related works
The Moss Slowly Growing : for flute and guitar / Ville Raasakka
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players)
Scoring:
fl gtr
Moondrops : for orchestra, 2006 / Chiel Meijering
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
pic 2fl 3ob 3cl fg 4h 4trp 3trb tb timp 2perc drums pf str
S.O.S. Ouverture / Adr. Bonsel
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2222 2210 4perc str
Passo del diavolo : per orchestra, 1988, rev. 1990 / Will Eisma
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Orchestra
Scoring:
2222 2210 timp 3perc cel hp 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.