Henrik Colding-Jorgensen: Discourse
With Time (1996)
Music for a peace powder magazine *)
- Danish
title: Diskurs
Med Tiden (Musik
for Fredskrudtmagasin)
Manuscript. Copyright © H. Colding-Jorgensen
1996. (Dur. ca. 29')
See links at the
bottom of the page
For Flute (C and G alto), Clarinet (Bb and Bb
basso), Saxophone (Eb alto and Eb basso), Trombone, Cello and Percussion **)
"Discourse With Time"
was commissioned as the musical part of a large installation project, with
installations located outdoors in the terrain and indoors in the vaults of the
old peace powder magazine. The
installations were made by the three artists Jane Balsgaard, Vibeke
Glarbo and Suste Bonnén.
The Discourse
makes a web of musical relations between the various installations located in
different places on the rampart and in the old powder magazine, as the elements
of the composition are performed in the different rooms of the magazine and at
the different outdoor locations. The music begins as a unity in the magazine
hall, with the six musicians starting together in the hall of the magazine. Gradually
the musicians venture individually out in the other vaults and outside on the
terrain of the rampart, ending apart from each other in six different places,
partly out of hearing range of each other. The audience walk around indoors and
outdoors, following some musician or seeking the music, they hear from various
directions. The total duration of the composition is about half an hour.
The first performance took place
at the opening of the festival Saturday, June 15, 1996, and was repeated
Friday, June 21, and St. Johns Eve, Sunday, June 23, where it was performed
before the traditional St. John's bonfire. Before each performance was played a
fanfare - "Signal Vestvolden" for 4 trumpets - from the balcony of
the magazine.
Copyright ©
2017 H. Colding-Jorgensen
*) Peace
powder magazine: A magazine for storing gunpowder during
peacetime.
**) Percussion
instrumentation: 1 player in all.
Spiral: Triangel
- Marimbaphone - 3 Congas - 3 Piatti sospesi
Arm 1: 2
"Clicking frogs" - Siren whistle
Through The Looking Glass:
Siren whistle - 2 Flexatones - Gran Cassa ped. - Wu-Han flat gong - 5 Chinese
Temple Blocks - 2 Woodblocks - 2 Cowbells.
Stamp: 2
Chinese Cymbals susp. - 3 small Tom-Toms - 2 Bongos - 2 small Bongos.
Well: Tubular
Bells (13 bells between c'# and e" - see score), Vibraphone, Tam-Tam.
Go to:
A short introduction
to "Operation Vestvolden" (Operation Western Rampart). In
1996 Copenhagen was appointed European Capital of Culture.
Go to:
SCORES of the 21 musical elements,
their instrumentation and approximate starting times and durations, and a map of
their locations on the section of the Western Rampart and in the vaults of the
Peace Powder Magazine.
Go to:
Short audio fragments
of a studio recording, made as a combination of the 21 elements, approximately
coordinated as in a live performance on the project site, but recorded from
different places in one large studio hall. A few photos from the
prémiere and from the magazine and the rampart.
Go to: MAP of the
Rampart with canal and caponniere. The situation of the magazine in the
terrain is at the lower corner to the right.
for 4 trumpets, played from the balcony of the
magazine before each of the three performances of Discourse With Time.
Including score and audio fragment.