What a great piece and recording. Such talented Ensemble😍

Santa BUŠS : 'a chantar... (lacuna)' (2021)
for ensemble 
EnsembleSpectrum, conductor Matej Sloboda 
(studio recording : Clarissine Concert Hall, Bratislava, Slovakia)

The piece ‘a chantar... (lacuna)’ is inspired by trobairitz, the Occitan female troubador traditions, and their poetry that seems quite progressive for the times of both then and now, although touching upon the age-old problems and situations of women throughout history. 
Troubadours often wrote from the woman’s viewpoint, yet the works of the trobairitz often brought a much more personal view of themselves into their lyrics, beautifully using word painting to depict the meaning of poetry. They were not afraid to engage in harsh political discussions or speak of sexual exploits, even if at the time they might be considered forbidden.
There are not many works survived by these women and the only trobairitz song for which music has been preserved is canso 'A chantar m’er de so qu’eu no volria' by Comtessa de Dia, and this exceptional gem serves as one of the starting points for the piece written for EnsembleSpectrum. 
The notation that the troubadours used may have conveyed a wealth of information to the musicians who were familiar with its vocabulary, but modern eyes cannot determine those details... And exactly in this unknown territory and lack of certainty, or gaps of information, caused by time and distance, is where this composition comes to life... And that's also where something I refer to as 'lacuna technique' is essential part of decoding and interpreting the material... 
Lacuna... a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work... or a lexical gap in a language... or an extended silence... or the lack of a law or legal source addressing a situation... or an intention to encourage someone to create their own stories... lacuna... words, sentences, or whole passages that are missing or illegible... caused by weathering, decay, and other damage to old manuscripts or inscriptions..

Santa BUŠS 'a chantar… (lacuna)'

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.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 'a chantar… (lacuna)'

Santa Buss

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taolab

Matej Sloboda

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