related works
Vocalise 1994 : electronic music, 1994 / Jan Boerman
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Electronic music
Scoring:
tape
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Electronic music
Scoring:
tape
Selected Blend 86 : (1986) / Peter Plompen
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Electronic music
Scoring:
soundtrack
Discours : 1974-1976 / Victor Wentink
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Electronic music
composition
Tellurisch : electronic music, 1991 / Jan Boerman
Other authors:
Boerman, Jan
(Composer)
Description:
Program note (English): Eight-track performance tape is available at Donemus.
Tellurisch means 'concerning the earth.' The work has elements of a landscape and of a story. Tellurisch is a complicated composition; often, a fragment starts before the previous one has ended, which is not always audible at the first encounter with the work. One can lose one's way in the piece as in a 'moving' landscape; like in a dream, a volcanic plateau changes into an Andalusian nightscape or a deserted industrial site. These images are not what I wanted to express by the music, but while composing one sometimes gets feelings that the best can be described as landscapes, as 'soundscapes.' These imaginary sound images have influenced the choice of the sounds and thereby the character of the music. The sounds in Tellurisch are earthly and elementary. They call up associations with drilling, grinding, grating, etc. The choice of the timbre was mainly determined by the texture, the material grittiness, the 'skin' of the sound. Because of the way the experimentation was done, a high tone resonance occured mostly in the noise-type sounds. When these sounds are merged with each other, they blend optimally if the resonance tones have the same pitch, but combinations in octave, quint and quarter proportions also yield remarkable timbres. These resonances played a role in the arrangement of the material. The form of Tellurisch shows similarities with the sonata form: an exposition with two contrasting themes, a development and a reprise. The work starts with a ruffling tone (e-flat) as an under layer for a motif of bell-like strokes followed by a few rattling machine sounds. This is the exposition of the first group of material (theme A). This material will return several times during the reprise in a manipulated form. Another factor is a long vocal tone (f-sharp") that is repeated twice of three times in succession. They are linked each time with an alternative (B1 to B5). These alternatives are variations on a number of Golden Section structures in ever-changing combinations. This combining produces a many-layered fabric of forms dictated by the Golden Section. One can consider A-B-A and C-B-C as first and second themes. - JAN BOERMAN