20:00 - Netzwerk für zeitgenössische Musik in Hamburg

In „Nymphea“ (water lily) for a string quartet and electronics,
I have used the computer in several ways. The basis
of the entire harmonic structure is provided by complex
cello sounds that I have analysed with the computer. The
basic material for the rhythmic and melodic transformations
are computer-calculated in which the musical motifs
gradually convert, recurring again and again. I have used
sounds of an original string quartet that are manipulated
in the concert situation.
Some images that evolved in my mind while composing:
the image of the symmetric structure of a water lily, yielding
as it floats on the water, transforming. Different interpretations
of the same image in different dimensions;
a one-dimensional surface with its colours, shapes, and,
on the other hand, different materials that can be sensed,
forms, dimensions a white water lily feeding from the underwater
mud.
The starting point for „Nymphea Reflection“ came with the
idea of arranging my string quartet Nymphea.
Then, when I actually started working on the piece, I realised
that, for many reasons, a straight arrangement was
impossible and that I would need to find a completely new
starting point. I ended up designing a formal concept of six
separate sections, each being of a very different character.
These six sections have been named after their expressive
nature: Sostenuto, Feroce, Dolcissimo, Lento espressivo,
Furioso and Misterioso.
I started off by keeping some of the string textures of the
quartet and instead of actually using electronics, I decided
to simulate some of the electronic processing by means of
orchestration.
Kaija Saariaho