MAJA BOSNIC - ‘VESSELS (160935km)’ (2020, rev. 2021)

CONTEXT 

A collaboration with composer Maja Bosnić translated itself into the composition of ‘Vessels (160935km)’ for amplified harp, video, and smartphone.

It is a piece inspired by our constant occupation with the future and worries about unstoppable time flow. In this work various kinds of continuous flows of different speeds, densities, and textures, are perplexed. More specifically, it was inspired by a fusion of two ideas of continuous flows that define us: imagining blood cells running through vessels in a body, as well as a vehicle driving on the highway, which is why the title could refer to both concepts. (Bosnic, M. 2020)

In her music, Maja re-questions and examines accustomed phenomena in the process of music making, exposes them to concepts of everyday life (habits of the society, modern trends, pop culture, science, etc.) then resets them in compositions that often include audience action in the performance. She is interested in the creative power of non-musicians and music amateurs and likes leading workshops that engage the community into gathered sound making experience. She is drawn to impossible missions, absurd solutions, limited material, playfulness, uncertain outcomes, treating instruments as ready-made objects of expression and treating real life objects as music instruments. (Bosnic, M. 2021)

On delivery of the draft she also added instructions in view of the performance:

All different textures are like objects, they should always be performed identically to their previous appearance. Switches between the textures should be perceived as quick cuts in between movie scenes.

(M. Bosnić, personal communication, May 3, 2020)

The next step was for the composer to transcribe the audio sketch into a score (which you can find on the right-hand side) for me to check. I went through the score in detail to see where any adjustments would be needed. As she had started from an audio sketch, of course there was the possibility that certain things would turn out to be difficult to perform. In addition, we had to think about how to describe the various techniques in the hope future harpists would be able to perform the work as we had envisaged it.

At this point in the creation we had another video call to go over the formulation of the performance notes. Following this call a final version of the score was shaped by the composer.

After working extensively on the piece by Maja Bosnić in view of an inaugural performance a number of issues came to light in terms of the performance. In particular regarding the use of the fingernails, as they are not equipped for such intensive use. It also turned out that a switch of hands for a couple of the techniques was recommendable.

You can find an inaugural audio- and videorecording below.

FRANK NUYTS - ‘A WHISTLEBLOWERS’ TALE’ (2021) & ‘THE SHADOW TWINS’ (2019)

CONTEXT

My collaboration with composer Frank Nuyts translated itself into the composition of ‘A whistleblowers’ tale’ for harp and flute and ‘The Shadow Twins’ for harp and piano.

" ‘A whistleblowers’ tale’ is a kind of ‘audio story’, a generic story even, of a whistleblower who, after an ethical struggle with himself, brings out the nasty practises of those who pull the strings “(yes, I had the harp in mind when I went down that road)”. Because ‘the system is rigged’. I knew I wanted to end rather melancholy, (Snowdon in Moscow?) but not too romantic either, rather like ‘engineer’ Philip Glass understands ‘emotion’. Because a nerd is usually not a very emotional person, right?" (Nuyts F. 2021)

Frank Nuyts is an all-round composer with a solid reputation, whose music is played all around the globe. He feels at home in many genres and makes a point of introducing a lot of variety, loads of energy and a grand dose of humour into his work. These days, music has become yet again more ephemeral. Like never before, music is currently recorded, streamed and distributed torrentially, but often leaves a scant trace, gotten lost in a digital world not really concerned about its past. Frank Nuyts acknowledges this – accepts this – but also feels the necessity to counter somewhat this trend by writing down music on more time resisting carriers, (beautifully crafted scores), while playing it too in specifically established bands (Beat Love Oracle and Hardscore), hoping so that a coming generation might discover an artistic attitude which cleverly embraces past and future in an inviting and meaningful way. In short: Frank Nuyts, not unlike Frank Zappa and Stravinsky in the former century, aims to be a composer who creates challenging music to play and to play with. (Nuyts, F.)

PROCESS

In stark contrast with the in-depth collaboration with Maja Bosnić, Frank Nuyts composed autonomously on both pieces. It should however be noted that he, contrary to Maja Bosnić, has extensive experience writing for the harp. In addition their compositional languages differ to a great extent: Frank Nuyts largely making use of established musical tools. 

I will outline the process that went into the composition of ‘The Shadow Twins’ (the process for ‘A whistleblowers’ tale’ was similar). I had inquired about a response to André Caplet’s Conte Fantastique, which of course had the potential to take on various forms. Caplet, for example, based his work on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death, which opened the door to use Allan Poe as an inspiration. After this initial inquiry and subsequent conversation about the theme, style and duration, Frank Nuyts and I were in touch again when he provided me with a draft of his finished score. In other words I was not involved in the compositional process itself. On delivery of the score, he asked me to check it and provide him with all the necessary feedback.

I provided the score with notes (which can be found on the right-hand side) and communicated the following to the composer:

As you can see, I moved some pedals (that is to some extent due to preferences) and also added some pedals that seemed to be missing. The pedal diagrams that you can find in various places, were a means to keep an overview of the pedal changes while going through the work. I made enharmonic changes in a few places as it would benefit the pedal changes and sound (mostly to make sure they are not audible): measures 61, 165, 168, 417.

Everything seemed more or less do-able, a bit of a surprise occasionally, but certainly playable! The only thing that will be difficult is the glissando in the penultimate measure of the first page and the glissando in measure 44 on the second page. The one on the first page is very difficult because of the quick change of direction and speed in which it should be played. I might be able to make it work if the glissando were allowed to continue downwards for a little longer (perhaps until the la one octave lower?). It also depends a bit on whether the precision really matters or it’s more about an effect… I have tried the glissando in measure 44 with different fingerings, but I can’t get there because on the last beat the la (and the left the mi) has to be played in the right hand and I don’t manage to make the jump in the right hand at that tempo. I don’t immediately see a solution that would preserve the effect of the glissando, except perhaps a very quick short one to suggest the idea of the glissando?

Please, let me know what you think…

Just a few more things I was wondering about:

• The scale in 89 must be played and is not a glissando, is it?

• In the glissando in 168, there is a G natural, but I suspect this should not be the case?

• Should it be D natural in 257?

• The glissando in 377 should be played with an A natural?

• Did you write the harmonics where they are played or how they should sound? Those in 367 and 368 for example are very high to play, there is a success rate of about 35%.

(S. Van Vynckt, personal communication, July 15, 2019)

Frank Nuyts proceeded to make corrections to the score, which he clarified in a separate document. At this point in time, he also provided me with an extensive background on the piece; how he had approached the compositional process, how he had structured the work and where he had found inspiration.

The young harpist Stef Van Vynckt asked me to write a piece for his Master’s Recital that could possibly be a reply to André Caplet’s ʻConte Fantastiqueʼ, a 1919 composition for harp and string quartet for which Caplet was inspired by a novella by Edgar Allen Poe (The Mask of the Red Death). Debussy, who was a very good friend of Caplet, also planned two short operas on Poe stories. The predilection for the harp is striking, by the way, in both their lists of works.

The harp, of course, is always associated with a kind of magic, with a fairy-like and/or exotic atmosphere. We can find such elements in the story of Poe, but in the end it is a typical Gothic story, in which death and destruction predominate. Well, this is not something I like to reflect on. If at all possible, I choose the more positive aspects of life. And humour… It is the word ‘reflection’ that suddenly evoked a specific soundimage in me. More specifically the opposite of reflection (or reflection in the literal sense), namely shadow. The harp, an instrument with no mechanical damping, casts a kind of shadow over the ‘drier’ notes of the piano.

The Shadow, is an archetypal element in many pulp stories (the devil in

Stravinky’s The Rake’s Progress is also called Nick Shadow). I also recalled I once saw a front cover of a ‘Shadow’ pulp novel in a second-hand bookshop in Brussels. I searched the internet, and indeed a certain Walter B. Gybson has written some 325 novels with that Shadow as the main character! From all those novel titles I made a selection, and eventually chose five that would form the basis for the piece. The content of those novels did not interest me. I just chose titles which could be associated with a musical element.

I also determined that the piece would last 13 minutes, another ʻgoticʼ

element. (Nuyts, F. 2019)

After going through an intensive rehearsal process with the pianist, I invited the composer for a run-through of the work. Of course it was a luxury to be able to work with the composer present in the room (which, as you can imagine, has not been easy during these last couple of months). Frank Nuyts provided us with background, his personal intentions and commented on articulations, dynamics, timbres, images to keep in mind, etc.

Since she based the material on personal concepts for textures of sounds and noises, rather than confining herself to existing harpistic techniques, I had total freedom to experiment, in search of the best way to convey the soundimage she seemed to describe. From the very beginning I had a major role to play as an instrumentalist; it were my personal translations and interpretations of her sound ideas, I thus influenced the compositional material to a large extent. After I gave her the material, we had an online meeting to fine-tune certain sounds. You can listen to the ‘material workshop’ I recorded based on the score Maja Bosnić provided me with below.

Maja Bosnić proceeded to draft an audio sketch for the piece from the audio recordings I provided; a patchwork in other words. It was also at this point that she opted to write the piece for amplified harp with smartphone, bluetooth speaker and an optional video.

This initial low-fi and raw draft would serve as a blueprint for what was going to be the score, sketching the structure and musical narrative.

DAI FUJIKURA - ‘FLOATING FIREFLIES’ (2021)

CONTEXT 

My collaboration with composer Dai Fujikura translated itself into the composition of ‘Floating Fireflies’ for harp solo. 

Dai Fujikura, born in Osaka, was fifteen when he moved to the UK. He has since gained a worldwide reputation, with his music being performed by leading ensembles and orchestras all over the world. All he wanted in his life was to compose his own music, something he has been doing since he was eight years old, regardless of what it could mean to other people. His compositions are generally categorised as ‘contemporary classical music’, which he himself says is not his choice, as he always thought of his music as easy listening to top of the chart pop music. 

According to Dai Fujikura, inspiration can be found everywhere in everyday life. Most significantly, by watching his daughter growing and changing every day: “The one and only good thing about being a composer is that you get to stay home and work, so you will not miss any of these magical times. I have written many works inspired by the specific parts of these situations, from early pregnancy to 2-day-old baby, movement of 2 week old cheeks, learning to walk, etc.” 

He focuses on an element that catches his attention, intrigues him and the whole piece unwinds from this concept. Moreover he connects the experience of music with the other senses: “As I compose, I might think, If you eat this sound, what would happen in your mouth? Maybe it’s crispy on the outside and there’s something warm on the inside. Does something ooze out of it? The music of some composers leaves me with a very bad aftertaste, and therefore I cannot like it.” (Fujikura, D.)

PROCESS 

For Dai Fujikura the conversations with the musician he is writing for are a great source of inspiration: “It is so important that I have these musicians in mind when I am composing.” Consequently, he has a liking for extensive dialogue and input from the instrumentalist. We talked about our views and feelings surrounding the piece frequently and freely. Dai Fujikura often composes in direct communication with musicians for whom he writes his works. This is usually done via online chat and by sending fragments of the score to musicians and requesting them to record or film them onto their smartphones and send them back to him. This was also the way Mr. Fujikura and I communicated. 

Before putting a note on paper, Dai Fujikura took a lot of time to discuss my expectations, talking about the elements that appeal to me about the harp, the things I would definitely like to put in the spotlight. He tries to understand the instrumentalist, he strives to compose a work that captures the personality and passion that the musician has for the instrument.

Throughout February and March 2021, Dai Fujikura repeatedly sent me score fragments (sometimes even on a daily basis) that he had worked on - with each new version, the score developed further, the work took on more shape, and different passages evolved. I provided him with videos (and audio recordings) in which I went through the new elements; primarily to bring the sound to life - that way he could get a better idea of the overall sound picture. In addition, I also provided him with feedback, explaining the consequences of certain writings, sharing things to keep in mind while composing (regarding sound development, pedalling, point of contact with the strings, articulations, projection, tessitura, etc.). In the right-hand margin, you can find a sample of the score fragments that the composer provided me with. This incidentally is the very first fragment I received. Over the weeks, the fragments continued to evolve.

You can find an inaugural audio- and videorecording of the final version of Floating Fireflies below.

PROCESS

Maja Bosnić and I collaborated closely, constantly exchanging ideas with each other. She approached the work conceptually, looking for timbres, sounds, noises that would contribute to her musical destination. Of course, her personal compositional quest plays a major role in this. When I first contacted her about writing a piece for harp solo she talked about exploring various masses of sounds mixed with various ways of cuts in the form; fusing different entities into one sound producing medium. Though from the very onset she worked in constant dialogue with me, mainly via email and video calls; asking technical questions, checking if I was comfortable with certain ideas and executions.

She had decided early on in the process that the piece was going to be entirely on the wire strings. She proceeded to share a lot of different thoughts on elements she wanted to implement, asking for my view on things. To indicate how things were early on in the process, I share an email she wrote on the 14the of April 2020:

The piece is going to be entirely on the wire strings, with very little (if any at all) changing of the pedals during the piece (maybe just B and A pressing only to buzz occasionally?). How do you feel about sitting on the opposite end of the harp, and letting it just stand on its own (without leaning on your shoulder)? Or would you propose something else? Since you will change your orientation of the strings, would you prefer working in a graphic score, rather than showing approximate pitches, for less confusion? Then, for instance, higher pitches would still mean strings closer to your new (opposite) sitting, and lower pitches would be strings further away from you. Or would you rather have pitch position in score match sounding results? There are going to be elements of “mechanical/industrial/machinery” impressions and it will ask for very fast and probably loud playing for several minutes. Now, this would require “marathon” training routine, so you would have to practice these parts only for 10 minutes every day for two months, in order to gradually build endurance and not put your ligaments in danger. However, once you build the endurance and manage to perform it “like a machine”, it will create a great amazement in everyone witnessing and great tension musically in the work, too.

What are your thoughts and ideas, regarding all this?

Many thanks!

(M. Bosnić, personal communication, April 14, 2020)

In a second stage of the collaboration we quickly realised that all video chat softwares are horrible for instrumental sounds. As they are all adjusted to speaking voices, they automatically equalise dynamics and cancel all noise. She therefore assembled her sketches and materials she was interested in possibly using on a score and asked me to record myself while trying out those materials, creating a kind of ‘material workshop’ for her to use.