Roses of Shadow

“Why should poor beauty indirectly seek Roses of shadow, since his rose is true?” (Shakespeare, Sonett Nr.67)

The 40-minute work “Roses of Shadow”, composed in 2016/2017, was commissioned by the Ballett am Rhein Düsseldorf Duisburg with choreography by Martin Schläpfer. My decision to use fragments from poems or texts by native North Americans Do you know that the trees are talking (Wisdom of the Native Americans by Käthe Reis and Georg Bydlinski, 1983) was the “ignition”; the starting point of an intensive compositional work. A “sound cosmogony” of nine sound centers emerged, in which seven phases run through a cyclical process emerging from nothing, to growth to decay of the soundscape. Eight instrumentalists and one singer (soprano) form the following sound centers:

1 Voice (soprano), also Harmonica in F sharp and rattles
2 Trumpets in C and D, Euphonium, Alphorn and Harmonica in F
3 Clarinets in B flat, also Bass Clarinet in B flat, Contrabass Clarinet in B flat, Clarinet in E flat and Harmonica in E
4 Violins, also Harmonica in D
5 Violoncellos, also Harmonica in C
6 Kotos, also Bass Koto and Harmonica in B
7 Accordions, also Harmonica in B flat
8 Grand pianos, also Harmonica in a minor
9 Percussion instruments, also Harmonica in g minor

These nine individual color palates influence each other. Percussion can be considered as the pivotal voice – the center or core for the “sound paths” of the remaining seven colors, analogous to a planetary system.

The inclusion of the voice (speaking, whispering, creaking, etc.) and lip sounds in the instrumentalists expands the sound possibilities of the instruments. They appear as a “shadow ensemble” or as “ghost voices”.

As with chemical bonds, such “sound molecules” always group themselves differently and form new substances. Extreme sound situations, noise or sound compounds as well as borderline situations in the temporal design (like frozen images) are preferred. Pulsating homogeneous surfaces alternate with short-breathed nestings of microscopic islands of sound. Solo moments, such as those of Alphorn or Contrabass Clarinet solo, appear like binding ropes between the dense blocks of sound or moments of pure color. Wave-like unshackling of tremendous sound energies take place. From the beginning to the end of the work, the compactness and menace of the sound increases like a maelstrom.

(Adriana Hölszky)