reconstruction iii/portrait of a city with sewing machines consists of a large embroidered score approximately four by three metres that is read and experienced by the musicians and the audience together.
The starting point for the work is an artistic interpretation and presentation of Oslo's textile production, focusing on the small sewing businesses that have been part of the city's arteries for centuries. The sewing rooms in Oslo, or the small sewing companies that work with simple, often private orders, represent a continuous line back in time. This is work carried out in small units, often with just one seamstress. The work and the soundscape in the sewing rooms have not changed much over the last hundred years. Clearly the sewing machines have improved over the years, from foot-powered to electric to digitally programmable but the work itself is much the same as it used to be. Nevertheless, these businesses are a somewhat hidden part of Oslo's cityscape.
Developing the embroidered score was a major part of my work on the piece: notation, visual design, choice of colours, size and how to play from it, and of course the embroidery itself was a huge task. A large, shared, embroidered score to be used by all the musicians, and at the same time to be seen by the audience, presents different challenges to those normally encountered in the design of musical scores. The score is based on the building stock of Oslo as seen from different vantage points around the city. It is not a true representation of the city, but my impression of the city as seen from these points.
reconstruction iii/portrait of a city with sewing machines was written for Alpaca Ensemble and was premiered in Oslo, Sentralen January 25th 2024.
At ARW 2024 the work was performed at Dokkhuset Thursday October 24th.
Alpaca Ensemble: Elena Perales Andreu clarinet, Gjertrud Pedersen bass clarinet, Eivind Lønning trumpet, Emil Bø trombone, Espen Aalberg, Henriette Kolset percussion. Børge Brustad violin, Marianne Baudouin Lie violincello
Orchestra of sewing machines: Amelia Snerte, Elvira Snerte, Daniela Melanie Schwarzer, Øygunn Hauffen, Johanna Håbrekke, Elise Sørensen, Hanne Rekdal
Conductor: Lene Grenager
reconstruction iii/portrait of a city with sewing machines
for embroidered score, sewing machines, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, trumpet, 2 percussion, violin and cello (30 min)
