Musical Compositions

Rituel Bizarre (Bizarre Ritual)

12 Rituel Bizarre

Setting Prepared string orchestra / 13 prepared solo strings – possible line-ups:
1.  4-3-2-2-2 (= original line-up).
2.  4-3-2-3-1.
3.  4-3-3-2-1.
4.  4-3-3-3-0.
Period of creation 2008-09-16 to 2008-10-30 (1st version); 2009-07-09 to 08-08 (2nd version); 2010-06-23 to 29 and 2014-08-08 (3rd version).
Title 1st version Danse Canonique 2 (Canonical Dance 2) for 15 prepared strings.
Duration 12 min (1st version: 7 min).
Commission / occasion 1st version: Commissioned by the institution Musik i Syd (Swe) for the string orchestra Musica Vitae (Swe).
2nd version: Commissioned by the festival Venice Biennale 2009 (Ita) for the Orchestra J Futura (Ita).
3rd version: For the festival Young Nordic Music 2010 (Fin) and for the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra (Fin).
Publisher BabelScores + SMIC.

The main idea behind the piece is a confrontation and fusion of two timbral pro­ces­ses.
The lower string instruments, from 2nd violin to double bass, undergo a timbral de­vel­op­ment in 3 equally long parts from a dry and per­cus­sive preparation sound to a sus­tained and dis­tort­­­ed bowed sound. This is achieved by 3 dif­fer­ent playing techn­iques: Plucking the prep­a­ra­tion objects or the strings with the fingertip, strik­ing the strings with the fingertip, with the palm of the hand or with the hair or wood of an ordi­nary bow, as well as bow­ing the strings with a plastic comb or with the hair of the bow.
The 1st and 2nd part appear as a rhythmical, moderately tensed dance of plucking resp. strik­ing attacks which trigger rattling sounds of the preparation objects. The 3rd part reduces the rhythmical energies and creates a gradual crescendo from a mys­te­ri­ous anticlimax at the beginning up to an ec­static culmination in the end.
Apart from singular initial plucking attacks, the 1stviolins increasingly and mainly bow on the strings with the hair of an ordi­nary bow producing sounds distorted by the pre­pa­ration objects. The timbral de­vel­op­ment (in one part) ranges from slow, pedal point-like glissandi via fast, lively glissandi and twittering staccato notes to agitated tremolo motion.
These two groups of the string orchestra act as dialectic antagonists who gradually converge in the last third of the piece and finally fuse within the concluding tremolo.
On the whole, the unusual and unexpected sound of the string orchestra along with a re­pet­i­tive, canonical and dance-like rhythmical struc­ture result in a bizarre and rit­u­al­istic musical character.

2020-05-15 Latvian State Chamber Orchestra Sinfonietta Rīga and Normunds Šnē (conductor)
Spīķeri Concert Hall in Rīga (Lat) – cancelled due to the covid-19 pandemic
2018-03-23 (2x) Arctic String Orchestra and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
Resonans Festival, at the Studio Acusticum / Main Concert Hall in Piteå (Swe), broadcasted live by PiteFM
2018-03-23 Arctic String Orchestra and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
Live broadcast/streaming on PiteFM (Swe) at 14.45 h (Resonans Festival), with an introduction by Markus Bélteky
2017-06-08 String orchestra Mu­si­ca Vitae and Mi­cha­el Bartosch (conductor)
Presentation day of new orchestra music, at the House of Emigrants / Chamber Music Hall in Växjö (Swe), live introduction by Martin Jonsson Tibblin – 7 min excerpt
2017-01-15 The three string quartets Quartet Berlin-Tokyo, Castalian String Quartet and Quatuor Van Kuijk along with Eszter Kruchio and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
Broadcast including interview with Ludwig Hartmann on NDR Kultur / Soirée (Ger) at 22.00 h, live recording from 2016-08-05 (Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker)
2016-10-05 Skark Ensemble and Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason (conductor)
Broadcast on RÚV Sarpurinn / Norrænir músíkdagar 2016 (Isl) at 19.00 h, live recording from 2016-10-01 (Nordic Music Days 2016), with an introduction by Bergljót Haraldsdóttir
2016-10-01 Skark Ensemble and Bjarni Frímann Bjarnason (conductor)
Festival Nordic Music Days 2016, at the Harpa Reykjavík Concert Hall / Car Park Level 2 in Reykjavík (Isl), radio recording by RÚV Sarpurinn, video recording by RKAD (USA)
2016-08-14 The three string quartets Quartet Berlin-Tokyo, Castalian String Quartet and Quatuor Van Kuijk along with Eszter Kruchio and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
Broadcast (excerpt) including interview (excerpt) with Ludwig Hartmann on NDR Kultur / Welt der Musik (Ger) at 18.00 h, live recording from 2016-08-05 (Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker)
2016-08-05 The three string quartets Quartet Berlin-Tokyo, Castalian String Quartet and Quatuor Van Kuijk along with Eszter Kruchio and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
Festival Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, at the Verdo Culture and Congress Centre / Verdo Concert Hall in Hitzacker (Ger), live interview with Ludwig Hartmann, radio recording by NDR Kultur
2015-11-18 Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra and Simon Krečič (conductor)
Broadcast on RTV 4D Ars / Arsov art atelje (Slo) at 20.00 h, live recording from 2015-09-29 (ISCM World Music Days 2015), including an interview with Katarina Radaljac
2015-09-29 Slovenian Philharmonic String Chamber Orchestra and Simon Krečič (conductor)
Festival ISCM World Music Days 2015, at the Slovenian Philharmonic / Marjan Kozina Hall in Ljubljana (Slo), radio recording by RTV 4D Ars
2013-10-26 Solistenensemble KALEIDOSKOP
Radialsystem V in Berlin (Ger)
2013-06-04 Students from the E.T.A. Hoffmann Grammar School Bamberg and Ansgar Beste (con­duc­tor)
Festival Tage der Neuen Musik in Bamberg (Ger) – cancelled
2013-01-13 Students from the E.T.A. Hoffmann Grammar School Bamberg and Ansgar Beste (conductor)
E.T.A. Hoffmann School Auditorium in Bamberg (Ger), 50-minute lecture-concert
2012-02-23 Uppsala Chamber Or­chestra and Paul Mägi (conductor)
Uppsala Concert Hall (Swe), final concert, broad­casted live by SR P2
2012-02-23 Uppsala Chamber Orchestra and Paul Mägi (conductor)
Live broadcast/streaming on SR P2 / P2 Live Klassiskt (Swe) at 19.00 h (Uppsala Concert Hall), including an interview with Per Lindqvist
2011-02-16 ensemble legno and Mat­thias Hermann (conductor)
Broadcast on SWR2 / JetztMusik (Ger) at 23.03 h, live recording including laudation (excerpt) by Winrich Hopp from 2011-02-10 (ECLAT Festival), with an introduction by Hans-Peter Jahn
2011-02-10 ensemble legno and Mat­thias Hermann (conductor)
ECLAT Festival for New Music (prize winner con­cert), at the Art Museum Stutt­gart (Ger), laudation by Winrich Hopp, radio recording by SWR2
2010-09-24 Avanti! Cham­ber Orchestra and Jani Te­laranta (conductor)
UNM Fes­ti­val (Young Nordic Music) 2010, at the Sibelius Academy / Concert Hall in Helsinki (Fin), broadcasted live by YLE Areena – world premiere (revised version)
2010-09-24 Avanti! Cham­ber Orchestra and Jani Te­laranta (conductor)
Live broadcast/streaming on YLE Radio Areena (Fin) at 19.00 h (UNM Festival)
2009-11-01 Or­ches­tra J Futura and Maurizio Dini Ciacci (conductor)
Broadcast on RAI Radio3-Suite / Il cartellone (Ita) at 22.00 h, live recording from 2009-09-25 (Venice Biennale)
2009-10-06 Or­ches­tra J Futura and Maurizio Dini Ciacci (conductor)
Video production by Zeta Group Srl from Treviso (Ita) for Porsche Italia SpA, live recording (excerpt) including interviews with Guido Schittone from 2009-09-25 (Venice Biennale)
2009-09-25 Or­ches­tra J Futura and Maurizio Dini Ciacci (conductor)
Festival La Biennale di Venezia (Venice Biennale), at the Teatro alle Tese (Ita), opening concert, radio recording by RAI Radio3-Suite, video recording by Zeta Group Srl – world premiere
2008-11-30 String orchestra Mu­si­ca Vitae and Mi­cha­el Bartosch (conductor) – 1st version (Danse Canonique 2)
Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg (Swe)
2008-11-29 Mu­si­ca Vitae and Mi­cha­el Bartosch (conductor) – 1st version (Danse Canonique 2)
Malmö Academy of Music (Swe)
2008-11-28 Mu­si­ca Vitae and Mi­cha­el Bartosch (conductor)
Palla­di­um in Växjö (Swe) – world premiere of 1st version (Danse Canonique 2)

1,21% 1st prize at the 55th Com­position Prize of the State Capital Stuttgart (Ger), 2/165 (2010-05).
3,33% Selection (Swe) for the ISCM World Music Days 2015, 2/60 and nomination for the ISCM Young Composer Award (2015-03).
9,52% 2nd prize at Uppsala Composition Competition 2012 (Swe), 2/21 (2012-02).
9,62% Selection (Swe) for the Nordic Music Days 2016, 50/520 (2016-05).
15,91% Selection for the festival UNM (Young Nordic Music) 2010, 7/44 (2010-01).
17,14% Shortlisted (Swe) for the ISCM World Music Days 2012, 12/70 (2011-06).
20% Shortlisted (Swe) for the ISCM World Music Days 2015, 12/60 (2014-10).
53,33% Selection for the Presentation day of new orchestra music with the string orchestra Musica Vitae in Växjö (Swe), 8/15 (2017-04).
66,67% Performance funding from the project Ny(a)modigheter, initiated by MAIS (Collaboration of Music Organisers) (Swe), 34/51 (2018-01).

ensemble legno & Mat­thias Hermann;
Stuttgart 2011-02-10;
bars 1-14, 69-78, 169-178, 206-216;
duration: 2 min 37 sec.


Or­ches­tra J Futura & Maurizio Dini Ciacci;
Venezia 2009-09-25 (Zeta Group Srl);
bars 1-8, 54-216;
duration: 10 min 15 sec.

Or­ches­tra J Futura & Maurizio Dini Ciacci;
Venezia 2009-09-25;
bars 1-28, 197-216;
duration: 2 min 55 sec.

ensemble legno & Mat­thias Hermann;
Stuttgart 2011-02-10;
bars 1-14, 46-53, 69-78, 105-112, 143-147, 169-185, 206-216;
duration: 4 min 21 sec.