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DRONES, TRANSFORMATION AND POLARITY IN ANNA THORVALDSDÓTTIR'S ORCHESTRAL MUSIC

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2015

Stephen Long
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Abstract

The music of Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdóttir has been inspired by nature, not in a manner that results in specific pictorial evocation, but in the sense that her reflections on natural phenomenon are catalysts for explorations of a range of compositional polarities, including flow and stasis, stability and volatility, transparency and opacity, and expansion and contraction. Her observation of droning as a natural state has led to a dynamic creative use of drones that challenges and expands commonly held notions of their compositional potential. The article discusses their use, along with other compositional devices and processes, in the delineation of these polarities and the resulting formal structure of selected works for orchestra and chamber orchestra. These resources include disruption devices and morphing techniques that facilitate overlapping and transformation of layers of material. The particular compositional focus of each piece has led to fresh applications of these resources, imparting a distinct character to each piece and contributing to an ongoing renewal of the composer's compositional palette.

Type
RESEARCH ARTICLES
Information
Tempo , Volume 69 , Issue 274 , October 2015 , pp. 33 - 49
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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References

1 The composer experienced a significant breakthrough in 2011 with the release of her first album Rhίzōma on the Innova label, which contained ambitious works, including Hrim, Dreaming and Streaming Arhythmia. In 2012 she became one of the youngest composers to be awarded the prestigious Nordic Council Music Prize, for her orchestral work, Dreaming. In recognition of the composer's growing international reputation, her follow-up album Aerial, which features Aeriality and gems for smaller forces, was released to great acclaim on Deutsche Grammophon in 2014. Her music has also been featured at important festivals of contemporary music and was the subject of two important profile concerts in New York City in 2013–14. In June 2015, Anna was named as the New York Philharmonic's second Kravis Emerging Composer, an honour that includes a commission to compose a new work for the orchestra. More biographical information appears on her website at http://www.annathorvalds.com.

2 In the present article, I will adopt the Icelandic custom of referring to people by their forename rather than surname after the name is presented in full.

3 Anna discusses these composers in her doctoral qualifying exam, a private typewritten document generously made available by the composer. Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, Music and Words, [Part One of] Three Answers (doctoral qualifying exam, University of California, San Diego, 2010), pp. 3–68.

4 For example, variable lighting is presented during a performance of In the Light of Air (2014), one of her most personal works for chamber ensemble; Trajectories (2013) for piano and electronics, includes a video projection.

5 Music and Words, p. 11.

6 Morphing is the composer's preferred term for a transformation process.

7 Music and Words, p. 22.

8 Music and Words, p. 22.

9 Music and Words, pp. 23–4.

10 Extended performance techniques may include the use of glissandi, quarter-tones, breathing techniques with woodwind or brass instruments producing what the composer describes as ‘airy’ effects and applications of the bow to string instruments producing non-pitched sounds.

11 In this context a clear texture is exhibited by an open fifth (E–B), different instrumental registers, and instruments with contrasting timbres; increasing opacity is achieved through the addition of instruments incorporating staggered pitch changes while other pitches are sustained, rapid dynamic fluctuations, quarter-tones and glissandi.

12 The extraordinarily rich and subtle harmonic terrain explored in this section extends the notion of drones from a small to a large-scale temporal span, a process facilitated by extensive fluid horizontal movement within parts.

13 Loops used in this work and others are characterised by a revolving pattern of material without rhythmic or temporal alignment, derived from previously notated gestures. Each loop is typically assigned a different metronome marking.

14 A parallel exists with Ligeti's Atmosphères, in which a rhythmic block of sound merges with and replaces a harmonic mass, although the process occurs more quickly in his piece.

15 This dichotomy is defined by a juxtaposition or simultaneous presentation of strictly notated material and free-flowing gestures without rhythmic or temporal alignment, e.g., those appearing in loops. Each type of material generates a different kind of flow, one with more rhythmic organisation and the other more free-flowing.

16 Music and Words, p. 34.

17 Anna discusses flow patterns in Dreaming (pp. 27–32) and dispersion techniques in Hrim (pp. 59–65) in Music and Words.

18 See Anna's commentary in Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, ‘Introduction’, to Aeriality: Music for Orchestra (PhD diss., University of California, San Diego, 2011), pp. 2–15.

19 ‘Introduction’, to Aeriality: Music for Orchestra, p. 12.

20 ‘Introduction’, to Aeriality: Music for Orchestra, pp. 6–7.

21 Comment by the composer taken from her website, http://www.annathorvalds.com/blog/ (accessed 21 June 2015).

22 Daniel Tacke, Liner notes to Rhίzōma [CD] Innova #810 (2011).

23 The author wishes to thank Anna for generously granting permission to quote passages from her doctoral qualifying exam and the text commentary on Aeriality from her dissertation, and to use musical examples from the works under discussion. Scores are available through the Iceland Music Information Centre.