Link to streaming platforms: https://orcd.co/stillstehen
Release: June 3, 2022, featuring Ensemble Adapter:
– Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir, harp
– Zoe Cartier, cello
– Ingólfur Vilhjálmsson, bass clarinet
– Matthias Engler, vibraphone, percussion
Commissioned by and dedicated to Ensemble Adapter
Cover photo: Anne Helene Sandner
The music is composed with support from the Danish Arts Foundation
World premiere: February 18, 2019, by Ensemble Adapter, at Ny Sal, The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Denmark
See the online score: https://edition-s.dk/music/ejnar-kanding/stillstehen
Stillstehen (standstill) for bass clarinet, percussion, harp, cello, and live electronics (MaxMSP) might be associated with the still waters, it is static, seemingly immobile. You will hear microscopic changes gradually moving towards new states of stagnation. Percussion is the vibraphone, 2 woodblocks, 2 sandpaper blocks, 2 pieces of metal, a snare drum, conga & tam-tam.
Stillstehen – Werkzyklus, duration 47-53′:
Stillstehen 1 – Windstille (2009, 6-7′)
Stillstehen 2 – Stille Ocean (2011, 6-7′)
Stillstehen 3 – Stille Wasser (2011, 6-7′)
Stillstehen 4 – Stille Musik (2011, 6-7′)
Stillstehen 5 – Stille Ruhe (2017, 23-25′)
The fundamental idea of the work cycle Stillstehen is repetition during constant change; thus the title means stationary, standstill and to stand still. I focus on the static – the seemingly immobile, where the microscopic changes in the music gradually move towards new states of stagnation. Each movement has a headline that suggests a mood or a picture; they are not to be understood narratively but merely like an association: Windstille (a calm wind), Stille Ocean (Pacific Ocean), Stille Wasser (still waters), Stille Musik (quiet music) and Stille Ruhe (quiet peace).
First, four six-minute trio movements are heard, in which the four possible combinations of three instruments are explored. The big quartet of 23-25 minutes comes after the four trios, which can be experienced as a development of the first four movements.
Live electronics encircles the music in a counterpoint to the acoustic sound of the four musicians in a quadrophonic speaker setup. Real-time processing, in which the sound of the instruments is changed and expanded, is ubiquitous; while different types of noise characterize different sections. Analog noise, digital noise, and subtractive synthesis are present in two main variants: the filtered chord-like noise texture and the deep almost tone-based noise drone.
The first movement was written in 2009 (recorded in 2009 in Dock11, Berlin & the second to the fourth movement was written in 2011 (recorded in KulturForum, Kiel in 2013). Ensemble Adapter performed Stillstehen 1-4 as a whole in April & June 2013 in connection with a Danish-German tour including concerts in Copenhagen, Berlin, Bielefeld & Kiel. For this project Adapter consisted of the:
– Gunnhildur Einarsdóttir, harp
– Andreas Voss, cello
– Ingólfur Vilhjálmsson, bass clarinet
– Matthias Engler, vibraphone, percussion
The fifth movement was written in 2017. The work is commissioned by & dedicated to Ensemble Adapter, Berlin, and written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.