for percussion & live-electronics Dur. 47′47″
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Composed with support from the Danish Arts Foundation. Komponeret med
Edition·S publications are supported by the Danish Arts Foundation / Edition·S udgivelser er støttet af Statens Kunstfond
CRATAEGI (2012–22)
for percussion & live-electronics
Dur. 47′47″
CRATAEGI (2012-2022) for percussion solo & live electronics (MaxMSP) deals with the microscopic metamorphosis, a gradual change from one state to something different. Sometimes occur significant contrasts to the continuous. CRATAEGI is known in Danish as Hvidtjørnens Hvidvinge (White Hawthorn’s White Wing) – a delicate name for a creature of equal delicacy. Picture a white butterfly, its wings spanning 50 to 65 mm, drifting on unseen air currents. Its body is a sleek contrast in black against the purity of its wings, which bear the intricate map of life’s veins etched in dark lines. Enter a realm of audiovisual enchantment, crafted by the artistic minds of Nes Lerpa and Ejnar Kanding, performed by percussionist David Hildebrandt and brought to life through the interactive video by photographer Kim Dang Trong. The composition is supported by the Danish Arts Foundation. The ensemble Contemporánea project, which includes the recording, concerts in Italy and Denmark, the digital release, and the video, is supported by Augustinus Fonden and William Demant Fonden.
CRATAEGI unfolds in eight movements, spanning 47:47 minutes of auditory and visual immersion. Each movement, bearing titles in Danish, Italian, German, and English, whispers of hues and emotions:
Hvidtjørnens Hvidvinge (White Hawthorn’s White Wing) – 4 rototoms, 4 toms – 3:47
Verderame (Copper Green) – multiperc & vibraphone – 6:17
Black Obsidian – vibraphone – 5:37
Amber Glow – multiperc – 5:24
Antracitgrå (Anthracite Grey) – marimba – 1:57
Blau Seelenfrieden (Azure Serenity) – multiperc – 9:49
Fuoco Rosso (Fire Red) – multiperc – 3:49
Zinnoberfeuer (Cinnabar Blaze) – little table with small devices, 3 cymbals – 11:07
For over a decade, Lerpa and Kanding have woven their creative threads together across continents, culminating in the inception of CRATAEGI in 2019. Trong finished the mesmerizing visuals of the video in December 2023. Recorded by Hildebrandt (2022-2023) and produced by Kanding (2023), the album emerged worldwide on diverse streaming platforms on January 12, 2024.
At its core, CRATAEGI is a contemplation of the butterfly. Poem by Nes Lerpa and Ejnar Kanding:
Transparent
One sees through Depth in time and expression
Mirrors itself in itself
Firm in fragility
Mighty in meekness
Flying pattern slices through the air
Is there – is not there
Lerpa speaks of the synergy between painting and inspiration drawn from music, photography, and language, each layer enriching the final masterpiece. Meanwhile, Kanding’s musical tapestry weaves electronic and acoustic sounds, a symphony of complexity and simplicity, rooted in classical tradition yet blossoming into something altogether new – a genre he terms “postmodern classicaltronics.”
Nes Lerpa about Hvidtjørnens Hvidvinge (2020): “A dance of flight, through the ether, both there and not, endless veins of life, worn by time, yet soaring ever higher, a convergence of selves, the butterfly, its canvas unmarked, its beauty unbound, underside and topside, a reflection of the timeless.”
CRATAEGI beckons, inviting you to lose yourself in its fleeting beauty, to ponder the depths of existence through the flutter of a butterfly’s wings and the symphony of sound and sight.
PERCUSSION SETUP
A main position with multi percussion and vibraphone Marimba with a low tom
A little table with small devices
Three cymbals
The electronics is one audio file with a preparred click track. Each musician may choose in which sections they wish to hear electronics or click. Real-time processing developed in MaxMSP is added.
Main setup Main setup:
percussion setup for bretschneider-kanding composition bongos h3+a3
Other instruments used:
• Maracas
• Flexatone
furthermore uses:
• maracas
• 2 stones (scrape sound)
• flexaton
• Small stones in a temple bowl
• 2 stones (scrape sound)
• Contrabass bow for the tam-tam & vibraphone
• small stones in a temple bowl
• Metal stick, mallets, stickers, whiskers
• contrabass bow for the tam-tam & vibraphone
• metal stick, mallets, stickers, whiskers
• Gum balls (jump sound)
• gum balls (jump sound)
Suggestions for microphones
microphone 1-5 use fx DPA 4011 or Neumann KM184
Microphone 1-5: DPA 4011 or Neumann KM184
microphone 6 use fx AKG 112
Microphone 6: AKG 112
Ejnar Kanding
babbling, pregnant sounds, yet flowing organically like water
cymbals section wind tam, china, sabian (a bit muted)
the metric i spulled from side to side -> the pulse goes down on the tripod -> a dance begins with secco & long tones in a mix -> the dance culminates in an explosion