Thomas Childs: poesifele: Fiddle Poetry (2009), part 1 of 2

Michigan State University College of Music

Premieres of New Music
3 November 2009

This video is from our live webcast. You can catch future performances live at http://ustream.tv/channel/msu-composition

Thomas Childs (b. 1977)
poesifele: Fiddle Poetry (2009)
I.varm danse (Fire Dance)
II.tungsinn (Melancholy)
III.stote (Stomp)
IV.lengsel (Longing)
V.virvle (Whirling)

Darian Andreas, hardanger fiddle

poesifele is a suite of five short pieces exploring many aspects of the folk music of Norway and using a traditional folk instrument, the hardanger fiddle. The hardanger utilizes a variety of tunings and has five resonant strings under the fingerboard, creating an edgier sound than a standard violin. Hardanger music is generally used to accompany dancing; poesifele casts many of these traditional folk elements in a new light. Fire Dance explores modal tendencies found in much Norwegian music. Melancholy utilizes a common dance rhythm (a telespringar), with beats of differing lengths (short-long-long). Stomp is in an asymmetrical meter, often emphasized by the player(s) stomping the beat pattern during performance. Longing contains strong dissonances found in folk music through the use of double stops. Whirling combines elements of the earlier movements in a heavily rhythmic closing section.

[This part of the video includes the first two movements]

Category:

Music

Tags:

• music
• new music
• experimental music
• concert
• live performance
• violin
• hardanger
• fiddle