2 mins
What lies within
IN THE NIGHT GARDEN: The Mullova Ensemble gave an interdisciplinary twist to Schoenberg on a UK tour in October. ‘Transfigured Nights’ juxtaposed Verklärte Nacht with the likes of Debussy, Strauss and Janáček, as well as newly composed electronica by Jasmine Morris and choreography by Ching-Ying Chien. ‘We were inspired to think creatively and collectively about how music can help ease tension, bring people together, and how it can help transform our world,’ said artistic director Matthew Barley. Edward Bhesania’s review of the performance can be found on page 84.
Photo: Mark Allan
COMPOSER Oscar Jockel
WORK Floris Glacialis
ARTISTS Wiener Concert-Verein
DATE 29 January 2024
PLACE Musikverein, Vienna, Austria bitly.ws/333cn
Oscar Jockel
Wiener Concert-Verein
#JOCKEL PHOTO LUCAS JOCKEL. ENSEMBLE PHOTO JULIA WESELY
‘I’ve
always found it fascinating when you’re looking at an ice flower, how each one is absolutely individual but at
the same time rigidly structured,’ says German composer Oscar Jockel about the inspiration for his new work for string orchestra Floris Glacialis
(‘Ice Flower’ in Latin). What forms the basis for this composition is a very specific sound in the composer’s mind. The sound ‘slowly grows like a crystal from one shape to another’, he says. ‘I see it as having a cold outer structure and a warm inner flow.’
To achieve this sound, Jockel uses the compositional technique of deriving a specific set of numbers from the imagined sound, in this case including symmetrical numbers. ‘The numbers aren’t important. They just give me something to extrapolate into musical structures. And hopefully that achieves a coherence while having a maximum variety.’ In this piece, for example, he uses several canon techniques. ‘With canons, you have the same but not the same. Every measure is completely different, but everyone is playing the same material.’ This is in line with his desired sound’s slow-changing nature. ‘These are old rigid techniques, where I can be very creative within.’ He likens this to his experience as a choirboy in the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen, where skills such as improvising fugues became engrained.
Jockel appreciates the ‘endless possibilities’ of stringed instruments. ‘When you look carefully at an ice flower, the construction is endless, just like strings having no limitations on what they can do with sound.’ He uses a variety of techniques to create everything from white noise (such as vertical bowing) to almost sine notes (such as harmonics). And about the work’s performers, the Wiener Concert-Verein, he is looking for ‘personality and flexibility. They have a wide range, so let’s try to go to the edge of an endless sound exploration.’