related works
The Harvest : Version for orchestra / Ville Raasakka
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2fl 2ob 2cl 2fg 2h 2tpt perc str
3 Cascades : voor orkest, 1973/85 / Simon Pluister
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
3222 4330 timp 3perc hp str
Ouverture alla francese : per orchestra, 1969 / Jos van Amelsvoort
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2332 4331 timp perc cel hp str
Symphonie no. VIII : (1956) / Henk Badings
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2fl fl(pic) 2ob 2cl cl-b 2fg 4h 3trp 3trb tb timp 3-4perc cel pf str
composition
The Harvest : Version for orchestra / Ville Raasakka
Other authors:
Raasakka, Ville
(Composer)
Description:
The harvest as a word stirs up images of autumnal peace and bountifulness. This work is however about the current forest machines that harvest the trees in frightening effectivity, within seconds. I have used the sounds of these current machines and transcribed them to the instruments.
The moaning glissandi of the hydraulics, the rhythmic buzzing of the saws, the beeping of the control panels and the crackling and snapping of the trees are the key sound elements of the work.
The horrific, machine-like sounds turn into music which struggles to free itself from the sound sources. The music becomes filtered and sinks into a sorrowful state of disbelief.
This devastated music is mourning the total loss of natural biodiversity and the constant series of extinctions.
The easy profits of forestry (the so-called ”forest management”) has led to a situation where over a 100 years old forests will soon no longer exist in Finland (under 5% at the moment), and the rest are, strictly speaking, not forests at all. We have tree farms, pretending an image of a real forest.