Music Finland Core

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"Seurat I" was commissioned by Eija Kankaanranta, a champion of new Finnish kantele music. Her interest expands itself beyond acoustic music, and the using of electronics was her wish from the onset, when she asked for a new work from me. Including the violin in the line-up was also Eija’s proposal, since she has performed a lot together with Maria Puusaari – another fearless expert of contemporary music.Using electronics was a novelty for me. I wanted the music to have an improvisatory nature, and partly this ruled out strict pre-set kind of electronics, like the use of tape sounds. In the end the best way to enhance the sound of the instruments was to use pre-set sound effects, that the players control themselves from their on-stage pedals. The use of a sound engineer in a performance is desirable, but not strictly necessary.The title "Seurat I" came about from my interest towards the art of Georges Seurat, the father of pointillism. However, the word has a double meaning, as the Finnish word ”seurat” translates to a "religious meeting". The words that the violinist whispers into the microphone are quotations from a TV sketch that made great comic about pointillism. Number "I" in the title points out to the idea, that there could be another Seurats with a different instrumentation later.The world premiere of the piece in March 2012 took place incredibly fittingly at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, France – where there are 19 paintings by Georges Seurat on the walls! It’s not very often the audience can take a Seurat home from that museum, like in this case...© Osmo Tapio Raihala 2012

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Abbreviation	Instrument
Woodwind
acl	alto clarinet
afl	alto flute
arec	alto recorder
asax	alto saxophone
barsax	baritone saxophone
barhn	baritone horn
bcl	bass clarinet
bfl	bass flute
bob	bass oboe
bsax	bass saxophone
bsn	bassoon
cbsn	contrabassoon
cl	clarinet
ehn	English horn
fl	flute
hn	French horn
ob	oboe
pic	piccolo
rec	recorder
sax	saxophone
srec	soprano recorder
ssax	soprano saxophone
trec	tenor recorder
tsax	tenor saxophone
Brass
ahn	alto horn
atrb	altotrombone
barhn	baritone horn
btrb	bass trombone
cornet	cornet
euph	euphonium
fhn	flugelhorn
hn	French horn
tba	tuuba
thn	tenor horn
trb	trombone
trp	trumpet
Percussion
dr	drums
glock	glockenspiel
mar	marimba
perc	percussion
timp	timpani
vibr	vibraphone
xyl	xylophone
Strings
db	double bass
gamba	viola da gamba
str	strings
vla	viola
vlc	cello
vln	violin
Other
acc	accordion
cel	celesta
cemb	harpsichord
chords	chords
elbas	electric bass
elg	electric guitar
elorg	electric organ
elpno	electric piano
guit	guitar
harm	harmonium
hca	harmonica
hp	harp
instr	instrument
kantele	kantele
keyb	keyboard
live electr	live electronics
mand	mandolin
mel	melody
org	organ
pno	piano
synth	synthesizer
tape	tape
Vocal
alto	alto
baryt	baritone
basso	bass voice
ch	choir
chc	childrens choir
chf	female choir
chm	male choir
chx	mixed choir
cten	countertenor
mezzo	mezzo-soprano
sopr	soprano
speaker	speaker
ten	tenor
voc	vocal

Symphony orchestra
2222 4331 11 1, str = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, one other percussionist, harp and strings
Wind band
2252 3 423 21212 3 = 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 5 clarinets, 2 bassoons - 3 saxophones - 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones - 2 cornets, alto horn, 2 tenor horns, baritone horn, 2 tubas - 3 percussionists
Big band
221 4 4, pno, guit, db, dr = 2 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, piano, guitar, double bass, drums
Additional codes
+	fl+pic = flutist doubles on piccolo
/	pno/org = can be played on either piano or organ
lib	ad libitum
obl	obligato
str	str: 65432 = specified number of string players
str min	str min: 65432 = at least 65432
str max	str max: 65432 = not more than 65432
solo	vln solo = violin is the solo instrument in a work not obviously for solo violin