31 Jul ABOUT THE MUSIC PERFORMED AT THE ROSENDAL CHAMBER MUSIC FESTIVAL.
Wednesday – 6. august
19.30-21.30 1. Opening Concert – Rosendal Chamber Music Festival
Knut Vaage: Bumerang
Opus13 (strykekvartett)
The piece «Bumerang» (Boomerang) is made up of contrasting sections that keep turning back, albeit never exactly to the same starting point. These various changes incite a restless expression. Another element of unrest is the use of different kinds of tremolo throughout most of the piece. «Bumerang» offers contrasting textures, both between the instruments and in the juxtaposition of the work’s sections.
The string quartet is a kind of ensemble that, from the Classical era to our time, has been used in order to try out new musical tools. In «Bumerang» I wish to get to grips with some of the special properties germane to string instruments. This takes place through a process that can perhaps be defined as an exploration of the instruments' anatomy. «Bumerang» was commissioned by Nidaros String Quartet, who premiered it in their concert series in 2011. “Bumerang” has been performed several times by various ensembles and recorded on CD by a quartet led by Ricardo Odriozola. The piece was financed by the Norwegian Cultural Fund. Now I am very excited to experience the young and award-winning quartet Opus 13's interpretation of the piece. "'Bumerang' can be perceived as an athletic pursuit of surpassing, where moments of rest or disillusionment with a pounding heart are inevitable.
Pizzicato, 23 July 2020
Here’s the Spotify link for the LAWO Classics CD Svev (LWC 1199), released in 2020:
Thursday – 7. august
16.00-17.30 4. Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkje
Knut Vaage: Fra 20 Blikk på Opus 54
Knut Christian Jansson (piano)
OPUS 54 – fra piano til sinfonietta og tilbake til piano
The piece "20 Views on Opus 54" is a recomposition of "Odyssé", which in turn was composed as an interpretive exploration of "Lyric Pieces" Op. 54 by Edvard Grieg. The idea behind "Odyssé" was to highlight what I perceive as an interesting large-scale form in Grieg’s work. If one views this collection of lyric pieces as a unified work, it appears to possess a rather unconventional structure. Grieg’s sense of form moves beyond the grand romantic pathos. Characteristic themes are assembled in a sequence. Within each movement, it seems as if Grieg attempts to break the boundaries through restless crescendos—even in the quiet movements.
"Odyssé" was created as a free reflection on Grieg’s opus, filtered through my own structural ideas throughout the composition. "Odyssé" was commissioned by BIT20 Ensemble, funded by the Norwegian Arts Council, and premiered at Bergen
Tourist Board’s 20th anniversary in 2002. It has since been performed in several venues, including the Bergen International Festival and the Barony in Rosendal in 2011.
Knut Christian Jansson asked me to create a series of short pieces that could serve as interludes to Opus 54, intended for performance alongside Grieg’s work. I have structured the material from "Odyssé" into 20 small reflections (views) that can be performed as a whole or divided at the performer’s discretion. Grieg’s opus has in my work undergone a journey from piano to sinfonietta and back to piano again. In this latest version, the music has become more open and less clearly structured compared to "Odyssé". The sections will likely be perceived more as events than as form-developing processes, and the music may therefore appear as small musical meditations. The piece was commissioned by, and dedicated to Knut Christian Jansson, with funding from the Norwegian Society of Composers. It is recorded on CD by Jansson Recordings in 2022.
Link to Spotify Blikk 1-5 (Gjetergutt):
Knut Vaage: Skråblikk på Haugtussa
Ragnhild Gudbrandsen (stemme), Hilde Haraldsen Sveen (sopran), Knut Christian Jansson (piano)
"Skråblikk på Haugtussa" takes an oblique look at Grieg's song cycle, exploring Garborg's monumental poem "Haugtussa" in search of a different perspective from Grieg's own. The selection of texts in "Skråblikk.." focuses on Garborgs description of nature and mystique.
The intention of the poem is conveyed by the actor, while the soprano's primal sounds cast her as a creature of nature - or, at other times, dreamily entering the character of Veslemøy. From time to time there are references to Grieg, but for the most part, "Skråblikk.." examines those parts of Garborg's text that Grieg did not use.
Garborg's cycle of poems covers a wide span of emotion, from grief to exuberant joy.
Veslemøy can see the underworld; she experiences nature with great wonderment.
I look forward to hearing the work at the same concert as Grieg's famous opus.
The work was commissioned by Hilde Haraldsen Sveen and Knut Christian Jansson, and dedicated to the performers who premiered the work in Troldsalen in 2023, and who will also perform the piece in Rosendal. The work is funded by the Composers' Remuneration Fund. The piece was released on Jansson Recordings in 2024.
Link to Spotify:
Saturday – 9. august
ABOUT THE CYCLE “TILSTANDAR” (performed Saturday and Sunday):
“Tilstandar” (Conditions) is the title of a cycle consisting of four works that can be performed together or individually. Three of these will have their world premieres at the festival. These three new pieces, composed for the early music ensemble C4, vary slightly in instrumentation, but countertenor Daniel Sæther is the soloist in all of them. The performance suits the setting of the barony well, as these types of instruments were certainly heard at the castle during the baron’s time.
The theme of «Tilstandar» revolves around an open exploration of humans in relation to nature. Nature encompasses us while also existing independently of us. It offers the opportunity for insight and experience, and provides landscapes that can inspire artistic form. The changing seasons are the foundation of nature’s cycle. It’s easy to associate the course of human life with the transitions of the nature. Nature undergoes the same processes of change every year, yet never in the same way. Our work is inspired by this same cyclical thinking—the idea that states of being can feel both new and familiar at once. Daniel commissioned all three pieces, which each comment in their own way on the states of nature as they appear in shifting seasons, along with reflections on this theme. «Tilstandar» (Part 1) is inspired by spring and the text used is a poem by Ruth Lillegraven: “Opp av jorda” (Up from the Earth). Summer (Part 2) is a modern «kulokk» (cattle call) based on a poem by Erlend Nødtvedt: “kom linderei kom” (Come, Linderei, Come). Autumn (Part 3) features a poem by Terje Tørrisplass: “Hauste inn” (Harvesting).
Winter (Part 4) already exists as “Vintersong” (Winter Song) from 2017, with texts by Hanne Bramness. «Vintersong» was commissioned by Tora Augestad and Hardanger Musikkfest, and premiered at the festival by Tora together with the Lautten Compagney from Berlin, conducted by Grete Pedersen. Daniel Sæther has his own version, «Vintersong» version 2 from 2021, which was recorded and released on a CD of the same name by LAWO Classics in 2022. The full cycle of «Tilstandar» with all four movements is well-suited to being performed as a single concert. The longest work, «Vintersong», includes (almost) all the instruments used in the three new movements.
The new pieces were composed in 2024 and funded by Fond for lyd og bilde. The performance is supported by the Norwegian Society of Composers. I look forward to hearing this music for the first time at the festival.
16.00-18.00 15. Konsert i Riddersalen
«Opp av jorda» (Up from the Earth) is the first part of the «Tilstandar» cycle and is inspired by spring, composed to a poem by Ruth Lillegraven. Several composers have in recent years set Ruth’s poetry to music. I chose this text because it evokes natural moods in a way that sparks thought and invites musical interpretation. The poem describes a new sprout under the soil pushing its way through the earth toward the light. It also portrays nature—with the mountains, the sky, the moon, and the eternal, cyclical motion that spins endlessly: “everything that happens will happen again.” I wish to thank Ruth for generously allowing me to adapt the poem to fit the musical ideas when such a need arose. The imagery in the poem directly inspired the music, which starts in its deepest register and builds through repeated spinning patterns until the piece fades out in bright timbres. The piece explores some of the sonic possibilities in the instrumentation of countertenor, recorder, baroque lute, and viola da gamba. The latter two instruments, having many strings, are particularly suited to conveying the sense of the endlessly spinning. The piece lasts about 8 minutes.
Opp av jorda
den evige tida
som garn på spolen
som sirkelen kring
månen, rundt og
rundt
for alt som skjer
har skjedd før
og alt som skjer
skal skje igjen
himmelen
fjella, lyset
blått i blått
grått i grått
vått i vått
og under jorda
ei ny spire
gjennom molda
gjennom molda
opp av jorda
mot lyset
mot lyset
Ruth Lillegraven
BIO:
Ruth Lillegraven Ruth Lillegraven (b.1978) comes from Granvin in Hardanger, where she now lives. She made her debut as an author in 2005 and has since written more than twenty books for both children and adults. Lillegraven is best known for poetry collections such as Urd, Sigd and I am I am I am and for her three psychological thrillers about Clara Lofthus. In 2013 she won the Brage Prize for the poetry collection Urd.
21.30-22.45 16. Konsert i Kvinnherad kyrkje
“Hauste inn” (Harvesting) is the third part of «Tilstandar», portraying autumn, and is based on a poem by Terje Tørrisplass. As I interpret the poem, it carries a melancholic undertone — a sense of longing for something that has passed. The music begins with a simple tone based on one of the lute’s open strings, which resonates across all the instruments. Variations of this introduction return as interludes twice during the piece, separating different parts of the poem, each time based on two other open strings from the lute’s many possibilities. The goal of the music is to reinforce the poetic expression, which I believe conveys traces of a life once lived. The piece ends in the middle of an attempted escape that (in the music) results in an alternative resonance. The instrumentation is countertenor, recorder, baroque lute, organ, and viola da gamba. The piece lasts about 8 minutes.
Hauste inn
Ei veke etter at himmmelen gjekk tom
for svaler
kan eg høyre ho i den klåre kvelden.
Skuggen forbi augo, hivet i vengene
kvinet i kvart sveip.
Det er ikkje sant
at lufta er utan spor.
I alle våre andlet
finst speglingar
av flukt.
Terje Tørrisplass
BIO:
Terje Tørrisplass (b. 1957) lives in Bromma in Hallingdal. He debuted with the poetry collection Eg bygger ikkje byar in 2010. Vegemot is his fourth poetry collection. Tørrisplass is a writer, forest worker and poet. In Tørrisplass's writing, the lifelong and close relationship with nature is central.
Sunday – 10 August
12.00-15.30 17. Konsert i Riddersalen
Knut Vaage: «kom lindereid kom» (Sommer) (Urframføring) tekst: Erlend O. Nødtvedt
Daniel Sæther (kontratenor), «Ensemble C4»
“kom linderei kom” (Come Linderei Come) is the second part of «Tilstandar» and depicts summer. The poem is written by Erlend Nødtvedt, and I choose to interpret it as a modern kulokk (herding call). Perhaps this is the first time we hear a countertenor perform a kulokk in concert? Erlend’s poem includes a stream of imaginative names for cows and bulls. Each name carries its own tone and associations, and I believe the varied names suggest that none of the animals had the same temperament. I have many childhood memories from growing up with animals on our farm at Sunde, and I remember clearly that each animal had its own personality. These nuances are something I try to express through the music. The piece also aims to capture a summery atmosphere through quick leaps in the harpsichord, strings, and sopranino recorder. Cowbells and echo effects are used to evoke the atmosphere of past mountain pastures. The instrumentation consists of countertenor, recorder, harpsichord, percussion, and string quartet. This combination creates a crisp and lively sound that from my opinion suits the summer movement well. I ask that the singer occasionally to sing in a natural baritone register in addition to the bright alto range that is standard for a countertenor. The piece lasts about 8 minutes. The performance is supported by the Norwegian Society of Composers.
kom linderei kom
kom linderei kom
kom heimros og bingros
skogreid og myrkreid
kom epleros og liljegrein
kom snurikoll sprakur
og snurikolla
kom ylva sylva
kom duna og dokka
rosa og sokka
kom leda og langa
tea og tanga
dumiblaa sylvitaa
brusi og krusi
duni-dokka rosi-sokka
kom kniplegeit og lukla
kom mjødhumla mi
kom dalarosi
kom linderei kom
Erlend Nødtvedt
BIO:
Erlend O. Nødtvedt (b.1984) debuted with the poetry collection Harudes in 2008. Since then, he has published the poetry collections Bergens beskrivelse (2011), Trollsuiten (2014), Slekter (2019), and Olav Nygards seng (2023) - and the novels Vestlandet (2017) and Mordet på Henrik Ibsen (2021). From the first book, Nødtvedt has excited the critics, and he is considered one of the central authors of his generation. Nødtvedt's writing style is both distinctive, energetic, wild and bewitching.
BIO, KNUT VAAGE:
More info at www.knutvaage.com
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