Composer in the footsteps of the great white whale

28.5.2024 0 Like 0 kommenttia Karoliina Pirkkanen

Composition student Preben Antonsen has participated in the Sibelius Academy cooperation with the Helsinki Philharmonic. He tells about his experiences during the project, organised as part of the Music Centre Orchestra Academy operations.

This past year I had the great opportunity to participate in the composition workshop with the Helsinki Philharmonic. I had heard from a friend, before I even applied to SibA, about the possibility of working with HKO or RSO while here. Since my primary artistic goal was to improve at orchestral writing, this became a central reason why I chose to come to Finland in the first place. I had almost two years to contemplate and prepare what I might compose.

Dag Gadol

I wanted an epic subject — something to draw out the full power and resonance of the orchestra. I decided to depict the famous Moby Dick story, with Captain Ahab battling the whale, against the backdrop of a tempestuous sea.

The title, Dag Gadol, means “great fish” in Hebrew. In the past, my orchestral tuttis were lacking both grandeur and personality. My subject demanded both of these. I wanted to tackle my biggest weakness directly.

Orchestration Studies

Central to my composition process was the guidance of Matthew Whittall, my orchestration teacher. He recommended many things which strongly contradicted my intuitions. At first we would have some spirited debates. I was reluctant to accept his suggestions — what for him seemed natural and straightforward, to me seemed like a terrible risk. But throughout the year I learned to trust his approach more and more, particularly after the first workshop in November, where many of his ideas were proven true. I had the space to be a beginner again, and try a new method of orchestration, without the pressures of an ordinary commission. As a result, I was able to finally put into practice the sonic vision that had long escaped me.

Collaborators

We were lucky to have Tomas Djupsjöbacka as our conductor. It was a joy to work with him, especially after having seen him perform in the Meta4 Quartet at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival last summer. I had spoken with Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen while up there, but not Tomas, so it was great to get to know him a bit and see a different side of his musicianship. He was quite open with us regarding the challenges he faced in each of our pieces, depending on the style. This was a real gift, as it’s very important to me to understand what it’s like to perform my music, so I can make it as rewarding as possible. I have managed this in the past with singers and instrumentalists — which enabled some great collaborations — but until now that has remained elusive for conductors. I want the conductor to have a strong and flexible rhythmic connection to the orchestra, despite any complexities. Tomas’s feedback gave me better insight into how to achieve this.

The concertmaster Jan Söderblom was also wonderful. His lightning-like enthusiasm helped set a positive tone — a necessity for such involved work. I had written some strange and counterintuitive markings, which implied an unusual bow-stroke, and he invented a fantastic solution almost immediately. Special respect and gratitude also goes to the recording engineer, Enno Mäemets. My piece features some cascading wave patterns alternating between the piano and harp on one side, and woodwinds on the other. The oceanic effect was greatly enhanced on the recording, due to the multi-mic setup and deep stereo image.

Special thanks also to Veli-Matti Puumala, for organizing the project. Overall, an unquestionable highlight of my SibA experience.