Symphonic contemplations

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856), taken in 1850. Quite melancholic don´t you think?

Thoughts on my 1st symphony:
Maybe I dont have to cut the symphony down as much as I thought. I took out the introduction for the main melody, and then all of a sudden everything flows a lot smoother. That´s only 1/2 minute, and in the end the length does not matter, rather the quality of the material obviously. Now the progression in the first part makes more sense, at least to me.

It came to me that this is only the 1st chapter, in a series of 3, of my symphony: "Skuggablóm" (Shadowflowers). I´ve been worried that people wont be able to fully comprehend the piece in the time it takes to perform it, regarding the amount of material found there, and therefor did I add this introduction I´ve now cut out. But in the making of the other 2 chapters I´ll be able to reprise material from the 1st one in a more prudent manner. Also, if everyone could "comprehend" EVERYTHING the first time they hear the piece, it wouldnt be much of an artwork, would it ?

I´m trying to outgrow my "fear" of repeting material in a piece. I always feel that I have to bring forth something new at every corner. Though that might make pieces very interesting it also can make them hard to "get". Schumann´s 4th symphony is a big influence when it comes to that. He is not afraid to repeat ... and gets away with it. I found a very interesting video clip on youtube where Herbert von Karajan is rehearsing Schumann's 4th with the Wiener Symphoniker



A very interesting video. Taken in 1953 if I´m not mistaken. Karajan is truly a remarkable conductor, a good study for us of a younger generation, or as one viewer put it: "I love that the rehearsal's momento never slowed. He kept them going constantly, never wasting a second. Brilliant!" Notice that there are no women in the orchestra, and the cellos sit in the middle, instead of the usual left nowdays (stage left that is).

Another piece is Beethoven´s 7th, second movement: Not only beautiful music, but an interesting video. Visual midi. Each line/color represents an instrument.



I want to cry everytime I listen to this. May I recommend large speakers or headphones? I have been listening to these symphonies now for almost a year with regular intervals and am still not bored with them.

All constructive comments and/or thoughts are welcome in the comment section below.

-All the best / Kær kveðja
Helgi Rafn

10 min > 8 min symphony

I´ve got a butcher knife and intend to use it on my 1st symphony without pity. This 10 min piece will soon be 8 min. ... and more fun.

Like I talked about in this post: http://helgirafn.blogspot.com/2011/05/goodbye-boring-intro.html

So, it´s been on my agenda for a long time and now it´s time. Ungfónía (Young symphony orchestra of Iceland, "youngphony" ... if you will. Not really the same in english :o) ) intend to look it over and see if they can perform it next winter, so it better be ready soon.

I´ll post the results as soon as it´s done.

All the best
Helgi, aka: the butcher

Excitement / Dufay

My place at Guildhall school has been confirmed. Is it finally time to be overwhelmed with excitement? Imagine, 2 whole years of nothing but composing music and related activities. Heaven...

... Now the only thing left is to arrange acomodation. Work in progress...

Talking about works in progress. I´ve finished structuring my next piece, for the consert 16th of november. 4 voices, flugelhorn/trumpet, euphonium and piano. The text I chose is from Völuspá, wich talks about the creation of the world and it´s destruction, but wont be revealed just yet. Now I need an inspiration for the musical content. I´ve been listening quite to the medival composer Dufay (Pic: on the left) (August 5, 1397?[1] – November 27, 1474) - wikipedia



I´ve been thinking about using Contrapunktal vs. Dot-ism as my main theory. Dot-ism: A melody is devided between players/singers so it appears in parts, or dots, around the orkestra.

All the best
-Helgi Rafn

Sænskt 60's

Þessa dagana keyri ég um götur Täby og Danderyd á þessu tryllitæki (vinnubíllinn) og kynnist sænskri 60's tónlist með hjálp útvarpstöðvar sem ég hef ekki hugmynd um hvað heitir. Þess á milli sinni ég heldri borgurunum. Skemmtó...

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Nýtt tónskáldafélag, verk #1

Kæri lesandi.

Það er komið að því að tónskáldafélagið haldi sína fyrstu tónleika. Reyndar eru tveir tónleikar á stefnuskránni, 16.nóv. og í jan./feb. 2012, en við skulum taka eitt fyrir í einu.

Tónleikar #1 munu vera, eins og staðan er í dag, 16.nóv. á degi íslenskrar tungu. Flytjendur verða félagar úr Sönglistafélagi Íslands. Við í tónskáldafélaginu skrifum fyrir 1-4 raddir og með möguleikanum á pianó undirleik. Skilafrestur á verkum er 1.okt. næstkomandi og ég er mjög spenntur að sjá hvað kemur útúr þessu hjá okkur. Þessi hópur er nokkuð fjölbreyttur útkoman verður án efa áhugaverð. Staðsetning er held ég óákveðin, en það er hann Hafsteinn Þórólfsson sem er okkur fulltrúi og tengiliður í samskiptum við Sönglistahópinn.

Þó er ekkert öruggt í þessum heimi eins og við vitum öll og þessir tónleikar velta að sjálfsögðu á því hvort við náum að virkja nægilega mörg tónskáld. Kveikja neistan í þeim... við erum allavega 5 sem erum nokkuð örugg, en ættum að geta orðið 8 í það minnsta.

3-4 mín á tónskáld sinnum 8 = uþb. 30 mín af tónlist er það sem við leggjum upp með.

Þemað er íslensk fornrit og ég er sjálfur að detta niðrá Völuspá, og þá sérstaklega nýju upprisu heimsins.

-Myndirnar í færslunni eru báðar af Völuspá, tveimur ólíkum útgáfum þó.

Það verður gaman að vinna að þessu verkefni hérna í Stockholmi. Taka nettan Jón Leifs á þetta; láta sig dreyma um heimalandið á tungumáli tónlistarinnar. Hann var reyndar í Þýskalandi lengst af en þó einnig í Svíþjóð seinna meir, þar samdi hann t.d. Requiem um dóttur sína sem lést af slysförum. Það tengist reyndar ekki Íslandi en er allavega íslensk tónsmíð. Requiem finnst ekki á youtube sem er alger synd. Ætli maður verði ekki að bæta úr því.

Í staðinn set ég hér inn op.66 , hans síðasta verk: