Simon Christensen
AFORE… (2015)
for sixteen solo voices divided into four groups
Dur. 15′
AFORE . . . is scored for sixteen solo voices divided into four groups.
AFORE . . . is the gathering of a community afore a sinister and fatal event.
AFORE . . . is commissioned and dedicated to The Danish National Vocal Ensemble.
AFORE . . . seeks a different sound by attempting to maintain four different tunings simultaneously.
GROUP 1:
Alto 1
Tenor 1
Bass 1
Bass 2
A = 448.03 Hz
TUNING:
GROUP 2: Soprano 2
Alto 2
Tenor 2
Bass 3
Bass 4
A= 436.63 Hz
GROUP 3:
Soprano 3
Alto 3
Tenor 3
A = 442.46 Hz
GROUP 4: Soprano 4
Alto 4
Tenor 4 A = 439.38 Hz
One possible way to achieve the correct tuning within a group is to let the tenors use a tuning fork to control the tuning. The tuning forks used for this purpose are tuned quite low:
Group 1/tenor 1: 211.44 Hz (G#) - sing a perfect fourth above to get the first note in the piece, C# Group 2/tenor 2: 183.58 Hz (F#) - sing a perfect fifth above to get the first note in the piece, C#
Group 3/tenor 3: 221.23 Hz (A) - sing a perfect third above to get the first note in the piece, C# Group 4/tenor 4: 207.36 Hz (G#) - sing a perfect fourth above to get the first note in the piece, C#
These tunings determine the intonation within the individual group and each group member must follow the intonated pitch of their respective tenor. The tenors must constantly maintain the tuning within their group and should avoid listening to the tuning of the other groups. This solution in effect means that the singers within a group need to sing fairly loudly in order to keep the desired tuning and avoid listening to the tuning of the other groups. If this solution doesn’t provide the intended result other solutions should be tried.
One solution could be to provide the tenors with in-ear monitors and have a constant C# sounding in their ears. The sound source could be any audio application like Max/Msp creating the correct pitch with a sine/saw oscillator or similar. If this solution is chosen, it is possible the change the pitch from C# to D at the two last pages of the piece. This might be helpful for the tenors, but also means that the conductor or the tenors need to change their pitch with a footswitch connected to the audio application via a trigger to MIDI interface.
A third solution could be to have a monitor within the individual group mounted on a stand that sounds a C# throughout the piece.
POSITION:
The groups should be positioned wide apart on stage with at least two meters between them.
GROUP 1 should resemble a circle:
Tenor: Should stand in the middle of the circle.
Holds an egg shaker in his right hand and – depending on the solution chosen – the tuning fork in his left hand.
Soprano, Alto & Bass 1+2: Should form a circle around the tenor; sharing four seed shakers on a strap, one in each hand: The seed shaker in the Soprano’s right hand is shared with the Bass 1’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Bass 1’s right hand is shared with the Bass 2’s left hand. The seed shaker in the Bass 2’s right hand is shared with the Alto’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Alto’s right hand is shared with the Soprano’s left hand. All five performers must be positioned very close to each other.
GROUP 2 should resemble a circle:
Tenor: Should stand in the middle of the circle.
Holds an egg shaker in his right hand and - depending on the solution chosen - the tuning fork in his left hand.
Soprano, Alto & Bass 3+4: Should form a circle around the tenor; sharing four seed shakers on a strap, one in each hand: The seed shaker in the Soprano’s right hand is shared with the Alto’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Alto’s right hand is shared with the Bass 3’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Bass 3’s right hand is shared with the Bass 4’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Bass 4’s right hand is shared with the Soprano’s left hand.
All five performers must be positioned very close to each other.
GROUP 3 & GROUP 4 should resemble a triangle:
Tenor: Should stand behind Soprano and Alto, facing the audience.
Holds an egg shaker in his right hand and - depending on the solution chosen - the tuning fork in his left hand.
Soprano & Alto: Should be facing each other with their profile facing the audience; sharing two seed shakers on a strap, one in each hand: The seed shaker in the Soprano’s right hand is shared with the Alto’s left hand.
The seed shaker in the Soprano’s left hand is shared with the Alto’s right hand. All three performers must be positioned very close to each other.
12 seed shakers on a straps 4 egg shakers
CONCERT:
Performing this music should preferably be executed without a conductor and without any parts or music stands on stage. This requires the tenors to visualize the pulse throughout the piece. The music is it also performable with parts and a conductor, but the choir should always be divided in four groups and positioned on stage as previously described.
SCORE:
The score is notated in meter 4/4 since this is the easiest and most common time signature. The music is not related to any kind of 4/4 feeling, so no emphasizing on the “strong” beats should occur. The score is arranged in groups and an extra orientation line is added in order to show the overall percussion rhythm.
PARTS:
The individual part is limited to two pages of music. This is due to the fact that the singers hold percussion instruments in their hands and are therefore not able to turn pages. As a result of this, the spacing of the notes in some parts can seem somewhat dense, especially in the soprano parts.
NOTATION:
tenuto = always hold the pitch as long as written without any kind of diminuendo. Apply attack ad lib. tenuto/staccato = always with a subtle attack, succeeded by a clearly audible diminuendo.
marcato = always with a strong attack
portamento = always with a subtle attack, quasi tremolo.
X notehead = percussion.
EXECUTION:
The dynamics should be as straight forward as possible, never forced and loud or on the other hand, never hold back and sing too softly. The overall balance of the choir should in accordance to this concept of “natural” dynamic, thus creating a somewhat classical untrained balance in the choir. There are few crescendos in this music and they should always be executed in a moderate way, always returning to the main dynamic immediately hereafter.
All note repetitions should be regarded as a kind of tremolo, regardless of being written as portamento or being part of a legato passage.
In order to simplify the rhythmic notation many tenuto/staccatto notes are written with a shorter duration than what might be the sounding result. No matter how long these notes are written, they should always have a clearly audible diminuendo.
AFORE . . . has no text and the singers must choose which vocal sound they will use; a soft and round timbre will suit the music best. Different vocal sounds for different pitches can be chosen, but if for instance the vocal sound “O” is chosen for C#, it should remain this way throughout the music.
The percussion part is an important sound in this piece. The shaker should be lifted from a default position and up and then back to the default position. The best sounding result is achieved by avoiding any sound on the up motion, but when returning to the default position, add a strong accent. All singers should perform this with their right hand and NEVER with their left hand.
Whenever the pitch gets too long to be executed on one breath, inhale very quickly and clearly audibly – like being breathless.
The fermata on the last bar should have a duration between one and two minutes and if conducted, the conductor should stop here. On this last sound the singers will have to breathe in many times, still with very fast and clearly audible breathing. At the end of this long sustain, Alto 4 and Soprano 4 suddenly drop their shared shaker to the ground. This is the end.
