commissioned by and written for the 60th anniversary of Ars Nova ensemble (Poitiers)

“Clessidra” (“sandglass” in Italian) contains two opposite processes happening simultaneously, which are overlapping and create a musical metaphor of a sandglass with one part being filled and the other emptied. One layer of the texture (vibraphone, accordion and synthesiser with an organ timbre) are constantly descending down from their highest overtones meanwhile the rest of the ensemble (strings, bowed harp and winds) is gradually expanding its space and dynamics until their paths cross and merge into one spectrum.

1st performance: 23 November 2023, Auditorium de Potiers (FR), Ars Nova ensemble, cond. Gregory Vajda

"Clessidra" for ensemble (2023)

the being/the world (2024)
for Juliet Fraser and Ensemble Musikfabrik

extract recording: scene 5: duo (love)

Juliet Fraser, voice
Sara Cubarsi, viola d'amore
Benjamin Kobler, synth organ
+ MusikFabrik

premiere recording extract from WDR, Köln on 3 March 2024

total piece duration: 1 hour

in loving memory of Amelia Cuni

commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik and Kunststiftung NRW
photograph: Janet Sinica

the being/the world (2024) scene 5 (extract)

performed by Key Ensemble at the Tampere Cathedral
Tampere Biennale, Finland
April 13, 2024

full concert: https://areena.yle.fi/podcastit/1-68328598

fragments de l'aube (2015) for chamber choir / Tampere Biennale

From TROIS ÉTUDES POST-MODERNES 
(POUR DEUX MARIMBAS)
III- La marcha de la humanidad en la tierra y hacia el cosmos
(after a painting by David Alfaro Siqueiros)
played by Digraph Duo ( Miguel Ángel Real, Andreu Queralt)

La Marcha De La Humanidad En La Tierra y Hacia El Cosmos

Performed by:
Hanna Fheodoroff, voice
Audrey G. Perreault, flutes,
Maria Mogas Gensana, accordion
Hannes Schöggl, percussion

Audio Recording: Benedikt Alphart

Performed at the Neue Galerie Graz, BRUSEUM, 14.04.2024, as part of the exhibition "searching myself" by artist Johann Rausch
as part of the concert "losing myself", organized by Zeitschleife - https://zeitschleife-verlag.com/Verein/ 

between feathers Ensemble - http://www.betweenfeathers.com 
Neue Galerie Graz - https://www.museum-joanneum.at/

mea lux (2024) - for voice, flute, percussion and accordion

Today, I'm excited to share with you a new piece by the Icelandic composer Snorri Hallgrímsson, whom I've been closely following since his debut, Orbit, released by Moderna in 2018. Even back then, I could somewhat predict the trajectory of this young artist, who, as I said, has been drinking from the same pool of Icelandic inspiration which has quenched the thirst of some of the world's renowned composers, like Ólafur Arnalds and of course, the dearly missed Jóhann Jóhannsson. Hallgrímsson's sophomore release, I Am Weary, Don’t Let Me Rest, which I am playing right now as I prepare this writeup, was a particular favourite of mine, even as I recognised some of the subtle influence of the above master of the modern classical genre. In this specific case, that should be acknowledged as an enormous compliment - if Jóhann continues to be here through the music of others, I feel slightly better and not so forlorn. This spring, Hallgrímsson returns to Moderna with an original soundtrack for Guy Davidi's documentary called Innocence. "The film is a harrowing insight into what it's like to grow up in a heavily militarized state where military service isn't only compulsory but is seen as a moral and cultural obligation as well." I think the cover of a little girl handling a machine gun tells it all. And yet, it's Hallgrímsson's gorgeous music that takes it to a whole new level.

Innocence (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The Girl in the Dark

TRACK PREMIERE : Snorri Hallgrímsson - The Girl In The Dark

ASHABÁ (2006-2016)
I - ELEGGUA 1
II - SHANGÓ
III - YEMAYÁ
IV - OSHÚN
V - ELEGGUA 2
Live recording at the Museo de Navarra, on April 28th, 2023.
Bass clarinet & Pedal board effects: Carlos Gálvez

Ashabá (2006 - 2016)

Pural Concert

Santa Bušs : 'Absinthe' 
for cello, percussion and piano (2012) : 
Trio Art-i-Shock (Live recording)
:
:
"Absinthe is one of the most mystical beverages in the world, and there are hundreds of legends and stories about its specific effect on the imbiber. The only true fact about it is that the beverage, which is known as the 'green fairy', was banned for nearly a century. I am fascinated by the special 'absinthe effect'- the changed sense of reality, the flow and ebb of energy, nervousness which interweaves with apathy and a sense of helpless paralysis, as well as a nearly uncontrollable shift between reality and hallucinations. I am equally interested in the specific process of enjoying absinthe. When the beverage was at its apex of popularity, a ritual for its consumption was developed down to the most specific detail. Of importance is the form of the glass and the special absinthe spoon. The sugar cube on the spoon is slowly melted and dissolved, with icy-cold stream water being poured onto it drop by drop from a special flagon. The water and the sugar drip into the absinthe, and the initial clear or intensively green colour changed to a nearly non-transparent and light blue tint.

The form of the composition can be associated with the shape of the absinthe glass and its importance in the relevant ritual, thinking about materials with various types and characteristics that are involved in this ritual. The glass is hard, but also fragile and transparent, the liquid is transparent and then non-transparent, the sugar is hard and crystal pure or dissolving, and the metal has properties which do not change. The development of events can, to a certain extent, be linked to the ritual of preparing absinthe, as well as to the various effects which the beverage creates. The palette of sound, in turn, can be associated with the way in which this sweetly bitter treasure changes one's views about things and emotions."

Santa Bušs 'ABSINTHE'

santa.buss@gmail.com

Santa BUŠS is a Latvian composer especially interested in detailed pre-compositional process and working with extra-musical ideas (found in other art forms, physiology, history, mythology, nature, architecture, medicine, sports, philosophy, etc.). 

Though her main focus and form of expression has been linked with instrumental music, lately she has discovered a deep interest in the voice and its possibilities, as well as being keen to expand her approach towards sound, composition and exploring different forms of collaboration. 
This also includes exploring territories between conventional and unconventional notation and performance techniques, as well as experimenting between the boundaries of music, theatre and opera, often focusing on the physical manipulation of instruments and the presence of musicians as a source of drama. 

She has studied both composition and musicology at the Latvian Academy of Music and Hamburg University of Music and Theatre. 

Her works have been performed throughout Europe, in North America and Asia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgBltNTuhvU

Santa Bušs 'ABSINTHE'

Santa Buss

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