Saariho's Chamber Music

Kaija Saariaho - Chamber Music

Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho is an exceptional person in more ways than one; not only in her own country but also within the international new music scene, in which she has asserted herself amidst the middle generation of the avant-garde, with performances in Salzburg, London, Paris and New York. Beginning with her childhood dream of becoming an organist in a small provincial town, she has developed into a composer whose works include a more traditional violin concerto for violinist Gidon Kremer as well as pieces that utilize the newest computer technologies. The secret of her success lies perhaps in the fact that she has given music a new sensuality.
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The first piece that Kaija Saariaho today characterizes as completely her own is the flute solo Laconisme de l'aile. The essential elements of her later compositions are already found here: the sensuous shaping of tone colour, the dream-like subtlety in the continual changing between tone and colour and the reference to the various dimensions of a musical space in which tone colour and harmony take on the predominant structural roles. The title Laconisme de l'aile - "Aphorism of the Wing" - refers to a poem by Saint-John Perse, the rhythm and textual sound of which have been directly incorporated into the composition.
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The piece Noa Noa for flute and live electronics is based on certain flute mannerisms which the composer felt unhounded by for years. As she was always unhappy with the concert halls in which her music was performed, she began, with the help of the electronics, to create the acoustics she needed.
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For the composing of Petals she and the cellist Anssi Karttunen first examined the various bowing techniques and expressive possibilities of the cello in order to create, on the one hand, a flowing transition between tone and noise and on the other hand, tension through the contrast between these two "opposites".
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In Spins and Spells for violoncello it's more about the interpretation of two basic gestures: the one being what the composer calls "spinning top" motifs which spin in place or can run through changes, and the other being moments without strict tempo which concentrate on colour and texture.
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The piece Cendres - "Ashes" - which was created in 1998 for the three musicians of the Wolpe Trio is also a balancing act between two extremes: on the one hand the instruments should try to come as closely together as possible in terms of range, rhythm, dynamics, articulation and tone colour, on the other hand they should each be able to express their own idioms. In this way, according to the composer, musical tension is created and controlled.
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The composition Mirrors for flute and violoncello is based on fragments which can be assembled in different ways. The musicians however are to approach the combinations in such a way that there are always reflections within one or more of the dimensions of rhythm, range, instrumental gestures and tone colour.
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Even though the piano doesn't particularly interest the composer in regards to her sound research, she responded to the request of Japanese pianist Aki Takahashi to adapt a Beatles song for her with the little "Improvisation", Monkey Fingers, Velvet Hand for which she used a characteristic bass line from "Come Together" and a modulation from "Happiness is a Warm Gun". Her real specialty is and remains however that of tone colour composition, as Saariaho realized in Six Japanese Gardens for percussion and computer driven electronics. In each of the six sections of the composition she is occupied with a specific rhythmical apsect of her material. The tone colours of the instruments are enriched by electronically adapted natural sounds, ritual vocal and percussion sounds which were recorded by Japanese percussionist Shnti Ueno. If one considers the fact that the Finns are an Asian people in Europe, then Kaija Saariaho has herewith gone a bit back to her roots.

(Above information from the liner notes.)



Performers:

Wolpe Trio: Lesley Olson - flute, Scott Roller - violoncello, Susanne Achilles - piano

Thomas Neuhaus - live-electronics (tracks 2, 6 and 8)

Andreas Boettger - percussion and live-electronics (tracks 9-14)

Tracklisting:

1. Cendres {9:09}
for alto flute, violoncello and piano (1998)

2. Noa Noa {8:28}
for flute and electronics (1992)

3. Mirrors {3:38}
for flute and violoncello (original version 1997)

4. Spins and Spells {6:05}
for violoncello solo (1996)

5. Monkey Fingers, Velvet Hand {3:06}
for piano solo (1991)

6. Petals {9:00}
for violoncello (electronics ad libitum) (1988)

7. Mirrors {3:37}
for flute and violoncello (version Lesley Olson 1998)

8. Laconisme de l'aile {10:30}
for solo flute with optional electronics (1982)

9. Six Japanese Gardens: Tenju-an Garden of Nanzen-ji Temple {3:07}
Six Japanese Gardens for percussion and electronics (1993/95)

10. Six Japanese Gardens: Many Pleasures (Garden of the Kinkaku-ji) {1:36}

11. Six Japanese Gardens: Dry Mountain Stream {3:22}

12. Six Japanese Gardens: Rock Garden of Ryoan-ji {3:55}

13. Six Japanese Gardens: Moss Garden of the Saiho-ji {2:48}

14. Six Japanese Gardens: Stone Bridges {3:42}

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