Seurat I
by Osmo Tapio Räihälä
Description
"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
Instrumentation kantele, vln, live electr
Instrument codes
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 |
Coding for instrument ensembles and orchestras
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 |
Category Chamber Works
Premiere
Commissioned by Eija Kankaanranta.World premiere by Eija Kankaanranta, kantele, Maria Puusaari, violin & Hervé Le Dorlot, sound engineering, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France, 30th March 2012.
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