Commissioned Rosetta Ensemble
Opus Number 79
Category Chamber music
Year 2021
Duration 17
Instrumentation Alto and sopranino recorder, violin, organ
Premiere 10th of August 2021 at Vantaa BRQ

Program note

Everything in life is vibration” Einstein said, which he proved through quantum physics. When everything is vibration, even emotions and souls have frequencies. These vibrations can be in harmony and amplify each other, or at times in disharmony and create friction. If everything is vibration, then no vibration is equal to nonexistence. If the soul and emotions are vibrations, how would they sound? In this piece I explore different frequencies of vibrations of emotions. 

The different movements are called upon different emotions and states of mind. The first movement “Playfulness” is exactly as the name says: cheerful and playful, constantly moving, in all directions. The second movement “Apathy” is a very low vibration, hardly a vibration at all. When you are apathetic you have a hard time being, a hard time “vibrating” at your true capacity at all, so you are close to a state of not existing at all. The third movement “Fear and Anger” portrays a rise of emotion from terror, via anxiety and resentment to hate and anger. Also covert hostility is portrayed in this movement, though ironically in parts. The last movement “Serenity of Beingness” is about building up yourself to your “most consonating frequency possible”. As in life, finding a balance is about swinging back and forth to find a good place.

In the music I have explored the possibilities of vibrations in consonance and dissonance with each other. I have explored the edges of being in all its  extremes. I have also incorporated morse code as well as overtone harmonies. 

The piece is commissioned by the Rosetta Ensemble and premiered 10th of August 2023 at the baroque music festival Vantaa BRQ in Finland. 


Review

After two postponements, the world premiere was finally given to “Vibrations,” commissioned by the Rosetta Ensemble from composer Cecilia Damström. In this piece, Damström compares vibrations in the physical world to emotional states. In the four parts of the composition, Damström focuses on different characters: “Playfulness” is age outward-oriented part in its whole-tone motifs, the following “Apathy”, on the other hand is the complete opposite: hisses, breathing sounds, small glissandos, all of which have as little momentum as possible. The emerging clusters of the organ from their midst make a strong impression.

 

The “Fear and anger” movements is supported by repetition rhythms based on morse code, spelling out words related to anxiety. The concluding “Serenity of Beingness” floats like a timeless serenity in sounds that arise as the organ gradually makes register changes.

 

As a whole, the music of the work illustrates its subjects effectively and is therefore very literal program music – functional character pieces that together form a balances and atmospherically diverse series.

Samuli Tiikkaja – Helsingin Sanomat 12.8.2023

 


Performances

CANCELLED – 10th of August 2021 World Premiere at the Vantaa BRQ Festival

CANCELLED – 27th of May 2022 World Premiere by the Rosetta EnsembleMore info

10th of August 2023 World Premiere at the Vantaa BRQ Festival