percussion
vib., mar., tub.bells, glock., medium tam-tam, 3 tom-toms
comment
A Flight of Fourteen Vowels is a sort of tapestry with fourteen images. In each one the melodic and rhythmic aspects tempt to dissolve into a certain general colour, so the memory will retain principally the general effect of the image rather than the threads it is woven with. Some of the images are closely related, share the same background or texture, some are the reverse side of the former image and some are a sort of reflection on the preceding images. The work was commissioned by the Hafnarfjördur Chamber Ensemble for its concerts in Hafnarfjördur and Bucarest in 1994.
main performances
Hafnarfjordur, London, Bucarest, March 1994 (Kammersveit Hafnarfjardar)
| FLECTE LAPIS II | 1998 cl (Bass cl) , Keyboard as above 14’
comment
Given the clear-cut formal structure of Flecte Lapis, and the fact that its material and some of its sounds are derived from a clarinet-like spectre, I envisaged the possibility of adding a solo clarinet part to the practically unchanged sampler part. This version was premiered in Reykjavík in 1998 at the Erkitid Festival, which also commissioned this version.
For performers: While preparing the clarinet part I met with Gudni Franzson. Blame him if this seems to be unplayable. Actually it isn’t. There are no rhytmically overcomplex passages or such, just a lot of special effects and some microtones. The special effects allow some variation in interpretation. Then there is one improvised passage. So the character of the piece is quite “crossover-ish”. Still, I guess you need to be one of those “just-write-it-I’ll-play-it” clarinettists that are around…
main performances
Reykjavík, October 1998 (Gudni Franzson (cl), Snorri S. Birgisson (kb))
Milan, November 20, 1999 (Rocco Carbonara (cl), Aldo Orvieto (kb))
Reykjavík, April 5, 2003, Gudni Franzson + computer
Technical requirements
Master keyboard with midi pedal, AKAI sampler mod. 3000 (3200), PowerMac with Max 3.0, mixer (6 channels out), reverb device, 4 speakers.
comment
Flecte Lapis for sampler and keyboard was commissioned by the Agon studios and the Fondazione Gentilucci and realised at the studios in the summer of 1997 and ’98. The commission included the condition that I delivered a short paper on the realisation of this piece. This paper is to be found on the homepage. Despite the complex preparatory work, the piece took on quite a straightforward formal structure, with much emphasis on the overall rhythmical evolution.
For performers: This piece requires a skilled piano/keyboard player, which unfortunately has to play with a click-track most of the time.
main performances
Stockholm, September 1998 (Mårten Landström)
Berkeley, Cal., April, June 2001, (Mei Fang Lin)
Milan, October 2001, (Massimiliano Viel)