— a study of the human voice's resonance in interaction with the South Greenlandic mountain
By Associate Professor Bebiane Bøje
The sound:
The music explores and mixes the elements and emotions from the ‘fjeld’, and develops into a more and more unforgiving and uncompromising energy. The music lies between silence and raw energy.
Part 1: Skumring
The first musical composition in the project is an elaboration over human transition. With the title ‘Skumring’, it gently predicts a change is coming. From daylight into a more dark and shadow-like type of light. The lyrics point in the direction of someone moving from the comfortable and well-known surroundings into new and dangerous territory. The fear is not yet devastating, but something new and disturbing might occur soon. The sound of the voice is calm, and primarily in the mode of curbing. With a relaxed articulation, and the controlled use of variating onsets, from the airy to much more compressed.
Now listen to the music:
Part 2: Sænk kun dit hoved
With a disturbing circus-vibe, the piece draws attention to the vocal choices. Observe how the choice of resonance varies from an almost spoken overdrive mode, to the delicate and controlled thinning of the vocalis muscles. Moving elegantly from overdrive, through curbing to neutral with air and a small vibrato. It is clear that these deliberate choices support the dystopic, playful but also dangerous vibe. The person is floundering in the dark. The use of extended vocal techniques with the creaks and cracking of the onsets is also drawing the attention to the fact that the ‘fjeld’ might have a hostile intention. The darkness and disturbing color, shape and texture of the fjeld is taking over the person’s self control before he knows it. There is also a dance around the parameter: pitch.The pitch varies from being correct to more lazy and imprecise. The voice also explores an atypical accentuation of the lyrics.
Now listen to the music:
Part 3: Tit er jeg glad
The knife in the darkness. In this third part of the experiment the cold and knife-like sounding fjeld is now taking over this person’s world. With a composition and production created by Wayne Siegel over a Carl Nielsen melody, the vibe is closer to the merciless cycle of life and death. The person might walk directly into the white-out of the ‘fjeld’ when his time is near. With the contradictory feeling between the lyrics and melody versus the metallic sound of the composition, this piece is more chaotic, dark and unreconciled. The voice has an almost fragile and crumbling essence. To create this mood more specifically is used a method of half open velum to invite a little more resonance from the nasal cavity into the sound. The level of the nasality is used in a controlled and variating manner. Another characteristic feature of the piece is the thin and almost stiff vocal chord work. It is never completely stiff as the headvoice is carrying the vocal mode, but there is definitely a hint in the direction of a flageolet.
Now listen to the music: