Auftragswerk vom Ensemble Kontrapunkte

Im Sommer 2018 durfte ich anlässlich einer Artist Residency zehn Wochen in Alaska verbringen. Als ich kurz nach diesem Aufenthalt um ein Werk für das Ensemble Kontrapunkte angefragt wurde, war die Inspiration zu WILLIWAW schon gegeben.
In der Meteorologie ist ein Williwaw ein plötzlicher Windstoß, der von einer Gebirgsküste zum Meer hin absteigt. 
Diese Bezeichnung wird üblicherweise für Winde der Magellanstraße, der Alëuten und der Fjorde des Alaska Panhandle verwendet. 
Der Begriff Wind kommt aus dem Indogermanischen und bedeutet soviel wie wehen oder blasen. Wind ist bewegte Luft und wird poetisch auch als „Atem der Erde“ bezeichnet. 
Neben meinen persönlichen Wind-und-Wetter Erlebnissen verbindet mich als Klarinettistin ebenfalls der Atem mit diesem Thema. Wie bei allen Blasinstrumenten - auf englisch sehr treffend „wind instruments“ genannt - formt der Atem des Musizierenden die Phrasen und bringt die Musik auf diese Weise zum Ausdruck. Die Musik atmet.
So wie der Wind in vielerlei Hinsicht für die Erde und uns Menschen notwendig ist, sorgt der Atem für die Lebendigkeit eines jeden Individuums und seinem Tun.

UA: 17.02.2020 - Musikverein Wien, Duo Stump-Linshalm und Ensemble Kontrapunkte

WILLIWAW (2019) for 2 solo bass clarinets and ensemble

Vom Bewahren und Loslassen
Nyctea bedeutet „bei Nacht“ und ist eine Art uralter Waldgeist in Frauengestalt. Die Aufgabe von Nyctea ist es, das zu schützen, was in dieser Welt verloren gehen könnte. So fegt sie nach und nach Berge, Wälder und Flüsse und bringt Schneckenhäuser, Pilze, Flechten, Geweihe, Knochen und Federn in ihre Höhle. Die kostbarstenSchätze sind aber die Knochen und Federn von Eulen, die Nyctea liebevoll formt und zusammensetzt. Sie singt dabei und atmet so der Eule Leben ein, die dann ihre Flügel ausbreitet und für immer davonfliegt… nur ein, zwei flaumige Federn und eine blasse Erinnerung an ihre Schönheit bleiben zurück.

Titel und Stück sind inspiriert von einer Geschichte von Kim Bateman. Weitere Texte im Stück stammen von Chief Dan George und den Navajo (Walk in Beauty).

SINGING OVER BONES ist Werner Korn gewidmet.

SINGING OVER BONES (2021) for voice and contrabass clarinet

Leggiadra badinerie per Clarinetto contrabbasso, due Ottavini e Flauto, in honorem cremae caramellis.

Graceful Badinerie for Contrabass Clarinet, Two Piccolos, and Flute, in Honor of Crème Caramels. (bUdinerie is a pun as 'budino' means 'custard' in italian...😅)

Budinerie

Katharina Gross & Fie Schouten
violoncello & (contra)bass clarinet
from CD titled bee sage, Attacca 2024171 
bee sage (2023) Rozalie Hirs
full length 14min
stream, buy download
https://fieschoutenclarinets.bandcamp.com/track/bee-sage-2023-rozalie-hirs
buy physical CD
https://attacca.nl/product/schouten-gross-bee-sage/

About the piece:
bee sage is named after the plant Salvia apiana, also known as white sage, sacred sage, or bee sage. This aromatic plant, native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, is often associated with purification, healing, and spiritual practices. In choosing this title, Hirs evokes the plant’s connection to ritual, nature, and the delicate ecosystems in which it thrives.
The parts of the two instruments are both contrasting and complementary. A central feature of the cello part is its use of sum and difference tones, a phenomenon known from psychoacoustics. The deep, resonant tones of the contrabass clarinet anchor the piece, revealing the fundamental frequencies that underlie the harmonically rich language of the cello. Through this structure, I explore the way the different timbres can fuse, intertwine, and engage in a constant dialogue.
The work invites the listener to immerse themselves in a sound world where time feels elastic, and where the richness of the harmonic spectra is slowly revealed. Bee sage is dedicated to Duo Gross & Schouten. 
Rozalie Hirs, 2024

bee sage (fragment)

Performed by Alain Billard in the Ircam Espace de Projection as part of ManiFeste 2024

Recording: Sébastien Naves
RIM: Rémi Le Taillandier

Additional mixing by Nathan Corder

Blur [2024, for contrabass clarinet and electronics]

UPRISING (rivolta) for contrabass clarinet and live electronic
Franco Evangelisti prize 2022 in Rome
Paolo Ravaglia, contrabass clarinet
Alessandro Ratoci, live electronics

The title "Uprising" conveys multiple ideas, each referencing distinct concepts. The first pertains to a sonic phenomenon: the higher energy of the audio spectrum rising above the lower fundamentals. The second draws from the English meaning of a violent revolt, serving as a metaphor for the spirit of the piece.
Alongside the clarinet and its electroacoustic transformation, a key element is introduced: the kick drum, a staple of dance-oriented electronic music. This choice was made for its physical impact as a sonic "cliché" and its tonal resemblance to certain timbres in the clarinet's lower register. Detached from its typical role of maintaining regular metric patterns, the kick drum is reimagined to create fluid, pulsating sound objects.

UPRISING for Contrabass Clarinet and Electronic

Full piece (53min) 
https://fieschoutenclarinets.bandcamp.com/album/dronescape-65-oneirology-6

Dronescape 6.5 is the seventeenth in a series of albums, containing new Digital Symphonies by Oscar van Dillen.

Oscar van Dillen composition, electronics
Fie Schouten composition, contrabass clarinet, bass clarinet, A-clarinet, voice

Fie Schouten: “My contribution to Oneirology 6 is entirely improvised. However, this was not a spontaneous or unprepared process. I thoroughly explored the concept of oneirology and engaged deeply with the electronic soundscape created and composed by Oscar. The choice to begin with the contrabass clarinet, followed by the bass clarinet, and finally the A clarinet was guided by the emotions evoked while listening to the electronic composition. As intermezzi, I softly address the audience, starting with a definition of oneirology as a way to anchor the listener in the conceptual "world" of the performance. The electronics serve as both a comforting blanket and, at times, a veil of mist surrounding the instrument, which might perhaps be imagined as a lone wanderer, navigating this dreamscape.”

More information about this series and this specific piece:
www.oij-records.com/dronescape-6-5-oneirology-6/
credits
released December 13, 2024

Oneirology 6 was recorded on a single day, July 2024, at Codarts Rotterdam; the mixing was finalized in collaboration.
The work and text of this album were collaboratively created, composed, and recorded.

cover art, recording, mix, master Oscar van Dillen
OIJ Records 051, Donemus DCV 549 

Oneirology (fragment) Oscar van Dillen | Fie Schouten

Lament for Woodwind Ensemble

First Date

The RITUAL project, part of Synesthesia Lab 2025, invited several composers to create works that would bridge the spirit of club music with the language of contemporary composition. Aurés Moussong contributed the piece GN-∆lon for contrabass clarinet and electronics, performed by Ignat Krasikov, in which pulsating energy, meditative elements, and a hypnotic atmosphere converge.


GN-∆lon for contrabass clarinet and electronics

https://www.stump-linshalm.com

All scores are available at:
http://shop.apoll-edition.work/index.php?route=common/home

Sinfonie di Salvezza: 
La Missione di Suor Attila in un breve riassunto.
(English version below)

Rispondendo alla Chiamata manifestatasi tramite 
un Call Center, colpita da profonda emozione, Suor Attila decise di dedicare la Sua vita alla correzione dei bisognosi, fondando così il Pio Istituto delle Piccole Ancelle Ausiliatrici dell’Apocalisse.

Fermamente convinta che le anime perdute e le menti tormentate possano essere redente attraverso una sinergia di preghiera e legnate sulle gengive, la Salvifica Madre professa il ritorno a più efficaci e risolutivi riti di salvazione, generalmente promossi attraverso ecumeniche ronde di correzionatori.

Ma la vera Opera di Suor Attila si manifesta nella Sua musica. 
Un tripudio di banalità e insensatezze -modellate in un’epifania di straordinaria bruttezza- produce nell'ascoltatore una sensazione di confusione e fastidio che dà vita a un’esperienza di ascolto assolutamente unica. 

Non sorprende, quindi, che la Pia Religiosa abbia ricevuto numerosi riconoscimenti per il Suo contributo unico a un'Arte che sfida ogni forma di decoro.

Si esorta dunque all'ascolto dell’Opera di Suor Attila; un'esperienza che nessuno può permettersi di ignorare. (Ritorsioni in caso di inadempienza)

______________________________________________________________

Symphonies of Salvation:
Sister Attila's Mission in a Brief Summary.

Responding to the Call that manifested through a Heavenly Call Center, deeply moved, Sister Attila decided to dedicate her life to correcting the needy, thus founding the Pious Institute of the Little Handmaidens of the Apocalypse. 

But the true vocation of Sister Attila is revealed in her music. 
A triumph of banality and senselessness—shaped into an epiphany of extraordinary ugliness—produces in the listener a sensation of confusion and annoyance that gives rise to an absolutely unique listening experience.  

Thus, you are urged to carefully listen to Sister Attila's work; an experience that no one can afford to ignore. (Retaliation in case of non-compliance.)

(Bass) clarinetist
Professor for bass clarinet at the Prince Claus Conservatory Groningen (NL)
Artistic director of the Dutch Basklarinet Festijn

Hello and welcome to my profile! 

     My name is Omar Octavio Gaytán-Procel, born in México City and currently living in Copenhagen, Denmark. Music and Composition especially have played a very significant role in my life for the past 40 years or so.

    With my production I try to portray the human drama of our times, all of that fragmented reality that appears in front of us every day and that we, the composers, painters, writers use to express our vision of ourselves and the creation around us. My production consist in more than 1000 pieces to the date ( February 2024 ) and is divided in multiple textures and formats. It started years ago with acoustic music and with time and new technology it developed into electro-acoustic music and later into pure electronic.

    Here on my SoundCloud you will find some examples of the different musical ideas that I have been involved with from the mid-nineties to this date. This ideas range from Solo pieces, Chamber Music, Orchestral Music to pure Electronics.

    Thanks for listening!

http://matthew-monaco.com

Composer/Pianist

Matthew Monaco (b. 1997) is a composer of acoustic and electroacoustic music. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2022, Matthew received his master’s degree from the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he studied composition with Stefano Gervasoni and electronic music with Yan Maresz, Luis Naon, et Grégoire Lorieux. In May 2020, he received his Bachelor of Music from the New England Conservatory, where he studied with Stratis Minakakis, minoring in music theory.

His works have been performed in the United States and Europe by groups such as Ensemble intercontemporain, Ensemble l’Itinéraire, Ensemble Court-circuit, the Callithumpian Consort, the Del Sol Quartet, the Brouwer Trio, members of Ensemble Linea, the Orchestre des lauréats du Conservatoire (of the Paris Conservatory), and others. Matthew’s music has been performed by conductors such as Hugh Wolff, Jean Deroyer, Stephen Drury, and Léo Margue, and featured in festivals including ManiFeste and Voix Nouvelles. His work with electronics has been performed in venues including Ircam, UC Berkeley’s CNMAT, and Stanford University’s CCRMA. Matthew served as Composer-in-Residence for the newly-formed Alinéa Ensemble during their inaugural season (2019-2020).

He has had masterclasses and lessons from composers including Kaija Saariaho, Tristan Murail, Philippe Leroux, Francesco Filidei, Philippe Manoury, Francesca Verunelli, Toshio Hosokawa, and Du Yun. From 2018-2020, Matthew co-curated NEC’s contemporary music series “Tuesday Night New Music”, where he developed monthly programs of intimate concert evenings highlighting premieres by NEC’s composers. From 2015-2016, he interned with the New York Philharmonic, working within the Young People’s Concerts, Very Young Composers program, and other educational programs. Matthew’s initial musical training focused on piano studies, jazz, and improvised music.

Matthew’s research focuses on intersections of phenomenology and music theory, creating a space for work-specific methods in contemporary music analysis. Current research investigates musico-grammatical paradigms in the music of Cecil Taylor.

New tracks tagged #contrabass clarinet