... But ... by Ensemble Ernst

Ørjan Matre, Arne Nordheim, Salvatore Sciarrino

Ensemble Ernst

... But ...

Format: SACD
Label: Lawo Classics
UPC: 7090020180977
Catnr: LWC 1085
Release date: 19 June 2015
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Label
Lawo Classics

UPC
7090020180977

Catalogue number
LWC 1085

Release date
19 June 2015

Album

Artist(s)

Composer(s)

About the album

'From the first listening I have been fascinated by the way in which the formal music of Ørjan Matre seems to combine opposite types of music: on the one hand, timbral pointillism in the spirit of Anton Webern; on the other hand, rhythmically resilient music with repeating patterns. The two types of music have often been viewed as mutually exclusive. The title “Atem” is of course taken from the German word for “breath”.

The work was commissioned by the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra and is written for 4 woodwinds, 4 brass players, 2 percussionists, and a string quintet. Typical for the Matre sound laboratory is that all the instruments, not only the winds, are expected to produce breathing sounds. Now it may well be inappropriate to present an interpretation for listeners who themselves are qualified to point out the connections between the title and the work. Nonetheless: We note that all choices are made in the light of the simple sound description of the title: “Breath”.

The solo strings playing as a quintet on this recording have a more precise breathing sound than a tutti section, which one might expect of a work commissioned by a symphony orchestra. Another point from Matre’s laboratory is his deep insight into the playing techniques of the various instruments. Every single deviation from standard playing technique is described in detail in the score, strengthening the musicians’ confidence in the composer. I do not wish to bore the listener with examples, apart from one, where the strings play harmonics that do not resonate naturally. My guess is that Matre has taken this elegant manner of using “harmonics” in quotation marks from the Italian Salvatore Sciarrino.'

Ørjan Matres Musik fasziniert durch Gegensätze: zum einen den klangmalerischen Pointillismus wie wir ihn auch bei Anton Webern finden, zum anderen rhythmisch federnde Musik mit wiederholten Patterns. Bisher dachte man, dass sich diese beiden Stile gegenseitig ausschließen.
Das Stück "Atem" wurde vom Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra in Auftrag gegeben und ist komponiert für vier Holz- und vier Blechbläser, zwei Perkussionisten und Streichquartet. Typsich für den Klang von Matres Werken ist der Anspruch alle - nicht nur die Bläser - atmen zu lassen. Die einfach besetzten Streicher unterstützen hierbei den atmenden Klang besser als ein Tutti, das man in einem Auftragswerk eines Sinfonieorchesters eher in der Besetzungsliste vermutet.

Artist(s)

Ensemble Ernst

Ensemble Ernst was founded in 1996 and quickly established itself as one of Norway’s pre-eminent and most entertaining contemporary music ensembles, touring at home and abroad, performing at festivals and releasing albums. The ensemble has won a Spellemann prize (Norwegian Grammy), as well as the Norwegian Composers’ Association's “Performer of the Year”. Ensemble Ernst actively commissions works every year by Norwegian composers such as Jan Erik Mikalsen, Kristine Tjøgersen, Ragnhild Berstad, Jon Øivind Ness and Anna Linh Berg. Ernst has always endeavoured to commission and perform quality acoustic music that communicates with the audience and performers alike. We intrinsically trust that people need first-rate performances of outstanding music. Thomas Rimul has been the ensemble's conductor since the very start.

Ensemble Ernst was founded in 1996 and quickly established itself as one of Norway’s pre-eminent and most entertaining contemporary music ensembles, touring at home and abroad, performing at festivals and releasing albums. The ensemble has won a Spellemann prize (Norwegian Grammy), as well as the Norwegian Composers’ Association's “Performer of the Year”. Ensemble Ernst actively commissions works every year by Norwegian composers such as Jan Erik Mikalsen, Kristine Tjøgersen, Ragnhild Berstad, Jon Øivind Ness and Anna Linh Berg.
Ernst has always endeavoured to commission and perform quality acoustic music that communicates with the audience and performers alike. We intrinsically trust that people need first-rate performances of outstanding music.
Thomas Rimul has been the ensemble's conductor since the very start.

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Thomas Rimul (conductor)

Thomas Rimul received his diploma in conducting from the Norwegian Academy of Music in 1998. He is artistic director for Ensemble Ernst, one of Scandinavia’s leading contemporary music ensembles, chief conductor of Arktisk Sinfonietta in Tromsø, and he has established himself as a distinguished interpreter of contemporary music. With these, and with other orchestras and ensembles, he has conducted first performances of over a hundred works. The Norwegian Society of Composers honoured the conductor, together with Ensemble Ernst, with its ‘Performer of the Year Award’ in 2011.
Rimul has conducted most of Norway’s major orchestras, and he regularly accepts invitations from the professional bands and other institutions associated with Norwegian musical life. He has recorded with Ensemble Ernst, Bodø Sinfonietta and the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, among others, and he received Spellemannprisen (Norway’s Grammy) for 2017 together with Ensemble Ernst.
Rimul has taught at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and in the spring of 2017 he completed a two-year fellowship at the University of Stavanger.
Through his involvement in the project “Transposisjon” he has on a number of occasions conducted Vietnam’s national symphony orchestra and taught Vietnamese conductors.

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Composer(s)

Salvatore Sciarrino

Arne Nordheim

Ørjan Matre

Ørjan Matre (b. 1979) belongs to a generation of Norwegian composers who early in their career explored and adopted the large orchestral format. He studied composition at the Norwegian Academy of Music with Bjørn Kruse, Lasse Thoresen, Olav Anton Thommessen and Henrik Hellstenius.
In 2013 Matre was selected by the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra as their featured composer. The engagement resulted in the large-scale "Konsert for orkester" (2014), in which the opening work "preSage" (2013), is woven together with excerpts from Matres "Violin Concerto" (2014) and expanded into a multimovement work lasting a whole evening. The scale and scope of the work challenges our conception of the “concerto” form – yet another ambitious conceptual project that Matre manages to land safely thanks to his thorough craftsmanship.
Despite the fact that Matre repeatedly puts his compositional skills to the test with finely-wrought textures and risk-taking instrumentation, or by introducing quotations, instruments and playing techniques that challenge established musical preconceptions, his meticulous approach has led to an increasing number of recordings and a growing international audience.

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