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

Stillstehen 5 - Stille Ruhe 2017

Stillstehen 4 - Stille Musik 2011

Stillstehen 3 - Stille Wasser 2011

Stillstehen 2 - Stille Ocean 2011

Stillstehen 1 - Windstille 2009

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).