Helsingfors Kammarkör, Concerto Copenhagen och Drott- different musical cultures are united. The solo instrument represents different ningholms Barockensemble. musical cultures and parts of the world, and the way in which these are connected with a complex contemporary orchestral music is the mystery of the piece. The charango is a small octave guitar, the ancestry of which can be traced from the baroque guitar. With the colonization of Latin America, it came to live on as a folk instrument traditionally made from armadillo shells. Its traditional scordatura is closely aligned to that of the baroque guitar, with which it has several idiomatic similarities. In Fascia, the charango’s double references, to both Latin American Kent Olofsson (born in Karlskrona in 1962) has become known internation- folk music and Western European baroque music, are bridged through the many ally for his chamber music—written in close collaboration with ensembles and roles of the electric guitar. musicians—that masterfully researches new sonorous worlds and performance The use of MIDI technique steers a sampler that plays sampled charango on techniques, often in combination with electronics. Our collaboration began about an electric guitar, which expands the register of the instrument beyond that which fifteen years ago and has since then been intense. Kent’s background as a guitarist is ordinarily possible and allows it to sound at the same time as the electric guitar in the symphonic rock group Opus Est is one of several reasons for the many and an “acoustic” steel-stringed guitar! The electric guitar is often played with an projects that have blazed new paths for the instrument. Corde and The Bells are E-bow, but also with classical right-hand techniques. An E-bow is an early electronic two culminations in his production; here, series of works for guitar, for percussion, tool that was developed at the end of the 1960s; the first commercial model was for choir and solo voice, and for chamber ensemble are melded together into a produced in 1976. Since then it has been used by many leading rock guitarists powerful synthetic conclusion. and several virtuoso techniques have been developed for it, such as arpeggiation, Corde (2002–06), for guitarist and orchestra, is a work in three parts: 1) Fascia volume, and timbre changes, all of which play an important part in the three E-bow (BMW kompositionspreises der Musica Viva 2002) for charango, midi-electric guitar, sections of Fascia.

36 37 The composer extracts the structural building blocks of the work from the first 23 concerto, the material from which is here expanded and varied. In the epilogue, for measures of the charango part. The rhythmic material presented here is passed on banjo with E-bow and small ensemble, some motives are again taken from Fascia: a to different orchestral groups in varying temporal layers, the longest of which is as rasgueado chord from the opening measures that quickly diminishes, a ”col legno” long as the entire movement. The five pairs of strings of the charango are tuned to with the E-bow, some campanella figures à la charango, fragments that lead to a long different intervals and the harmonies and the peculiar two-part writing that spring glissando and a cadenza for the banjo and E-bow like a diminutive aria, an overtone from this are factors that contribute to the character of the piece. Rasgueado, technique that became possible thanks to Plus E-bow (1988). The denouement of tremolo, and arpeggio techniques that are used in the charango part have also the work, with a chord in the harp, viola, and banjo followed by hands rubbing on been transformed into the orchestra and electric guitar. the lid of the banjo, is the final memory from Fascia, set to the landscape provided Aside from these strategies that are used to amalgamate the solo instrument by rattling maracas taken from the introductory measures. with the orchestra, another fundamental principle is the overlapping of different layers and formal parts. In Collagène/Fascia II and Colloïde/Fascia épilogue (2006), The thematic inspiration for The Bells is Edgar Allan Poe’s poem with the same three more stringed instruments are added to the solo part: the glissentar (a fretless title, but the references in the work stretch far beyond this text. The composer 11-stringed guitar) and 11-stringed alto guitar as well as a 5-stringed banjo. The got his first impulses to set the poem to music towards the end of the 1980s, 11-stringed alto guitar (1966) was developed by Professor Per-Olof Johnsson and the and the first version is a fragment of three pages of score for soprano, flute, and guitar maker Georg Bolin to be a guitar containing the same technical capabilities guitar from 1992. His work on the piece was then redirected towards a large work as the Italian arch lute of the early baroque period. Godin’s Glissentar is a later for choir, ensemble, and electronics, which was started during the 1990s. After creation: a fretless, double course solid body guitar with 5 double string pairs and a commission from Vox Nova and Fredrik Malmberg, a version was premiered in a single lowest string, like a hybrid between an Arabic oud and an electric guitar. 2000 that contained the two first verses set to music. The final version, commis- Thanks to the double string sets, the harmonic material from the differently tuned sioned by the Swedish Radio and the Berwald hall, was completed for the festival strings of the charango can be taken into the second movement. Stockholm New Music 2005 and premiered by the Swedish Radio Choir under the Collagène functions as a sort of afterimage of Fascia. Gestures and events return direction of James Wood. here, both in the solo part and the orchestra, transformed into a more low-key and During the summer of 1848, Poe visited a friend in New York. He was smitten fluid state. This movement is dedicated to György Ligeti, who passed away while with the desire to write a poem, but could not figure out a suitable theme. This Kent was working on the orchestral score and whose orchestral music can clearly obstacle to his creativity irritated Poe, and the distracting church bells that rang be seen as a source of inspiration. Aside from these “transcriptions” of material from a nearby church did not make his situation any easier. His friend, who wanted from Fascia, the glissentar part is a reinterpretation of an earlier solo work for the to help her troubled guest, took the church bells as her starting point and gave same instrument, Alambic II (2004), which was written as a kind of early study for the him a paper at the top of which she had written: ”The Bells, by E. A. Poe,” adding

38 39 ”The Little Silver Bells,” and later also suggesting ”The Heavy Iron Bells.” Poe culmination as in Poe’s poem. The ringing of the bells, which refer to the refrain wrote the first version of ”The Bells” that afternoon. The final result is a poem in in Poe’s text, is highly stylized in Olofsson’s work, with a rhythmic structure that four verses with an expansive form that creates a sort of refrain through the use reminds one of a central piece of material in Tarpeian Rock (1996–97) for chamber of recurring patterns from strophe to strophe. The four verses illustrate different ensemble and electronics. functions that bells have had in different stages of human life: in the first verse, The literature of art music is full of elaborate renditions of ringing bells, but the silver bells of sleighs that ring happily in the winter night; golden wedding bells here, the composer seems rather to want to go towards an abstraction, towards a and joy in the second; the bells made of ore that signify warning and fear in the complementary metric rhythmic figure that gives the work a structurally fundamental third; and in the fourth, the iron bells of death. The relationship between the piece motive. The work sinks more deeply into the sound of the four bells that also and Poe’s poem changed dramatically after the premiere of the first version. This are the source of the harmonic material in the different movements. In the third process might be described as an interpretation of the tradition from for example movement, the rhythmic material leads toward the first great climax in the form Berio, which resulted in a restructuring of the text of the work into the polyphony of a final gigantic bell tone, a foreshadowing of the culminating “bell ringing” in of sources that became the works final ”libretto.” the final minutes of the piece. Just as in the Delights movements inThe Garden of The composer’s own choice of texts expands Poe’s diverse thematic interpreta- Earthly Delights, (for guitar and chamber ensemble, 1992) the second movement’s tions of ringing bells. The quotes span over a wide field, from selections taken delirious wedding party seems to be patterned on Hieronymus Bosch. Here we from newspaper articles in 2004 via different epochs in European literary history to approach the composer’s series of Iconophonies, a group of works that were written inscriptions on the four French church bells on whose tonal spectra the harmonies of between 1988–1994—several of them inspired by Bosch. The dance-like 6/8 rhythm the work are based. The choice of texts by Baudelaire and Mallarmé add an essential and the lighter touch set this movement apart from the heavier pulsations that layer of interpretation to the work. The French symbolists, independently from one surround it. The fourth part serves a function for the form that can be likened to the another and with varying kinds of interest in their American precursor, were the final movement inIl Liuto d’Orfeo (for charango, 6 and 10 stringed guitar and tape, first group that recognized Poe’s work as being of great literary importance. When 1998–99) and constitutes a grave conclusion to the material and expressive register Baudelaire wrote Les Fleurs du mal (of which La Cloche fêlée is a part), his reading of the piece. Here, the common traits of Poe’s four verses and the four movements of Poe was a vital factor for the greater form and structure of the work. of the piece come to the fore; the symphonically conceived form in Olofsson’s work In spite of the contrapuntal fabric of different voices and the richness of detail seems to have grown out of Poe’s poem ”The Bells.” in the score, Kent Olofsson’s ”The Bells” shares the clear-cut motives and the direct Stefan Östersjö and suggestive tone of Poe’s poem. The hugely wrought form borrows fundamental elements from the poem, especially the expansive rhythmic motives that lead to the Translated by George Kentros fourth movement’s ringing iron bells and supply the piece with the same accumulative

40 41 Mario Venzago has been principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orches­tra since 2004 and his contract runs until 2007. Afterwards, he will contin- BIOGRAPHIES ue to work with the orchestra as a guest conductor. He was born in Zürich in 1948, where he was educated as a pianist and later took conducting lessons from the legendary Hans Swarowsky in Vienna. Mario Venzago has been principal conduc- Stefan Östersjö is one of the most prominent soloists within new music in Swe- tor of among others the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Graz Opera, the Deutsche den. Since his debut cd (Swedish Grammy in 1997) he has recorded extensively and Kammerphilharmonie, and the Heidelberg Opera, and has been principal conduc- toured Europe, USA and Asia. His special fields of interest are the inter­action with tor of the Indianapolis Symphony since 2001. electronics, and experimental work with different kinds of stringed instruments Mario Venzago was raised in the continental music tradition and has a strong other than the classical guitar. As a soloist he has cooperated with conductors such affinity for 20th century composers such as Janácek and Schönberg, but he burns as Lothar Zagrosek, Pierre André Valade, Mario Venzago, Franck Ollu and Tuomas just as fiercely for the standard Romantic repertoire, especially Schumann and Ollila and Giuseppe Garbarino. Bruckner. He is at present engaged in artistic research on the performance of new Venzago has a solid international reputation. He appears regularly with Mar- music at the Malmö Academy of Music, has published articles on contemporary tha Argerich, Gidon Kremer, Michail Pljetnov, Maxim Vengerov, Agnes Baltsa, and music in many contexts and has lectured and given master-classes in the USA, Krystian Zimerman, and collaborates with orchestras such as the Berlin Philhar- China and Europe monic, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Orchestre de Paris. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was formed in 1905 and consists to­day of 109 musicians. From 1982–2004, under the direction of Neeme Järvi, the Vokalharmonin (Vocal Harmony) was formed in 2003 and has since then es- orchestra performed several international tours as well as making more than 100 tablished itself as one of the most exciting vocal ensembles in Sweden. The group recordings, establishing itself as one of the most prominent orchestras in Europe. was ”artist in residence” at the Swedish Radio 2004–2005 and has been named This led to the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra being named the National Orchestra “Choir of the Year” in Sweden in 2007. The ensemble consists of singers who are of Sweden in 1997. The latest principal conductor of the orchestra has been Mario prominent soloists on an international level. Venzago, who has united the Nordic tradition with the Central European inheritance. The starting point for their work is chamber music—the solo voice in harmony He is being followed in 2007 by Gustavo Dudamel from Venezuela. with other voices and with instruments. Their repertoire consists primarily of early The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra has a strong local base and performs music, and Vocal Harmony has won acclaim for their ability to combine historical almost 100 concerts annually at the Gothenburg Concert Hall. authenticity with pioneering interpretations. The ensemble also has great inter-

42 43 est in contemporary classical music, which has resulted in among other things premieres of works written directly for the ensemble.

Fredrik Malmberg, conductor and artistic director for Vocal Harmony, is one of the most sought-after choir conductors in Scandinavia and has also appeared across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as having made several radio and CD productions. As both a choir and orchestra conductor he has specialized in repertoire from the Baroque period, but he often conducts contemporary classical music as well. Malmberg is also the conductor of the Danish Radio Choir and DR Vokalensemblet. Ensembles he often works with include the Swedish Radio Choir, Eric Ericson Chamber Choir, Helsinki Chamber Choir, Concerto Copen­hagen, and the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble.

44 45 Corde — for guitarist and orchestra 1. Fascia (2002) — for charango, electric MIDI-guitar and orchestra 2. Collagène/Fascia II (2006) — for glissentar, 11-stringed alto guitar and orchestra 3. Colloïde/Fascia épilogue (2006) — for banjo, oboes, harp, percussion and violas

Stefan Östersjö, charnago, e-bow, guitars and banjo; Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; Mario Venzago, conductor Recording producer: Lennart Dehn Recording and balance engineer: Torbjörn Samuelsson The Bells — for vocal ensembles, harp, two contrabasses, Mastering: Torbjörn Samuelsson two percussionists, keyboards and electronics (2000/04–05) English translation: George Kentros Graphic design & photography: Julian Birbrajer 4. Silver Bells Cover photography: Lucky Look Images Executive producer and editor: Ann Marie Belfrage 5. Golden Bells 6. Brazen Bells A Phono Suecia-recording produced by STIM (The Swedish Performing Rights Society), Stockholm. 7. Iron Bells P.O. Swedish Music Information Centre, Box 27327, se–102 54 Stockholm, Sweden. Vokalharmonin; Stephen Fitzpatrick, harp; Staffan Sjöholm and Thomas Gertonsson, www.phonosuecia.com double bass; Mårten Landström, piano; Mats Nilsson and Karl Thorsson, percussion; Also available at swedishmusicshop.se Fredrik Malmberg, conductor ©& p 2007, Swedish Music Information Centre

Total time: x:x

Recorded in the Concert Hall, Gothenborg on August 10–11 and 28–29, 2006 (1–3); in Studio 2, Radiohuset, Stockholm on June 9–12, 2007 (4–7)