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20th and 21st Century Practices in The Music Of Björk

During the past two decades it has become fashionable for newspapers and music magazines to periodically promote “the death of classical music”. The most recent and widely- read example of one such article was published by Slate in January 2014, titled “Requiem:

Classical Music In America Is Dead”.1 Although much of the article is founded on generalizations, such as using the television show Modern Family as a representation for public opinion, it does make reference to other academic and fact-based articles such as

Greg Sandow's research on the increasing average age of the classical music listening audience. The underlying message of all such articles is perhaps best summed up by Naxos writer John Steinmetz, who writes, “Our culture now has musical needs that classical music cannot meet…classical music, through no fault of its own, has fallen out of step with current values”2. However, the problem with articles of this kind is that they fail to separate the institution of classical music from classical music itself, which does not strictly live within opera houses or recital halls. The influence of classical music, especially 20th and 21st Century classical music, is alive and well with artists such as David Bowie, Grizzly Bear, and perhaps most famously, Björk. The ideas surrounding and , the use of technology in music, and cultural themes which emerged during the 20th century are an integral part of

Björk's music, and her commercial success over the past two decades proves that the values and techniques of modern classical music are still relevant to younger audiences.

Of all the musical techniques that emerged during the 20th century, the ones concerned

1 Mark Vanhoenacker, “Requiem: Classical Music In America Is Dead.” Slate Magazine, January 21, 2014, accessed March 1, 2014, http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/01/classical_music_sales_decline_is_classical_on_death_s_door.html

2 John Steinmetz, “Step Away From The Pedestal.” ArtsJournal, August 15, 2010, accessed March 1, 2014, http://www.naxos.com/news/?op=331&displayMenu=Naxos_News&type=2 2 with harmony and melody were perhaps the most radical and noticeable to the average listener. Some of these techniques include sprechstimme, tone clusters, and harmonic stasis, all of which can be heard in Björk's music. To examine her use of these techniques it is first relevant to acknowledge her background in classical music. In a 2001 conversation with photographer Juergen Teller, she reveals, “I went to music school for ten years, but I rebelled against it. I felt the school was too controlling, and I didn't understand what a ten-year-old

Icelandic girl had to do with all these three-hundred-year-old German guys. (...) I thought we should think more about this century, and more about composers that were closer to us”3.

This affinity for 20th century composers would continue throughout her career, and she would later acknowledge Schoenberg's influence in the song , which samples his piece

Transfigured Night. Björk's connection with Schoenberg can be heard more deeply in her vocal style, which is at times influenced by sprechstimme, a vocal technique between singing and speech that was used most famously in Schoenberg's Lunaire. At one point she even learned and rehearsed it for months with an orchestra conducted by

Kent Nagano. Her biographer Mark Pytlik writes, “Nagano was reportedly so impressed with the results that he invited her to attend Switzerland's Verbier Festival as his special guest”, where she would perform the work in public for the first time. In Björk's own music, the influence of sprechstimme is ingrained in her trademark vocal delivery, which frequently makes use of alternation between speech and singing, often blurring the line between the two4. One example of this is the track ?, in which her delivery is strikingly similar to the method which Schoenberg described sprechstimme should be achieved. In the foreword to Pierrot Lunaire, he wrote that one should become, “...acutely aware of the difference between singing tone and speaking tone: singing tone unalterably stays on the 3 Juergen Teller, “Björk, 2001,” Index Magazine. 4 Mark Pytlik, Björk: Wow and Flutter (Toronto: ECW Press, 2003), 110. 3 pitch, whereas speaking tone gives the pitch but immediately leaves it again by falling or rising”5. On Where Is The Line?, Björk demonstrates her awareness of this difference, and her use of subtly-pitched spoken word and approximated pitches achieve an effect that is very close to sprechstimme. In a broader sense, Björk's melodic sense is informed by the freedom of this technique – the idea that things need not be exact reoccurs throughout her work.

Harmonically, the defining characteristic of early 20th century art music was the expanded use of chromaticism. One of the techniques used to achieve dense chromatic textures was tone clusters – chords made up of adjacent pitches which first garnered attention in the music of . This technique was later explored by composers such as György Ligeti, whose Atmosphères and other works entered the ears of the general public after appearing in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. On Björk's latest release,

Biophilia, tone clusters are heavily used, especially on the tracks Dark Matter and

Thunderbolt. Dark Matter is a piece for multi-tracked voice and organ that features Björk harmonizing with herself accompanied by tone clusters of varying density. At times, the piece brings to mind the tense opening moments of Atmosphères, and the general texture of tone clusters played on organ is comparable to Liegti's , a study for solo organ. Organ was also used on Thunderbolt, in which tone clusters are used in a less obvious way. This time, the clusters appear in the background vocal textures which Björk created using the pitch modification software Melodyne. In an analysis of Thunderbolt, Nikki Dibben notes, “This software was originally developed to allow users to alter the pitch and timing of vocal phrase to create a more "in-tune" and "in-time" performance, but Björk used it to make harmonies: she arranged the vocals by recording herself singing a part and the created new material using the software. One result of this is that many more of the harmonies are made up from

5 . Verklärte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire (New York: Dover Publications, 1994), 54. 4 notes next to each other on the musical scale ("cluster chords") than in her previous work”6. In

Thunderbolt, the tone clusters are an addition to the overall texture which is dominated by a repeated bass line and heavy percussion, rather than the backbone of the texture as in Dark

Matter. Both songs can be seen as contrasting uses of the technique which makes up a large part of the harmonic language present in Biophilia.

Another technique which emerged in 20th century art music, particularly during the later half of the century, was harmonic stasis – the continuous repetition of a single harmony. This technique was used in many other styles of music such as Indian classical, experimental and even pop before it became widely used by 20th century classical composers. In a 2010 lecture, Steve Reich describes hearing the use of harmonic stasis on 's

Africa/Brass and 's Maggie's Farm, and he admits, “without that, I never would have done what I've done, Riley never would've written , etc etc”7. The repetition of a single harmony can be used to create either a tense or relaxed atmosphere (depending on the harmony used), and also allows the composer to emphasize other aspects of the music such as texture or melody. Harmonic stasis was a common technique of minimalist composers such as Reich and Riley, and was later used by Björk on the album Medúlla, released in 2004. On the track Öll Birtan, a single harmony unfolds through the use of multi- tracked voices which creates a stagnant atmosphere that is somehow tense at the same time.

In an in-depth study of Medúlla, Victoria Malawey describes how Björk is able to achieve this, writing, “ [Öll Birtan] suggests timelessness through its static use of a single harmony —a perpetual incomplete dominant seventh comprised of pitches D, F#, and C. (...) Throughout the song, the gradually unfolding D7 sonority is never resolved, nor are there other functional

6 “Thunderbolt,” bjork.fr, accessed March 8, 2014, http://www.bjork.fr/Thunderbolt 7 “Steve Reich on Harmonic Stasis @ RBMA 2010,” Youtube video, 5:18, posted by “Red Bull Music Academy”, February 16, 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqmBCRpyLD0 5 harmonies which would give the song some sort of directed motion toward a harmonic goal”8.

This is an example of another aspect of Björk's harmonic language – her use of functional chords in a non-functional setting allows for greater harmonic freedom while still retaining consonant sonorities, and in this way she identifies with the tradition of minimalist thought.

Björk's use of both melodic and harmonic techniques that originated in the 20th century are important when considering the relevance of modern classical music in contemporary culture.

Her commercial success proves that there is a sizeable audience for music with unpredictable and non-traditional harmonies – both of which are common characteristics of modern classical music.

Another characteristic of 20th century classical music was the use of technology to introduce new sounds into compositions. These sounds can be generally classified into two categories – entirely new sounds created by electronic instruments, and “found sounds” incorporated into compositions through the use of electronic tape. Björk has made use of both types of sounds, especially in terms of the percussive aspect of her music. Her use of new sounds created by electronic instruments is very much comparable with the ideas of 20th century futurist Luigi Russolo. Russolo believed that in order for music to advance, it was necessary to expand the range of sounds typically used by composers. In his manifesto The

Art Of Noises he outlined how this was to be achieved, writing, “Futurist musicians must substitute for the limited variety of tones possessed by orchestral instruments today the infinite variety of tones of noises, reproduced with appropriate mechanisms”9. Russolo later manufactured such appropriate mechanisms in the forms of instruments such as a burster, a hummer and a crackler, which produced sounds similar to an early automobile engine, an

8 Victoria Malawey, “Harmonic Stasis and Oscillation in Björk’s Medúlla”, Music Theory Online 16 (2010), accessed March 15, 2014, http://www.mtosmt.org/issues/mto.10.16.1/mto.10.16.1.malawey.html

9 Luigi Russolo, The Art Of Noise (Something Else Press: 1967) 11. 6 electric motor, and a machine gun, respectively10. Björk's latest album, Biophilia, enlisted a number of innovative instruments such as a sharpsicord, a gravity harp and a gamaleste. The instrument that most embodies Russolo's idea that noises are valid tools in music-making, however, is the singing Tesla coil that is featured on Thunderbolt. This massive coil that hangs in a cage above Björk during live performances is used to produce pitched electrical noises that form the bass line of the song. The approach towards instrumentation on Biophilia very much reflects the ideas that Russolo outlined in The Art Of Noises, and proves that they are still relevant in the 21st century, perhaps even more so than in his own time.

Björk has also been known to incorporate “found sounds” in her music, especially in collaboration with the duo Matmos. The idea of using found sounds in music was first used by French composer , who called his experiments musique concrète. Schaeffer's main goal, in his own words, “was to collect concrete sounds, wherever they came from, and to abstract the musical values they were potentially containing”11. This is exactly the process that Björk and Matmos employed while creating the album .

Much of the percussion on the album was created through the modification of sounds collected by both Björk and Matmos. For example, Unison samples a camera shutter, while the snare drum sound on Aurora was created by the recorded sound of shoes crunching through snow. In an interview with the instrument company Roland, Drew, who makes up half of Matmos, offered insight into the compositional process, saying, “I made some of the for the song “Aurora” by sampling just the sound of the spit on Björk’s lips as they would separate, and I’d turn that into a snare or a kick so it felt incredibly intimate and close”12. This process of recording a sound and finding an inherent musical value in it, such as

10 Barclay Brown, “The Noise Instruments of Luigi Russolo,” Perspectives of New Music 20 (1981) 31-48. 11 Jean de Reydellet, “Pierre Schaeffer, 1910-1995, The Founder of “Musique Concrète,” Computer Music Journal 20 (1996) 10-11. 12 Greg Rule, “Matmos: Mad V-Synth Science,” Roland Users Group, accessed March 15, 2014 7 the rhythmic value of Björk's footsteps or breaths, is exactly the technique employed by Pierre

Schaeffer over half a century earlier. Through the use of computer programs and modern technology, Björk and Matmos were able to enhance Schaeffer's ideas while still remaining true to their original essence. Overall, the ideas of both Schaeffer and Russolo regarding the use of technology in music have flourished in the 21st century through musicians such as

Björk, who continue to develop their ideas through the use of new technology.

The role of technology in not only affected the musical elements such as melody, harmony, and instrumentation, but also the subjects and themes with which composers concerned themselves. Two extremes emerged in this regard – music inspired solely by the natural world, and music that dealt with themes of technology and its implications on the world. Björk's musical output is unique in that it deals with both of these these themes and combines them to create a deeper musical meaning. One example of a composer whose works deal with themes of nature is the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

The imagery created by his music draws deeply from his Finnish roots, such as in the works

Kalevala, The Oceanides, and Lemminkainen in Tuonela, which make reference to the far north, waves and icy winds13. For Sibelius, the use of naturalistic 'tone-painting' was a way to express his inner feelings through music while also making reference to his surrounding environment. Similarly, the idea of nature in Björk's work is primarily inspired by her home country of Iceland and its various contrasting landscapes. This evolves with each album she releases, and as Nicola Dibben notes, “The specific idea of nature referenced in Björk's music differs with each recording project: the sea is referenced in the lyrics and visual material of

Debut (1993), rural and volcanic landscapes on Post (1995) and Homogenic (1997), winter

http://www.rolandus.com/community/roland_users_group/article/46 13 Michael Scott Rohan, “Jean Sibelius,” Classical-Music.com, accessed March 15, 2014, http://www.classical- music.com/topic/jean-sibelius 8 landscapes on Vespertine (2001), the body on Médulla (2004), and the sea, earth and the human body on Volta (2007)”14. Like Sibelius, she equates these ideas of nature with specific feelings which ultimately creates a musical world complete with imagery and emotion – for example, the theme of winter landscapes is associated with the feeling of intimacy on

Vespertine.

The other extreme, music that dealt with themes of technology, emerged in the late

20th century and continues to be a popular topic for composers to explore. One such composer is Tod Machover, whose opera Death And The Powers explores the idea of the self in a futuristic world. The protagonist, Simon Powers, abandons his dying body and takes the form of a computer system, and pleads with his family to do the same15. This work deals with human emotions such as familial love in a purely technological environment. In a similar way,

Björk deals with the subject of sexual love in an entirely robotic world created in the music video for . In the video, two robot characters are seen in an erotic sequence and, “the form and facial expression of the two cyborg characters are modelled on Björk's, and they lip-synch to Björk's singing voice at various moments, blurring the distinction between human and machine”16. Both All Is Full Of Love and Death And The Powers deal with the juxtaposition of human emotions with robots and computers, which are typically portrayed as being non-emotional objects. Björk's music, which infuses her ideas about human emotions with her ideas concerning nature and technology expresses the overall view that humans, nature and technology are all compatible. This view is most clearly expressed in the album Biophilia, which combines lyrics dealing with nature and human emotions accompanied by electronic textures. Ultimately, Björk combines the themes that emerged in

14 Nicola Dibben, Björk (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2009), 56. 15 “Death And The Powers”, Opera Philadelphia, accessed March 15, 2014, http://www.operaphila.org/death-and-powers 16 Nicola Dibben, Björk (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2009), 91. 9

20th and 21st century classical music and uses them to develop a statement that is relevant to modern audiences.

In summary, the influence of 20th and 21st century classical music on Björk's work can be clearly heard through her use of melody and harmony, the role of technology in her work, and the subjects which she explores through music. Her popularity as an artist – she has sold millions of albums worldwide and frequently headlines music festivals such as Bonnaroo or

Bluesfest – might be surprising considering that her music draws so much from modern classical music, and that she is just as much a serious composer as she is a pop star. It is clear, then, that there is a growing audience for music that employs complex harmonic and melodic techniques, and deals with complex subject material. The institution of classical music might be in decline, but the music itself continues to thrive through musicians such as

Björk, who might someday be studied as a model for composers in the 21st century. 10

Bibliography

Vanhoenacker, Mark. “Requiem: Classical Music In America Is Dead.” Slate Magazine, January 21, 2014, http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/01/classical_music_sales_decline_is_cla ssical_on_death_s_door.html

John Steinmetz. “Step Away From The Pedestal.” ArtsJournal, August 15, 2010, accessed March 1, 2014, http://www.naxos.com/news/?op=331&displayMenu=Naxos_News&type=2

Teller, Juergen. “Björk, 2001,” Index Magazine, 2001.

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Schoenberg, Arnold. Verklärte Nacht and Pierrot Lunaire. New York: Dover Publications, 1994. bjork.fr. “Thunderbolt.” accessed March 8, 2014. http://www.bjork.fr/Thunderbolt

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Russolo, Luigi. The Art Of Noise. Something Else Press: 1967.

Brown, Barclay. “The Noise Instruments of Luigi Russolo.” Perspectives of New Music 20 (1981) 31-48. de Reydellet, Jean. “Pierre Schaeffer, 1910-1995, The Founder of “Musique Concrète.” Computer Music Journal 20 (1996) 10-11.

Rule, Greg. “Matmos: Mad V-Synth Science.” Roland Users Group, accessed March 15, 2014 http://www.rolandus.com/community/roland_users_group/article/46

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“Death And The Powers”. Opera Philadelphia, accessed March 15, 2014, http://www.operaphila.org/death-and-powers