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.

Stillstehen

STRING QUARTETS:
 
No. 1: Kontur des Fühlens (2004)
Performed by Cikada string quartet

No. 2: Three Colors (2007):
1. White symmetry - 2. Black Glissando - 3. Orange noise
Performed by Messerkvartetten

No. 3: Sich hingab (2010)
Performed by Messerkvartetten

No. 5: Obscure Transparence (2013)
Performed by Jack quartet

String quartets & live electronics (Max)

Hammershøi Pieces 2015

The Danish Golden Age Pieces are commissioned by the National Gallery of Denmark for the exhibition: Danish Golden Age – World-class art between disasters, 24 August - 8 December 2019.

World premiere live recording from National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019, performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano.

It consists of three core pieces written with inspiration from three chosen paintings and two intermezzi inspired by a single painting.

It is about the sensual, delicate and bodily intimate.

The chosen paintings are and concert order of the pieces are:
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg: A naked woman puts her hair in front of a mirror, 1841, 33,5x26 cm - DGA pieces 1
Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann: Mermaid, 1847, 120x150 cm - Intermezzo 1
Ludvig August Smith: Woman braiding her hair, 1839, 74x60 cm - DGA pieces 2
Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann: Mermaid, 1847, 120x150 cm - Intermezzo 2
Constantin Hansen: Resting model, 1839, 40x55 cm - DGA pieces 3

DGA pieces 3, Intermezzo 1 & 2 uses Max. Any of the pieces might be chosen for a concert and performed in any combination.

Danish Golden Age Pieces (2019)

Textures & Mosaics, volume 2

Textures & Mosaics (2013, 2016-18) is music for string quartet and live electronics composed by Ejnar Kanding. The work expresses a nordic atmosphere, which is also underlined in the subtitles such as Obscure Transparence and Sensitive Shades.

Textures & Mosaics, volume 2 consists of:
Mosaico 2 - Obscure Transparence 1 (2013), string quartet & Max
Texture 2 - Sensitive Shades 1 (2016), string trio & Max
Texture 3 - Obscure Transparence 2 (2017), string quartet & Max
Mosaico 3 - Sensitive Shades 2 (2018), string duo & Max
Texture 5 - Obscure Transparence 3 (2016), string quartet & Max

Obscure Transparence refers to the morning fog covering a marsh during sunrise as the sun slowly penetrates and the light is separated into a plentitude of dancing drops. Sensitive Shades can picture the richness in the colour of the sky in a melancholic sunset. This progressive music unites electronic and acoustic sound in a complex textures, bodily energy, and delicate simplicity. It pushes the boundaries of the beautiful and insists on being static in a way in which it leans toward the dark ambient music genre.

The ambient, the static and the gradual change are explored through complex or multifaceted textures. Every movement focuses on either texture or mosaic in its essence. The texture-pieces are characterized by a conjunctive line in a multi-layered structure, while the mosaic movements focus on isolated fragments, appearing in diverse surroundings or merely existing as a purpose on its own.

Textures & Mosaics is a work series of independent pieces of varying formation, which when performed together constitute a coherent entity. The first, third, and fifth movements are composed for four strings titled Obscure Transparence 1-3, while the second movement is a trio for violin, viola, and cello, and the fourth movement is a duo for viola (or violin) and cello titled Sensitive Shades 1-2.
 
The structure and idea of Textures and Mosaics, volume 1 and 2 are similar apart from the instrumentation. As a whole, they constitute a work cycle on ten movements: Texture 1-5 and Mosaico 1-5. The instrumentation has the same structure in both volumes: Volume 1 is for chamber ensemble: clarinet (Bb, bass), percussion, piano, violin, cello, and live electronics. First, third, and fifth movement is for a full ensemble, while the second is a duo and the fourth a trio. That also applies to the duration, which is 11, 7, 8, 5, 3 minutes, counting 34 minutes in total for each volume.

Textures & Mosaics is recorded by ACME String Quartet (NYC) in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix, and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Texture & Mosaics, volume 2

for bass clarinet, el.guitar, harp, percussion, viola, double bass & live electronics (Max).
Live recording, performed by Ars Nova, May 16, 2010 at Inter Arts Center, Malmö, Sweden

Speed of Sound (2010)

String quartet no. 3 with live electronics (Max). Live recording, performed September 12, 2010, by Messerkvartetten.

Sich Hingab (2010)

for accordion & Live electronics (Max). Live recording NYC, performed January 18, 2009, by Frode Andersen, Denmark

Epicentre 2 (2009)

String quartet no. 5 with live electronics (Max). Subtitle: Mosaico 2. Commissioned by, dedicated to and performed by Jack Quartet (NYC) at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, November 7, 2013.
About the beautiful blur that can be observed for example in the nature when ground mist maker or when seeing the misty outline of a city or a seaport in the distance. Something that is indistinct to the sight or mind. The not easily distinguished. The ambiguous.
Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.

Obscure Transparence (2013)

String quartet no. 1 with live electronics (Max). World premiere performed by Cikada at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, concert hall; May 2, 2004. Recorded in Bach recording, Copenhagen 2005. Dedicated to CIKADA string quartet and my sons Valdemar and Villads.
Schönberg said: "The music shall not decorate, but be true". Postmodernism has thrown an ice-splinter in the demand for truth. Hereafter it will be an exorbitant postulate, that only one kind of music is contemporary. The music shall not be true, but create a change. It shall make a difference listening a work.
In Kontur des Fühlens is the slow time, the space in extreme registers, contrary directed speeds, static motion despite of fast figurations, organic process-oriented form despite of well defined proportioned sections, everything penetrated by the fall.
Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.

Kontur des Fühlens (2004)

Stillstehen 5 - Stille Ruhe 2017

Stillstehen 4 - Stille Musik 2011

Stillstehen 3 - Stille Wasser 2011

Stillstehen 2 - Stille Ocean 2011

Stillstehen 1 - Windstille 2009

Live recording of a concert at Fusebox Festival, April 17, 2014, Austin, Texas, with Todd Reynolds (violin, live electronics, composer), Frode Andersen (accordion, composer), Ejnar Kanding (live electronics, MaxMSP, composer). The project is called Dark Violet. Cover photo is from a painting by Nes Lerpa.

Permanent Kraplak (2014)

The recording of Ciudad de las sombras is released at "Contemporánea", KECD 3 2001, performed by Fritz Gerhard Berthelsen. The title, translatable to The City of Shadows, is not a concrete place. It could be Bogotá, it could be Paris, Athens or Copenhagen, or it is more likely a spot in consciousness… The piece is written and dedicated to Fritz Gerhard Berthelsen. It was written as a part of the music theater performance "Happy in Dorado City" (1998-99) by Wolfgang Häntsch, in which the motto was: "The human existential bankruptcy in the shadow of the metropolis". It was written while I was supported by the three-year working grant (1998-2000) of The Danish Arts Foundation.

Ciudad de las sombras (1999-2000)

The recording of Metrópoli is released at "Contemporánea", KECD 3 2001, performed by Christian Martínez. The title is Spanish, translatable to metropolis. In Greek it means mothercity. My associations to the title are not only connected to real places such as Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Bogotá, Paris, Rome, New York City and the primordial mothercity, Athens - but just as much to a state of being, a pulsation, an inner glow. The piece is dedicated to Christian Martínez.

Metrópoli (1999, 2000)

Gigue is the 7th movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Gigue (2015)

Bourrée is the 6th movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Bourrée (2015)

Air is the 5th movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Air (2015)

Sarabande is the 4th movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Sarabande (2015)

Courante is the 3rd movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Courante (2015)

Allemande is the 2nd movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Allemande (2015)

Prelude is the 1st movement of Suite Résonance (2015) for guitar & live electronics (Max). Live performance November 7, 2015 by George Vassilev. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.

Prelude (2015)

Hammershøi Pieces (2015), subtitle: Light in Structure 1-6
Live recording from Scandinavia House, NYC, October 17, 2015; performed by Clarice Jensen, cello and Peter Dugan, piano; recorded by Stefan Bensaid. Commissioned by American Friends of the National Gallery of Denmark, written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation. Score and more at Edition•S, Denmark.
The work "Light in structure" is written with inspiration from Hammershøi's paintings. His sensual light and backlit in a pervasive intimate atmosphere fascinates me. Sunlight breaks softly into a hazy environment. The underlying lines provide a unique cohesiveness; he says somewhere:
"What makes me choose a given motif is chiefly its lines; what I would term the architectural structure of the image. And the light, of course. Naturally, the light is important, too, but I almost find myself loving the lines the most."
In different ways the pieces approach these characteristics: Light in structure transformed into music. 
The six movements are inspired by the following Hammershøi works:
Tree Trunks, 1904
Nude Female Model, 1884
Landscape in Snow, 1895-96
Near Fortunen, 1901
Sunshine. Dust Motes Dancing in the Sunbeams, 1900
Living Room, Frederiksberg Allé, 1887

The movements can be performed as independent pieces or in any combination. Light in Structure 1, 3 & 5 uses live electronics (Max). Light in Structure 2, 4 & 6 are acoustic pieces but should be amplified if performed together with some of the live electronics pieces.

Hammershøi Pieces 5 (2015)

Hammershøi Pieces 4 (2015)

Hammershøi Pieces 3 (2015)

Hammershøi Pieces 2 (2015)

Hammershøi Pieces 1 (2015)

Three Colors (2007, 11 min) - for string quartet & computer
1st movement: White Symmetry
Inspired by the color theories of Wassily Kandinsky.
The white is as yellow an extrovert color, springing towards you.
Performed by Messerkvartetten.
Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.

White Symmetry (1st movement of Three Colors)

Three Colors (2007, 11 min) - for string quartet & computer
2nd movement: Black Glissando
Inspired by the color theories of Wassily Kandinsky.
The black is as blue an introvert color, sinking down inside yourself.
Performed by Messerkvartetten.
Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.

Black Glissando (2nd movement of Three Colors)

Three Colors (2007, 11 min) - for string quartet & computer
1st movement: White Symmetry
Inspired by the color theories of Wassily Kandinsky.
Orange is a mixture of yellow and red, an active color, moving passion in a spot.
Performed by Messerkvartetten.
Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation.

Orange Noise (3rd movement of Three Colors)

Live-recording of Vergeuder der Schmerzen, November 17, 1995, in The Concert Hall of Tivoli, conducted by Michel Tabachnik, performed by the orchestra of The Royal Danish Academy. Thanks to Michel Tabachnik & The Royal Danish Academy of Music for kind permission to using this recording.

Vergeuder der Schmerzen (1995)

Arild is composed in 2003, dedicated to Irina-Kalina Goudeva, this recording is at KECD4, c&p Kanding Edition 2011, performed by Irina-Kalina Goudeva. 

In 2002 I was awarded the Triade Preis from Neues Kunsthaus Ahrenshoop which entailed a commission for a new composition for solo instruments and live electronics, based on a text by one of the project's sex selected poets. My choice fell on Swedish poet Marie Lundquist's Arild:

"I have carried a child inside me. It was when I still had a place vacant below the curve of the ribs. The child lay there so nicely swinging in its cradle of water. I used to sing to it. Only outdoors, for one who carries a child within herself needs the wind's accompaniment. My body changed, also those parts that used to be fixed began to move around in an unrecognizable way. Sometimes the abdominal wall bulged with small bumps that billowed back and forth. I lay my hand against it to show I was there. Immediately the movement ceased as if it had never existed. If it was a child it did not want to answer.

I carried his name with me long before he existed. The name was Arild. I don't know any human who bears this name, only a place with sturdy jetties. I baptized him already the first time I felt a quivering in my body. I sat in bed and weighed the breasts in my hand and thought that now I will never again need to be alone. I had a room that stood empty and ready for anyone to settle in. I was careful with that room. It had to be kept clean and warm and inviting. I washed it with cotton rags soaked in almond milk. One morning when I woke my breasts were smaller and my belly not as taut, but soft and supple below my hand. The bed was full of blood and Arild was no longer there. Perhaps he had never existed. I did not cry, only wound a wreath of hazel and rosehip, for it was that time of year, and hung it on the wall over the bed where the pillowcase already lay on which his short name was embroidered with cross stitching."

Arild (2003)

Danish Golden Age Pieces 5 is inspired by the painting of Constantin Hansen: Resting Model (1839), live recording of world premiere at National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019; performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano

Danish Golden Age Pieces 5 (2019)

Danish Golden Age Pieces 4, Intermezzo 2 is inspired by the painting of Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann: Mermaid (1847), live recording of world premiere at National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019; performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano

Danish Golden Age Pieces 4 2019

Danish Golden Age Pieces 3 is inspired by the painting of Ludvig August Smith: Woman braiding her hair (1839), live recording of world premiere at National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019; performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano

Danish Golden Age Pieces 3 (2019)

Danish Golden Age Pieces 2, Intermezzo 1 is inspired by the painting of Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann: Mermaid (1847), live recording of world premiere at National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019; performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano

Danish Golden Age Pieces 2 (2019)

Danish Golden Age Pieces 1 is inspired by the painting of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg: A naked woman puts her hair in front of a mirror (1841), live recording of world premiere at National Gallery of Denmark, August 23, 2019; performed by Josefine Opsahl, cello and Ejnar Kanding, piano

Danish Golden Age Pieces 1 (2019)

This set presents four sections from the 37:53 min. long work composed by Kanding & Bretschneider. It will be performed by Contemporánea at Lille VEGA, February 28, 2013, at 21:00.

VEGA and EarUnit presents a different, unique concert experience, where electronica and ambient meets classical music.

What happens when the German electronica tradition meets a classical trained composer? At this concert audiences can experience the unique result of collaboration between two composers from two different musical traditions. On stage they will form a symbiosis of two expressions in order to create a completely new. Ensemble Contemporánea’s musicians on bass clarinet, violin, double bass and percussion will interact with the computer’s surround sounds live, while Berlin based Lillevan creates visuals.

More info: 
http://vega.dk/arrangementer/bretschneider-kanding-10068.html
http://www.facebook.com/events/127814810712008/?fref=tck
http://earunit.com
http://contemporanea.dk
http://frankbretschneider.de
http://lillevan.com

1auxiliary3b

Obscure Transparence 1 - Mosaico 2 (2013) for string quartet & live electronics (Max). 
Score (also to be viewed online) and Max patch available from: 
http://www.edition-s.dk/composer/ejnar-kanding
Commissioned by and dedicated to JACK quartet. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
World premiere at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen, November 7, 2013, by JACK quartet. 
Recording of ACME string quartet in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Obscure Transparence 1 (2013)

Obscure Transparence 2 - Texture 3 (2017)for string quartet & live electronics (Max).
Score (also to be viewed online) and Max patch available from: 
http://www.edition-s.dk/composer/ejnar-kanding
Commissioned by SONAR Quartett (DE) and dedicated to ACME quartet. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
World premiere at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC, May 7, 2019, by ACME quartet.
Recording of ACME string quartet in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Obscure Transparence 2 (2017)

Obscure Transparence 3 - Texture 5 (2016)for violin, viola, cello & live electronics (Max).
Score (also to be viewed online) and Max patch available from: 
http://www.edition-s.dk/composer/ejnar-kanding
Commissioned by SIGGI quartet (ISL) and dedicated to ACME quartet. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
World premiere at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC, October 6, 2016, by ACME quartet.
Recording of ACME string quartet in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Obscure Transparence 3 (2016)

Sensitive Shades 1 - Texture 2 (2016)for violin, viola, cello & live electronics (Max).
Score and Max patch available from: 
http://www.edition-s.dk/composer/ejnar-kanding
Commissioned by SIGGI quartet (ISL) and dedicated to ACME quartet. Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation.
World premiere at Le Poisson Rouge, NYC, October 6, 2016, by ACME quartet.
Recording of ACME string quartet in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Sensitive Shades 1 (2016)

Sensitive Shades 2 - Mosaico 3 (2018)for viola, cello and live electronics (Max),
a version exists for violin, cello and live electronics (Max).
Score (also to be viewed online) and Max patch available from: 
http://www.edition-s.dk/composer/ejnar-kanding
World premiere at Admiral Gjeddes Gaard, Holbergsalen, November 17, 2018 by Helianne Blais, violin and Ida Nørholm, cello.
Recording of ACME string quartet in Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, May 2019. Production, mix and master by Ejnar Kanding.

Sensitive Shades 2 (2018)

Copenhagen Phil invited me into the project called 4'33 Phil, which is inspired by the work 4'33 by John Cage. 

Schicht is German and means layer, deposit, field. The title refers to several layers or depositions in a structure, that in this piece creates a field of three developments with a common harmonic structure. My approach to live electronics in this piece is, that no other sound occurs than, what is derived directly from the played cello. What is heard comes from the cello, nothing else sounds. It shows, how amazing the computer in real-time can contribute to musical expression.

My piece is dedicated to the cellist Richard Krug, who premiered it in the Copenhagen Phil concert Friday, January 27, 2017, at the concert hall of the Royal Danish Academy of Music. Written with support from the Danish Arts Foundation and Copenhagen Phil. Cover photo by Anne Sandner.

Schichtstruktur (2016)

Composer Ejnar Kanding (b. 1965) is internationally known for his unique colourful sound, where the electronic and acoustic are united in complex textures, physical energy and delicate simplicity. To him, music should not embellish, but be a realm of fantasy. A journey into the ambiguous – a hall of mirrors. Kanding originally got his degree in composition and musical theory at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen in 1993, followed by studies at IRCAM in Paris and with Professor Lev Koblyakov in Jerusalem in 1994 and 95, but has since his debut concert from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in 1996 specialized himself in composing music for computer and instruments. This has led to an extensive use of the software MaxMSP in the development of his works and as an instrument in live performances. Despite this obsession his focus is never the electronic experiment, but always the musical expression, form and phrase.
The way Kanding uses the digital mixing console and MaxMSP as an instrument is pioneering the new assignment as a musician which is known as live electronics or sound direction. His virtuosity in this field has led to numerous performances of own works or others of both improvised and written music with various groups, for example, works by Saariaho , Nono and Stockhausen; and ensembles as Cikada (NO), Ars Nova (SE), Jack Quartet (NYC), Transit ensemble (NYC) and Adpater (DE).

Kanding

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