The concert is also avilable on youtube. HERE
For my final concert, I wanted to present work related to my third and fourth project: “Own Copositions” and “Espen Aalberg / En En En.” Earlier in my research, I had presented the other parts of my research on other concerts.
To show a more complete picture of the complexity in the whole "Eastern Rebellion" project, I decided to add “Ilir-Ilir” from “The Bali Tapes.” Through “Ilir-Ilir,” I could also add the melodic improvisation on the Trompong instrument, which for me is “the” melodic gamelan instrument.
My composition “Duo for Vibraphone and Marimba” was premiered at this concert. The preparation for the performance of this piece was massive. Both Lars Sitter and I thought the third movement was maybe the most challenging we have ever played—not regarding individual parts, but the extreme intricate interplay was an enormous concentration task. We started in preparation in January 2020 and made a rehearsal plan that led to the concert set to the 8th of May. Due to the coronavirus, I had to postpone the concert, and everything here was put on hold. We started to rehearse again in August.
As mentioned in my reflection regarding “Duo for Vibraphone and Marimba,” I had to revise movement 1 for pragmatic and musical reasons. The pragmatic reason was the amount of preparation it needed. The musical reason was that it had too many parts, and I wanted a more musically united, manageable idea. I am delighted with the musical result. In performance, something always happens that should not, but that is part of performing music, especially with the premiere of a long, challenging piece of music.
The second part of the concert was “Espen Aalberg / En En En,” an improvisation-based piece. The musical concept is to unite the sonic landscape of Southeast Asia with Western instruments. The recording “Espen Aalberg / En En En” was done as a quartet, featuring Tor Haugerud, Michael Duch, and Eirik Hegdal. For the concert, I decided to ask Daniel Formo and Matilda Rolfsson to join the performance. Daniel is a pianist and organ player, and I asked Daniel to play the prepared piano, in addition to the Hammond organ. I had the idea to add the “John Cage gamelan element” to the expression, and I was excited when Daniel prepared the piano according to Cage’s recipe. The prepared piano blends exceptionally with drums, wooden sounds, and general gamelan instruments. Percussionist Matilda Rolfsson has a unique touch, and her exceptional performance suits the total sonic qualities of all the musical expressions.