Bark

by Ville Aslak Raasakka

for woodwind quintet

Description

The work is based on the sounds of bark, branches and the tree trunk. I recorded these sounds in a park, where I stroked and scratched very gently the bark of an aspen. I also recorded fallen, dried up branches, which I bended and broke. From the BBC field recording archives, I obtained footage of one person sawing a tree and two loggers cutting a tree in a rainforest in Guinea.

These sounds present two interactions with a tree. The first is harmless to the tree, its biota and the soil. The second is, if taken too far, a process that can destroy the biodiversity of a forest and its soil.

I analyzed the sounds with software and transcribed the sound events for the woodwind quintet. The sound of bark, branches and leaves, cutting and sawing each have their sound profile but also time profile. The form of the piece is a result of layering these time profiles in four layers: The sound objects themselves, the phrases, sections and the overall form.

- Ville Raasakka

fl, ob, cl, bsn, hn

Chamber Works

Commissioned by the Auriga Woodwind Quintet

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