Rebecca Saunders_Scar (Triptych II)_EP14402_Score

SAUNDERS

Scar for 15 Soloists and Conductor

Full Score

Peters Contemporary Library

REBECCA SAUNDERS

Scar

Full Score

for A. J. Saunders

Commissioned by Festival Acht Brücken | Musik für Köln with fnancial support from the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group & individual contributors to their ‘Sound Investment Scheme’, Huddersfeld Contemporary Music Festival, Casa da Música Porto & Festival d’Automne à Paris.

For frst performance by Klangforum Wien and Julien Leroy at Acht Brücken Festival, 2 May 2019.

Scar

for 15 soloists and conductor (2018–19)

scar /skɑː/

n. 1. The fibrous connective tissue remaining on the skin or within body tissue, where a wound, burn, or sore has healed. 2. A steep high cliff or rocky eminence. v. 1. trans. Mark with a scar or scars; to do lasting injury to. 2. intrans. To become scarred.

ME skere, ON sker, skera, OF escharre, GK eskhara

Scar: stigma, cicatrix, lesion, naevus, trauma, pock and pit – marred, a mark of diference.

Memory, history, ingrained on the skin:

tracing a possible wound.

Te implication of violence, disfgured and defaced.

Te imperfect surface, frayed edges, cracks in the veneer.

Silence is the canvas on which the weight of sound leaves its mark.

In Scar sound rips open the surface of silence, or peels back the skin, zooms in, and falls into the netherworld – seeking the obscured, that which lies within.

And a single quotation from the British artist Ed Atkins depicts some of the issues with which I was preoccupied when writing Scar: “Tis corporal revenge. A genuine, concerted and systematic undoing of grace. Every promise discovered too late to be a fucking lie told badly. Te promise of intimacy and the promise of beauty ripped away to reveal a gawping, hyperreal brute. Perfection only withheld by that small matter of the encroaching white of dawn under the door and the imminent waking. When all of this might be nonchalantly buried studded into the underwear draw of language and a sprint of animist velocity....”

US DEAD TOLD LOVE, A primer for Cavaders

RS, Berlin March 2019

Instrumentation

Oboe

Bass clarinet in Bb (Boehm system), also Clarinet in Bb

Trumpet in C

Horn in F

Tenorbass trombone

2 Percussionists

Button accordion

2 Grand pianos (with 3rd pedal)

Electric Guitar

Violin

Viola

Violoncello

Double bass (5-string, with scordatura)

Te score is transposed.

Stage layout, left/right divide

Piano 1, accordion and percussion 1 / Piano 2, electric guitar and percussion 2

Winds and brass in a curved line between pianos. Strings in semi-circle in front of the conductor

Duration circa 18 ½ – 19 minutes

General Notes

Te main body of the piece is a furious ongoing exploration of an extremely reduced palette of timbres.

Explosive – the piano duo is central!, as are the accordion/piano 1, and e-guitar/piano 2 duos.

Te extremes of articulation are very important at all times – absolute contrast of colour, attack and intent. In contrast to the loud, choleric and at times distorted sound material, take every opportunity to explore soft, expressive and warm sounds.

In the fast passages, hold tempo back, feeling the weight of sound and keeping clearly defned both rhythmic coherence and timbral contrast. Expand fermatas and resonance-like moments where possible – never too short!

Final section tempo 42 is approximate – this is fragile and delicate, without rubato, exploring subtle shades of timbre. Keep in motion, never stagnant: timeless, but avoid melancholy. Te strings melodic fragments provide the leading voice.

Tempi given are only guidelines. Interpretation and acoustic of performance space are key.

Silence is the canvas – despite choleric nature of much of the sound material, all sounds surface out of, and disappear into, silence.

Specifc Notes

Oboe and bass clarinet multiphonics

Fluttertongue and bisbigliando trills can be added or swopped to stabilise any chords if necessary. Fingerings are given, but seek alternatives if necessary.

Brass voice/play

Change sung octave if necessary to accomodate personal vocal limits and to achieve maximum efect.

Pianos

1. Te right/left play of the pianos is critical, placed far right and left, and paired with accordion and e-guitar in front of them.

2. Piano lids kept on and fully raised, both opening towards the conductor.

3. Te virtuosic piano parts play a central role. Te gestural quality of their sounds and the left/right spatial play, coupled with the accordion and e-guitar, is critical throughout the piece.

4. Piano clusters – assume the approx. span of palm = major 7th and arm = 2 ½ octaves, but players may have a larger or smaller stretch, so that the clusters need be adjusted accordingly. But keep the tenuto or accented notes at all costs - this is the leading “melodic” line.

5. Te fnal section – the two piano chords outline a melodic line, and are in a world of their own. Tenutos mark the melodic line at the top or bottom of the clusters. Expressive but not melancholic.

Strings

1. All 32nd-note harmonic passage-work only on given string until change of string is notated – string crossings are not possible with fxed fnger patterns.

2. Te melodic fragments of the fnal section at tempo 42 are fragile, intimate and expressive – explore extreme f timbre: fautando and sul tasto extreme, with extreme contrast to fautando SP timbre. Te solo strings lead this fnal part!

3. All tenutos and accents show automatically a bow change.

RS, Berlin March 2019

Oboe fngerings for multiphonics and double ffth harmonic fngerings are given in the chart below.

To explore further alternative multiphonics, bisbigliando and timbral fngerings, please refer to Peter Veale's book.

Soft, pliable, somewhat older reeds are most suitable for the delicate multiphonic sounds – explore diferent reeds when preparing the part.

œ Flutter tongue, front or back, depending on context!

bis æ æ œ Bisbigliando, choose fngerings for clear timbral contrast.

tr x2 Double trills with given fngerings (multiphonics).

vib Vibrato only if marked.

œ œ Glissando.

o o Use „air“ timbre to facilitate crescendo from, and diminuendo to “silence”.

O Air.

dark Choose alternative timbral fngerings. Listen to ensemble context. Some 'dark' fngerings are given.

Multiphonic chart for Oboe

I – Multiphonics All numbers in square brackets refer to Peter Veale’s book.

&

d5

Bass clarinet in B b

Bass clarinet Boehm system is essential.

Circular breathing on longer notes where possible.

œ Fluttertongue, front or back, depending on context!

bis æ æ œ Bisbigliando, choose fngerings for clear timbral contrast.

bis x2 Double tr ills

è 5 Raise or lower by a ¼-tone; an expressive function.

œ œ Glissando. For the very long durations, stretch the glissando as slowly as possible – take your time exploring the interval.

vib Vibrato only if marked.

m vib Molto vibrato, wide and expressive.

o o Use “air” timbre to facilitate crescendo from, and diminuendo to “silence”.

O Air.

½ air ½ air and tone

Bass clarinet in B b fngerings chart for the two underblown chord series and the dyads are given in the chart below. All trills – single and double – and the bisbigliandi start fast, also when coming out of silence. Hear keys and air as sound surfaces.

Ossia for all multiphonics and dyads:

If necessary, you can add bisbigliando +/or futtertongue to the chord, stabilise it to achieve given notes – explore the best combination of techniques on your instrument.

œ ¿ ¿ ¿ Stable thick multiphonic with written low bass tone.

œ ¿ ¿¿ Stable thick multiphonic without written low bass tone.

+ Multiphonic tongue-slap - heavy and long (tenuto), with and without bass tone.

Multiphonic chart for Bass clarinet

Trumpet

Circular breathing on longer notes where possible.

Mutes: Wawa and Harmon.

For smooth transition between harmon and wawa timbres, use wawa mute with stem in (wawa) or ¾-out (harmon).

wawa→senza Remove wawa mute while playing. Use a mute that can be inserted and removed noiselessly, e.g. Charles Davis wawa, Best Brass, MB or Jo-Ral mutes.

o ++ 3 Trill o/+ in clear rhythm as shown.

œ Flutter tongue, front or back, depending on context.

O Air.

[023] Prepare given fngering for coming ¼-tone or ½-tone. Alternatively, use lip gliss in some places as needed.

[103]

œ œ Valve glissando. Lengthen tube at given fngering to alter pitch.

3[123 ] Valve already extended before playing. Glissando then back up to normal pitch.

œ  Glissando up or down from high partial, rough.

Ϗ Glissando with half valves.

œ

“fff ” A relative dynamic, e.g. for harmon mute sounding f : play as loud as physically possible! Very particular timbral efect.

tk Doubletongue.

vib Assume non vibrato unless otherwise stated.

split ˙ ˙ A split-tone is the resultant fast oscillation between two neighbouring overtones of one series, caused by diference in tension between upperand under-lip. Block upper lip, then lower lip aims for higher note of interval, and upper lip aims for lower tone. Other notes may resonate with the interval, giving the impression of a chord: A “dirty” sound, tuning is unstable, e.g., the ffth may de-tune becoming a tritone. Some intervals can only be located with the valve lengthened, giving an overtone series a semi-tone lower.

è 5 Raise or lower by a ¼-tone; an expressive function.

˙) Add voice, sing and play. Add voice gradually and carefully in quiet passages. Balance with played tone, encouraging diference tones and noise interference. Voice limitations vary from player to player, therefore given pitches are ideals and octave can be changed if necessary.

lip Lip glissando.

Horn

Mute: Bass trombone Wawa mute. Use a mute which can be inserted and removed noiselessly and quickly, e.g. Denis Wick bass trombone mute shaved/thinned to ft, or Wallace wawa for horn.

Ÿ o + Trill 1 or 2 fngers in front of wawa mute. fast; slow.

+ Hand over the wawa mute.

o Hand removed from end of wawa mute.

+ If senza, stopped horn.

open If senza, open horn

½+ If senza, ½-stopped horn.

œ Flutter tongue.

O Air. Create sufcient wind resistance with the tongue or the lips.

No M.P. Remove mouthpiece and reverse it, placing at an angle to the tube. For “air” sounds.

˙) Add voice, sing and play. Add voice gradually and carefully in quiet passages. Let resistance create multiphonic and interference at f and beatings at p dynamics.

Voice limitations vary widely from player to player, therefore given pitches are ideals. Change octave of sung pitch if necessary.

HV Use ½-valves carefully to facilitate given glissandi.

è 5 Raise or lower by a ¼-tone; an expressive function.

Trombone

Mutes: Wawa and Harmon. Choose a wawa mute that can be inserted quickly and quietly, e.g. Denis Wick. Plunger optional extra when ‘senza’ to 1) focus air sounds, 2) balance voice/played-tone chords and multiphonic efects, and 3) for pianissimo sounds where there is no time to insert a mute. Fix plunger on stand to use if and when.

Ÿ o + Trill 1 or 2 fngers fast in front of wawa mute.

œ Trill o/+ in clear rhythm as shown.

œ Fluttertongue.

tk Doubletongue.

O Air. Create sufcient wind resistance with the tongue or the lips.

Ring “Ring Modulator” efect: tone and high voice combine to produce a loud and stable multiphonic. At ff , sung tone becomes like a controlled pitched-”scream”! Use plunger to focus as necessary. Voice limitations vary widely from player to player, therefore given pitches are ideals.

) n Multiphonic displaced octaves (e.g. bar 31). Ossia: change the octave of the voice to facilitate multiphonic efect, according to vocal range of player. Use plunger to mix voice and played tone if necessary.

˙) Add voice gradually and carefully! Use hand over wawa or use plunger to balance and fuse together, if necessary.

Complex Shout ¿ ¿¿ Shout into the trombone. It creates a mid to high tight and thick complex multiphonic.

œ œ Glissando.

Percussion 1 and 2

Instrument list

Percussion 1

BD Bass drum (and chain)

BP 2 bell plates (and foil)

TT Small/med. tamtam (and chain)

Coil 2 coils (and Side Drum)

MP 2 Metal plates

Nico* Bass Nicophone

Cym Cymbals, high and low

LR Lion's Roar

WB High woodblock

Guiro Open Guiro

SpDr High Spr ing drum

Percussion 2

BD Bass drum (and chain)

BP 2 bell plates (and foil)

TT Very large tamtam (and chain)

Coil 2 coils (and Side Drum)

MP 2 Metal plates

Cym Cymbal, low

TS Tunder sheet (thin and long)

WB High and low woodblocks

Guiro Open Guiro

SpDr High Spr ing drum

*Nicophone is available from the composer or purchase/hire from the maker Domenico Melchiorre: www.melchiorre.ch

Percussion 1

BD Very large Bass drum. Natural skin, double-sided.

1cm Play as near to rim as possible.

¡

¿ pp

æ æ œ æ æ œ Centre of dr um head.

rim

¿ Play on wooden rim.

¡ ¿ ff

Snare sticks, only extra thick – to avoid damage to skin of bass drum at sf / sff. Ossia: large round-headed wooden beaters. a b Contact points on stick: a tip b mid-point b→a move from middle of stick to tip while playing.

S Drag superball gently over BD.

S Ordinary large superball beater. S S Small-headed superball beater for high singing tones.

S +chain

œ With chain and superball. Choose superball head that works on the bass drum for a deep dark resonance. Place very light sizzle-chain on skin of drum – hear high trilling surface of sound with low resonance of drum. Delicate when pp, distorted and ferocious when ff

Ÿ

œ With chain and large soft bass drum beaters – delicate.

T. Wet thumb drag slowly over skin – deep resonance.

œ œ Damped tenuto strokes.

Large fufy beaters.

R Rubber handles of Kolberg triangle beaters.

Ordinary bass drum beaters.

BP Large and low bell plates, semi-tone apart in lowest octave between C1 and F1 (diferent semitones to Perc. 2).

a.b. c. Points of contact:

a.centre, low deep bass tone

b.top half, partials and complex spectrum

c.top edge, very high partials.

+foil Small piece of tin foil folded over top side edge of each bell plate: pp high trilling, f / ff distortion.

Hard bell plate beaters – e.g. square wood leather wrapped or with felt covering.

Bell plate beaters, large and soft.

P Plastic or hard rubber beaters.

M Kolberg heavy triangle stick (metal centre).

TT Medium/small tamtam.

Points of contact: 1. centre 2. centre circle 3. large smooth zone 4. outer-ridged zone 5. side/edge

+chain With chain. Hang a very light thin long chain over the edge of the tamtam when indicated. Chain vibrates on surface of tamtam when tamtam is struck with a long clear regular pulse. Vibrations combine with metalic and non-metallic shimmering overtones.

M Â Fast action around edge of tamtam. Big gesture over half of the outer edge.

Hard felt beaters (2-tone).

Natural birch. Ossia: wire brushes.

P Plastic or hard-rubber beaters.

W Round-headed wooden beaters.

Coil 2 car springs of diferent sizes and complex resonant timbres. Not plastic coated. Lay fat on small pieces of black expanded sponge rubber (Moosgummi). Fixed on a Side Drum for maximum resonance and diferentiation of timbre.

P Plastic or hard rubber beaters.

M Kolberg heavy triangle stick (metal centre).

G Medium gong beaters. Ossia: BP leather beaters.

Hard felt beaters (2-tone).

Hard bell plate or tubular bells beaters with leather covering.

MP 2 Metal plates. Flat, laid on small pieces of compressed rubber/foam for maximum resonance. Choose 2 complex and resonant sounds, e.g. iron plate ca. 25x30x0,5cm, old large detuned cowbell, complex brake drum, or aluminium tubes.

P Plastic or hard rubber beaters.

M Kolberg heavy triangle stick (metal centre).

Nico Bass Nicophone (large/low). Lay on thin strips of black expanded sponge rubber (Moosgummi) across the top of a large timpani for maximum resonance. Ossia: lay on a hollow wooden table or box – maximum resonance is critical.

M œ œ Fast glissando over top surface rills.

T r w Glissando slowly over rills. Hear the partials rise or descend. slats

œ œ Te two large slats on the side have two central tones. Explore and vary points of contact.

M Kolberg heavy triangle stick (metal centre).

W Round-headed wooden beater

G Medium gong beaters

T r w Tin light triangle stick.

Cym 2 cymbals, high and low. Either chinese cymbals or other large cymbal with rich complex resonant overtones.

arco Bowed with bass bow: mid-high complex overtones.

Hard felt beaters.

Felt beaters.

LR Large low Lion's Roar – large drum head, long string.

WB Woodblock high, mounted. Plastic or hard rubber beaters.

Guiro Large long loud very heavy wooden open guiro, mounted.

Sp Dr Spring Drum, high.

Percussion 2

BD See Percussion 1.

2 BPs See Percussion 1.

TT Large tamtam ca. 140cm diameter.

Points of contact: 1. centre 2. centre circle 3. large smooth zone 4. outer-r idged zone 5. side/edge

S +chain œ With chain. Place a very light thin long chain over the edge of the tamtam when indicated. Chain vibrates on surface of tamtam when tamtam is struck with a long clear regular pulse. Vibrations combine with metalic and non-metallic shimmering overtones.

M Â Fast action around edge of tamtam. Big gesture over half of the outer edge.

S Superball beater dragged slowly and carefully over surface of tamtam - choose superball that works on the size of tamtam for deep dark fuctuating resonance. Almost melodic!

Large soft beater.

T r w Tin light tr iangle stick gently around the edge of tamtam.

S Ordinary large superball beater. S S Small-headed superball beater for high singing tones. Natural birch. Ossia: wire brushes.

P Plastic or hard-rubber beaters.

W Round-headed wooden beaters.

2 Coils See Percussion 1.

2 MPs See Percussion 1.

Cym Cymbal, large and low. Either chinese cymbals or other large cymbal with rich complex resonant overtones.

arco Bowed with bass bow: mid-high complex overtones.

WB 2 Woodblocks low and high, mounted. Plastic or hard rubber beaters.

Guiro Large long loud very heavy wooden open guiro, mounted.

Sp Dr Spring Drum, med/low.

TS Long thin metal thunder sheet, not thick, for delicate pp sounds. Hard felt beaters. Felt beaters.

Accordion

Button accordion – please note a number of sounds are not possible on the keyboard accordion.

Range MI ? & › œ

Range MII/III ? & › œ

Use MI chin registers for sudden register changes and double register sounds. Written at sounding pitch. Ideal registers given. Re-distribute between RH and LH and alter registers as you need. Re-distribute chromatic chords between MI and MII as you feel necessary. shows highest sounding notes possible.

ã ãã ã ã œ œ œ œ Chromatic cluster, outer tones included.

palm Chromatic cluster, extra wide, using palm diagonally on buttons. & 6 6 6 6 Tick chromatic cluster played with palm – pitch band shown approximately in graphics.

- Air only

o o Gradually depress for gentle start, as if from nothing. Decrescendo as if to nothing.

[1 by 1] Single tones emerge one-by-one with crescendo, and disappear one-by-one with decrescendo.

button Ÿ

æ æ ˙ Button trill.

BS æ æ ˙ max Bellows shake (trem.) as fast as possible.

b Bellows stop, dead onto next beat.

> sf sff Accents always at maximum dynamic.

vib Possible types of vibrato include: ord. LH vib, ord RH vib, knee vib, button vib – use as you feel appropriate. Sempre non vibrato unless otherwise stated.

RH heel  6

LH

˙ Æ - - - - - - Right hand heel or underside of fst hits against side of MI register in given rhythm. Combine carefully with LH glissando. & beats

BS 6 Bellow shake in regular rhythm.

˙˙5 Half-depress the buttons and increase the bellows pressure bringing out the diference tones beating as much as possible. &

6

6 Hit buttons very hard accent – make a fst and hit with the ball of the hand. & Very gradual and discreet glissandi – crawl up or down the buttons, cluster gradually mutates from one to the next.

6 Tick palm glissando.

6 Firm sponge in right-hand up and down buttons in the very clear rhythm given. Te pitch band of the cluster shown approx. in graphics. Left hand can simultaneously sustain a cluster.

“

Ó Very high loud clusters in both hands – explore the diference tones with the pressure of the bellows, changing the bellows as often as you need.

Pianos

Grand pianos with sostenuto (third) pedal.

Open piano lid fully, but do not remove. Remove music stand and place further back on the frame, or use the top section of a heavy music stand. Use stickers to mark the strings inside the piano. Requires a hard plectrum and a small glass to glissando strings (see below), available from the composer.

General

Te virtuosic piano parts play a central role. Te gestural quality of their sounds and the left/right spatial play is critical throughout the piece.

Te fnal section:

Te two pianos share a melodic line. In a world of their own. Te tenutos mark the melodic line at the top or bottom of the clusters. Expressive but not melancholic.

On the keys

ord Occasional ordinary tones are always marked! Silently depress keys and hold with 3rd pedal.

LH Left hand.

RH Right hand.

h Heel of hand.

p Palm (with fngers).

& h pœ œ Like a glissando, holding down all tones.

ã ãã ã ã œ œ œ œ Chromatic cluster, outer tones included.

White key cluster.

b# or bœ Black key cluster.

Alternate LH + RH white/black clusters. Ossia: at times if necessary – rarely! – you can alternatively play white keys with heel of hand and black keys with the fngers.

Arm

elb. Point of elbow.

p Palm (to fnger tips).

arm œ Cluster with whole forearm as single attack – white, black or chromatic.

arm elb>p > œ

?

œ

Cluster like a glissando, holding down all tones.

General note to palm and arm clusters:

I assume the approximate span of palm = major 7th and arm = 2 ½ octaves. Should you have a larger or smaller stretch then please adjust the size of the clusters: It is most important that the physical gesture is not compromised, keeping its power.

Te key notes are marked with an accent or tenuto above or below the cluster. Expand or reduce the span of the cluster below or above the key note as necessary according to the size of your hands or arms.

On the keys and inside

All damped strings are damped between nut and damper:

{ &

? ‹

O

& ? ‹ O

¿ # œ {

¿ œ Damp even nearer to bridge for extremely high complex shimmering non-specifc overtones.

In Following an action on keys or “keys-and-inside”, In shows return to sounds inside the piano. Should the frame of the piano be in the way, choose a diferent cluster very near by.

6 6 palm 6 6 Flat palm hits wide cluster of strings behind the dampers.

In palm æ æ æ 6 6 Open palm tremolando on strings behind dampers.

6 6

palm gliss >

3 In

nail œ

{



œ Palm glissando.

œ œ Light glissando with fnger pad of 3rd fnger. In front of dampers.

œ Light glissando with nail. In front of dampers.

& œ œ Fast glissando on strings in front of the dampers with hard plectrum. Brutal if low and ff

2 resonant sounds on lower cross of metal frame or on sound board inside piano. 1. very low, 2. medium low. Beater is a large wooden hammer with thin felt.

glass Small water glass with rounded lip. Upside-down, embraces interval of major 3rd on strings.

glass

œ A single motion diagonally along the strings, in the 2nd frame section of the piano. Some pressure – high written pitches and high “cries”.

3 3rd (sostenuto) pedal.

Lid slam > Slam piano lid shut.

Electric guitar

Tree instructions are given for each gesture to determine Klangfarbe, and changes are underlined before each new entry:

Single or double coil (pick-ups)

Treble, bass or normal settings

Clean (bright) or lead-overdrive

Set up the palette to contrast as strongly as possible. Keep background noise of amplifer to a minimum. Te performer can preset pedals to the given settingcombinations.

In addition, the performer needs a hard plectrum, two metal bottle-necks, an E-bow, volume pedal, foot pedal with palette presets, a wawa pedal and a POG 2 octaver (or similar).

Both staves

XII Fret.

Ê ·‚„‰Â String.

3. Finger.

If, for example, MBN and then fnger be required in quick succession, use diferent fngers, e.g. MBN stays on 3rd fnger and 1st fnger plucks string. MBN Metal bottle neck; hits all strings together (barré) unless otherwise stated. diag MBN not perpendicular to strings producing more distorted and whiter sound.

coil Coil 1 (pick-up 1) furthest left near sound-hole, coil 2 (pick-up 2) furthest right, nearest to bridge. Tis can be adjusted for 3 coils accordingly. BR Bridge.

œ œ A constant glissando from one fret to another (MBN). Also to coil 1 or coil 2. For the big expressive glissando gestures the exact frets are less important than the shaping and phrasing of the physical and musical gesture (MBN)

MBNs hit barré strings staccato in exact given rhythm and fret positions.

œ MBN barré at very high overtones (between pickups/coils).

œ X Regular vibrato with MBN within the fret at given rhythm.

6 6 6 6 Alternating RH and LH MBNs, very close together between the coils – only the top halves. Extremely high clear rhythm.

3. > Straight fnger strikes strings barré at mid-point between pickups.

& Attack: as fast as possible all strings with nail, plectrum or MBN end Dampen str ings (secco).

˙ Lightly dampen strings before RH attack with LH or LH-arm.

½ … ˙

POG POG 2 from Electro-Harmonix, a polyphonic octave generator, with a Pass function. Use presets for the given combinations, e.g. POG: +1, +2 max.

PASS Pass function either OFF or ON (either max. or ½) – part of POG settings. whammy “ ˙ Whammy bar held down with LH ca. one octave lower. Alter pitch according to graphic. Deep warm half-air sound. On 6th string.

Ê ·‚„‰Â

E-bow on 6th string at indeterminate low pitch, ca. one octave down – string must be very lax but tight enough to generate sound with E-bow. E-bow starts near BR , starting note little earlier and a little higher if necessary.

œ œ RH vibrato with whammy bar – from a very free wide amplitude to tight regular vibrato. whammy gliss

œ œ RH Whammy glissando after playing harmonic chord (see graphic).

Vp Volume pedal

Where necessary dynamic level of RH and LH are written separately from the volume pedal’s dynamic, which is located between the two staves. Vp always shows actual sounding dynamics, but balance carefully with rest of ensemble. Turn of the volume pedal between gestures or at secco as shown.

(silent) Actual initial attack not heard (Vp of).

Top staf

e-bow Electric bow sounds without an amplifer, but add a little Vp as necessary to get written dynamic. Top staf shows the string and single tone picked out by the E-bow. Bottom staf shows the LH frets.

e-bow coil 2

· ‰

e-bow in circular slow fuid motion over the 2nd coil – hear crystal-like high partials. Very beautiful.

Â Ê ò 3 ¿ ¿ ¿ Rub strings back and forth with pad of fngertip on 5th and 6th strings to the right of the soundhole by the bridge, in the given exact rhythm. Very special timbre.

Wawa 1—6 From dark to light (low to high).

Bottom staf flaut

˙ MBN fautando; held very lightly on the strings for distortion/vibration.

& ‹IV

Strings

# # Harmonic barré chord at 4th fret.

o ‚ ‚

Te Double Bass has IV and V scordatura: ? ‹ œ œ œ œb œ

st+ faut Sul tasto extreme fautando bow stroke (or st+) well over fngerboard, as near to half-way node as possible; hollow, foating, beautiful. st Sul tasto.

sp Sul pont: pp /ppp bring out overtones, but written tones still heard – fowing and expressive. f / ff sound towards distortion.

½-sp Sul pont colouring.

sp+ Sul pont extreme: complete distortion.

& sp distort > > >

¿ œ Very heavy bow – noise. Bow still fuid.

ord œ œ A sp marcato attack, deep in the string and release immediately subito ord. Deep, loud and distorted efect.

sp sffpp

I @@ @@ Behind the bridge at given string. Light fuid bows. Very fragile and beautiful. tailpiece Bow tailpiece. Find best contact point for sufcient friction. Bring out resonant tone of tailpiece. Alter bow-hold as necessary. Loco and beautiful.

faut Molto fautando.

b Stop bow abruptly.

œ œ Glissando between given pitches.

œ  Glissando to top or bottom of string.

è 5 Raised or lowered by ¼-tone.

p vib Poco vibrato.

n v Senza vibrato.

m vib Molto vibrato.

œ A tenuto and expressive Brahms-like vibrato pulse on the start of the note.

? b m vib œ œ œ œ A molto vibrato increasing left-hand movement to a wide glissando within the given interval. Shown by the curve on the stem.

æ æ tr+trem

æ æ œ Tremolando and trill when played simultanously always very fast fused sound, mostly played pp /p at st/st+.

æ æ œ Play all tr ills. With two beams as fast as possible.

¿ Highest pitch on fngerboard.

æ æ I tr+trem

æ æ æ ¿ At very high pitch on fngerboard I or IV (DB on V too): A quasi subtone efect – very intense, noise, with some bow pressure. At pp /ppp delicate complex overtones.

o o Crescendo from, and diminuendo to, nothing.

> Accents are always biting, hard-edged sf /sff

> - Tenuto and accents always automatically indicate a bow change. In addition change bows on long notes freely and as often as you need.

+ œ LH pizzicato (double bass).

« Bar tók pizzicato. Double Bass: choose IV or V, whichever is most efective in your instrument.

Harmonics

At all times playing position/pitch of harmonics is given in score/part. At key moments the string or harmonic node is also given for exact clarifcation. Please note that the addition of sul pont creates additional layers of overtones and the exact pitches are therefore not critical.

æ æ B sfpp

> 3 o ‰‰ ‚ ‚bb O  Harmonic trill sul pont – always very fast and regular, whether ff or pp, and with or without cresecendo or decrescendo. Imagine the bow reveals a mechanical manic trilling sound, hidden beneath the silence.

Lower fnger (blacked out) held down on harmonic and upper fnger trilling (white).

‚ O O O Fast regular rhythmic harmonic fnger patterns always on the one string: no string crossings!

32nd-note passages sempre spiccato – spiky and hard-edged.

Black harmonic notehead = fnger 1 depresses harmonic throughout. White harmonic noteheads = upper fngers released immediately.

66

 Finger pattern is continued during the glissando. Finger 1 kept on harmonic and glisses; the upper fngers continue the given pattern. Always on one string!

Te melodic fragments of the fnal section, at tempo q = 42:

Fragile, intimate and expressive – explore f timbre, fautando and sul tasto extreme. Extreme contrast to fautando sp timbre. Clear tenuto bow changes. Te strings lead this section.

Rebecca Saunders

Rebecca Saunders (b. 19 67) studied with Wolfgang Rihm at the Musikhochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, and for a doctorate in composition with Nigel Osborne at Edinburgh University. She lives in Berlin. Saunders’ numerous composition prizes include three Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, two BASCA British Composer Awards and the 2019 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. Her works have been performed at festivals including the Huddersfeld Festival, the Berlin Biennale and the Darmstadt International Summer Course. In 2009 she became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts. Saunders’ works include chroma, for chamber groups distributed throughout the performance space; void, a concerto for percussion duo and orchestra; and Yes, a spatial performance for soprano, 19 soloists and conductor.

Rebecca Saunders (*1967) studierte Komposition bei Wolfgang Rihm an der Musikhochschule Karlsruhe und promovierte an der Edinburgh University bei Nigel Osborne. Sie lebt in Berlin. Saunders wurde für ihr Schaffen vielfach ausgezeichnet, u. a. mit drei Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, zwei BASCA British Composer Awards sowie mit dem Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis 2019. Ihre Werke erklangen bei zahlreichen Festivals, wie dem Huddersfeld Festival, der Berliner Biennale und den Darmstädter Ferienkursen für Neue Musik. 2009 wurde sie zum Mitglied der Berliner Akademie der Künste ernannt. Zu ihren Werken zählen chroma für räumlich verteilte Kammergruppen, ein Konzert für Schlagzeugduo und Orchester mit dem Titel void sowie die Raumperformance Yes für Sopran, 19 Solisten und Dirigent.

Photo © Astrid Ackermann