NewDots: small interview

New dots (http://www.newdots.org.uk/), who are producing a concert this November 20th, at the Forge, Camden (http://www.forgevenue.org/) with my piece Become (a duet) (later re-titled Castle In Air (Loftkastali) for viola and piano), interviewed me today over email. You can listen to the piece here: https://soundcloud.com/helgirafn/become-a-duet-1?in=helgirafn/sets/chamber-orchestral

• Which composers have been most influential on your work?

-For "Become (a duet)" I was mostly influenced by Arvo Pärt, Ligeti, Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. Other composers that have influenced me is the Icelandic composer Jón Leifs, Dufay, Josquin des Prez, Abrahamsen, Salonen, Nielsen and jazz composers like Thad Jones, to name a few.

 

• Outside of music what fascinates you?

-Cycling is somewhat of a hobby and being outside in the countryside is very important to me. That´s where I recharge my batteries. I still havent combined these two interests and cycled in, or to, the country. That´s  something I should do next spring.
 

• How would you describe your music?

 -I´m still working on my personal style, but I became significally closer to it last term with pieces like "Become (a duet)" and "Penelopeia" for pierrot ensemble and bowed piano. I´d rather not introduce a half-cooked phrase at this time. Stay tuned.

 

• What are you currently working on?

-This term I´m starting concept work for a new opera which will be produced by Guildhall, School of Music and Drama and performed sometime in the fall of 2013 or spring 2014, most likely in the Courtauld Gallery, London. (Update: premiere confirmed July 12th 2015, Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, 4:30pm (semi-staged). 2nd and 3rd performance at the Tété-á-Tété: Opera festival July 30th and 31st, Westminster Kingsway College Theatre 7:45pm).

Voiceworks alumni concert

My first concert of the academic year will be this wednesday, november 17th, 5:30pm at Wigmore Hall, London. Free entrance, 5 new and interesting songs performed. 

 

http://www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/whats-on/productions/voiceworks-alumni-concert-31138

My group will be performing "Ground: A dialogue study" for soprano, tenor and 3 clarinets. Music by me and text by Irum Fazal.

Okkar á milli

Nei hvur ... ég var í útvarpinu í morgun. Nánar tiltekið í viðtali í "Okkar á milli" á Rás1 með Sigríði Pétursdóttur. 

 Hér er hægt að hlusta http://www.ruv.is/sarpurinn/okkar-a-milli/10102012-1

English:

I was on the radio this morning. A 40 minute interview about music and life in London. The interview is in Icelandic.

Skuggablóm - ready to go

My, and my friend´s Árni Kristjánsson´s, song cycle book Skuggablóm (Shadowflowers) is ready from the printers. We start with quite the small edition to begin with for promotion purposes in Iceland. As of now it´s only available in Icelandic, but who knows, maybe we´ll make an English version sometime in the future.

Here you can see the cover, made by Eyþór Páll Eyþórsson (Eythor Pall Eythorsson), and I for one think it´s a very captivating design.

Recording of all the songs is being planed sometime in this academic year. For those interested, a copy of the book can be ordered by emailing helgirafn@gmail.com

The prologue written by Árni Kristjánsson (in Icelandic):

Skuggablóm er ástarsaga Hrafns og Tinnu. Í upphafi
sögunnar hefur Hrafn nýlega kynnst Tinnu og finnst
hún engri lík. Þrátt fyrir að Hrafn sé hugfanginn af 
Tinnu veit hann ekki að hún á sér myrkar hliðar.
Það vita engin nema Tinna og Skuggablómin.

Þegar Tinna er ein ímyndar hún sér að hún búi í
dimmum kastala. Hún er drottning yfir verum sem
hún kallar skuggablóm. Blómin eru myrkar hugsanir
sem hún elur með sér. Tinna er svo djúpt sokkin í eigin
ímyndanir að fyrir henni eru skuggablómin orðin að
lifandi verum sem sjálfstæðan vilja. [...]

 

Double Reed News: Pan-dora

I am pleased to announce that in this autumns issue of "Double Reed News", The magazine of the British Double Reed Society, is an article about myself, and my bassoon/laptop piece "Pan-dora". Also presented is my friend Sylvia Lim and her solo oboe piece "Orée".

 One thing was missing in the article.
Mr. Meyrick Alexander´s review of Ruth´s recital and my piece:

A PREMIERE OF A NEW BASSOON PIECE

On June 1st 2012 Ruth Hardwick performed her fourth year degree recital at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in front of the external examiner Robin O'Neill and senior members of staff. 

Ruth played a nicely varied programme which included Vivaldi's Concerto F8 No7 in A minor, Sarabande et Cortege by Dutilleux, Solo by Vladislav Shoot, Gordon Jacob's Suite for Bassoon and String Quartet and the premiere of Pan-dora, the Uncooperative Machine by Helgi R. Ingvarsson.

As one of Ruth's former teachers, I was very attentive to her whole recital but it was Pan-dora which aroused the most interest as a new piece in the repertoire is always welcome.

The composer provided an explanatory note: the piece was created as a result of "his first attempt to set up a MAXmsp patch and instead of worrying that something might go wrong he decided to write the error into the music." Two players take equal precedence on the stage: the bassoonist and a laptop, the screen facing the audience. There are two microphones, one for each participant. The bassoonist begins the piece lyrically and then plays a loud multiphonic into the laptop's microphone. This stirs the machine into life and it begins to provide an accompaniment. All is well for a time but the piece continues as a battle of will between the two as the machine has a mind of its own, apparently.  The laptop's screen changes colour as the action progresses and the performance ends with the bassoonist storming off leaving the machine as the victor - a triumph of mechanics over emotion as the performer becomes exasperated.

The success of any performance of such a piece rests on the stage presence of the performer, as well as considerable playing expertise, and on this occasion Ruth's theatrical expressions and gestures had the audience in laughter throughout and a huge cheer greeted the end. The sounds emanating from the machine were well designed to be complementary to the instrument and I believe this piece is a useful addition to the number of pieces involving extended techniques and versatility which are required by all colleges in their final recitals.

Meyrick Alexander

A copy of the score is included in the magazine. Here is the 1st page.
For the MAXmsp patch and the soundfiles contact helgirafn@gmail.com.