The Area of Bigons
for 1-2 string trios
Description
Multidisciplinary collaboration has been transformative for me as a composer. Our work with choreographer Laura Jantunen began with Outoliini in 2023, and planning the next project started immediately after. Intensive participation in the working process of a dance piece with Laura has taught me the importance of scores, process-based work, and artistic practice. Unlike in more conventional ways of composing music, in the context of dance, material can be “mined” through active practice, without relying on ready-made ideas or ideals. The work and its material are connected to the bodies and arise from them. Selection emerges from observations.
When I began composing The Area of Bigons, I asked myself: ”What if something similar could be brought into the musical context?” What would it mean to ”mine” material as a composer? Where would I direct my attention, and on what kinds of observations would I base my choices? For several works now, I have used process-based methods in which a small amount of material generates new material through digital, mental, or physical processes. I then transcribe these materials back into notation and further filter, stretch, and reshape them, selecting the fragments that turned out best. These methods also form the basis of The Area of Bigons.
The title derives from Laura Jantunen’s work ”ympyrät, jotka kuvittelevat olevansa viivoja” (circles that imagine themselves as lines) in connection with which this piece was first presented in public. If there is a subject, there is always a countersubject; for one kind of form, there is another. From circles that imagine themselves as lines, I immediately thought of lines that imagine themselves as circles. The bow of a string instrument, which causes the strings and the body of the instrument to vibrate, is a sort of line that can also be moved in a circular manner.
Circular bowing on string instruments refers to using the bow not in the usual back and forth way, but so that the contact point shifts continuously from near the bridge onto the fingerboard. This alters the timbre: the sound sharpens and softens in turn, and between these extremes one hears breathy noises and airy friction. The variation continues for as long as the circular motion continues. The technique gave the music a fundamentally flickering, iridescent quality, in which sounds flicker and weave between one another, like dancers cutting through air, like a bigon searching for its area.
Just as a circle cannot become a line, a bigon is a paradox that becomes possible on the surface of a sphere, where its area can be defined. I began to wonder how one might search for roundness in music. The circle is not an especially musical shape, since music often relies on regular divisions: two, three, four, or other simple integers. In The Area of Bigons, the sense of lines seeking a circular shape grows out of the music’s triple meter, sometimes almost waltz-like in character. The pulse emerges from individual sustained tones that overlap and interlock, creating a ternary pulse. Music in three is often conducted in a circular gesture, with only the downbeats clearly marked.
The unique sound of the piece is created through the use of smaller-than-usual thirds throughout the work. A third is the interval that is used to build, for example, major and minor chords. I think of them as contracting straight triads and seventh chords so that their angular edges begin to tilt upward, like earthworms reaching toward the sky, like lines straining to close into the shape of a circle.
The work can be performed by
one or two string trios. II and IV are composed for two string trios.
III includes an optional accompaniment for the second string trio in
bars 111-118.
For V, an additional cello with the C-string tuned
to a B-flat should be prepared. It is also possible to retune the cello
before and after V. As an appendix, a version of V arranged a major
second higher is attached for situations where it might not be practical
to retune the cello mid-performance, or where an additional cello might
not be available.
If performed by two string trios, the following is suggested for live performances:
The
two string trios are placed some distance away from each other. It
should give the impression of distance; however, they should be able to
communicate with each other musically and hear each other well.
I is performed by trio A.
II is performed together.
III
is started by trio A and continued by trio B after bar 155. III can be
performed as a loop ad infinitum. The second time, when arriving at bar
155, the change is done vice versa. The movement is ended by fading out
to niente. The trio not playing the ”main part” always performs the
optional accompaniment.
IV is performed together.
V is performed by trio A.
VI is performed by trio B.
VII is performed by either trio, or doubled by both.
If performed by only one trio, the following is suggested for live performances:
In
II, either the parts of trio A or trio B can be played – however, the
players should stay in the chosen trio for the whole movement.
III
can be performed as a loop with only one trio as well. Then, the players
should jump to the first instance of bar 44 after bar 155. The movement
is ended by fading out. The optional accompaniment is left out.
In IV, similarly to II, either of the trios can be played.
Instrumentation
vln, vla, vlc / 2vln, 2vla, 2vlc
CategoryChamber Works
Premiere
The Area of Bigons was performed for the first time in choreographer Laura Jantunen’s work ympyrät, jotka kuvittelevat olevansa viivoja (circles that imagine themselves as lines) at the Zodiak – Centre for New Dance on April 10, 2026, where it was performed a total of nine times. The music was recorded specifically for the work. The recording engineer was Armi Lampela, and the sound designer for the performance was Mitja Nylund. On the recording, the work was performed by violinist Aino Szalai, violist Ida Kosonen, and cellist Eeva Rysä.
MovementsI. Bygones I (~5’), II. Side by Side (~5’45’’), III. Infinity Loop (min. ~7’) IV. Lunes (~5’) V. Study on Spheres (~6’) VI. Bygones II (~4’) VII. Lunes: Coda (~4’30’’)
PDF for promotional useArchive number
MF36272
