A Cosmic Journey; Exploration of repertoire for the harp and Electronics
My paternal grandfather is an astronaut. During his mission into space, which which took place in 1992 aboard the Atlantis as part of NASA's Space Shuttle Program, he studied the atmosphere of the earth for eight days. Growing up, he would always share stories about his journey into space. He would talk about the feeling of weightlessness, planets, constellations and gravitational forces, but also what we know about the galaxy, and what we have yet to explore. As a child, looking up at the stars, his stories sparked a tremendous amount of inspiration for me. So much so, that up until entering the Conservatory to study music, I was convinced I would become an astronomer. My fascination with the stars never ended, though, so I continuously felt like there was a part of me missing. Music was and is my greatest passion, but the passion for the stars could no longer be ignored.
In the summer of 2022, I attended the World Harp Congress in Cardiff, Wales. Here I met Quebecoise Harpist and Composer Caroline Lizotte. I had played a harp duo piece of hers during my bachelor and absolutely loved it, so I was excited to go over to her stand at the Exposition to discover more of her music. And what a discovery it was. Not only was the music absolutely captivating, it was almost all about the galaxy and outer space: ‘Stellar Sonata’, ‘Suite Galactique’, ‘Odysée’, ‘Stellae Saltantem’, the list seemed never ending. She had found a way to combine my two greatest passions: Music and Space. I went to see her recital that week at the World Harp Congress, during which she presented her newly published piece ‘Stellar Sonata’, a solo piece for electro-acoustic harp with electronics. This is the second piece in Caroline's oeuvre that uses the electroacoustic harp, the first being Stellae Saltantam (2013), a duo piece where one of the harps is amplified. Additionally, the Stellar Sonata is the only piece that uses electronic effects, which offers endless new possibilities of sounds to the traditional instrument of the harp. I was absolutely captivated by the sounds that this futuristic harp produced, as well as Lizotte's daring performance on stage. In that moment, even if it was not completely conscious, I had found my calling.
From this encounter with Caroline Lizotte the idea arose to create a project that combines my two greatest passions, music and space. The development of a concert with repertoire revolving solely around Space and Galaxy, including electronic effects on the harp. In addition to Lizotte's music, I wanted to include compositions from my mum Inge Frimout-Hei, who is also a harpist, because they share such similar themes in their works. I was also curious to know what other (harpist-)composers had been inspired by the stars. It became the topic of my master project, the inspiration for my PIA and so also for my research. After doing some research on the repertoire, I dived deeper and deeper into the specifics of the Stellar Sonata and the recreation of its electronic effects.
It poses an immense challenge in and of itself to recreate the effect settings in Ableton Live, the program Lizotte uses for the Sonata, particularly when one has no prior experience with the program. But what made the whole process a lot trickier was the unavailability of an electro-acoustic harp and certain equipment that the composer uses in her set-up.
Maybe I could have found an easier way out, rented or borrowed an electroacoustic harp and just played it on that. But I made it my task to search for possibilities of the recreation on an amplified acoustic harp, while also adapting it for more recent equipment. I felt that it was important for the harp community to do this, since electronic music is on the rise in the industry, while not all harpists are able to afford an electroacoustic harp. As Vincent Pierce said in his doctorate research on the Stellar Sonata: "While Stellar Sonata is by no means the only work composed specifically for the electroacoustic harp, it may be the only work truly of its kind. Compositions for electroacoustic harp are rare, as the instrument is often not available to harpists or composers."1 This emphasizes the importance of looking for solutions for amplifying an acoustic harp in order to play pieces such as the Stellar Sonata. Lizotte’s music is too great to pass on solely because of equipment unavailability, so with my research I want to show fellow harpists that a piece of the future is for all who wish to play it. Furthermore, I’m curious to explore how this process can influence my personal creativity and further development of the harp repertoire.
From this emerged the research question:
How do I adapt the Stellar Sonata by Caroline Lizotte composed for the electroacoustic harp to a traditional acoustic pedal harp?
To explain to you the connection that I see between outer space, harp music and electronics, I think it’s best to quote the master herself. In the introduction of the piece, before talking about any ‘technical recipes’ or equipment, Caroline Lizotte expresses herself on the concept of a sonata for electroacoustic harp.
"[Mon Opus 51 rend hommage aux Harpes Camac et particulièrement à leur modèle Big Blue électroacoustique dont j’ai l’honneur de posséder.] Stellar Sonata souligne l’essor de cet instrument au XXIe siècle, tout en enrichissant son Répertoire avec une œuvre dont la forme est à l’épreuve du temps: La Sonata. Il est vital de réunir l’expertise et la perfection nées des siècles passés à l’émerveillement des nouvelles technologies qui viennent de voir le jour. La harpe électroacoustique permet de développer davantage les possibilités de la harpe acoustique classique,[...]. "
“[My Opus 51 pays tribute to Camac Harps and particularly to their Big Blue electroacoustic model, which I am honoured to own.] Stellar Sonata underlines the rise of this instrument in the 21st century, while enhancing its repertoire with a work whose form has stood the test of time: The Sonata. It is vital to reunite the expertise and perfection of past centuries with the wonder of new technologies that have just emerged. The electroacoustic harp makes it possible to further develop the possibilities of the classical acoustic harp, [...]."2
The comparison that Lizotte makes here between the old and the new is exactly the connection that I see between the harp and electronics, one of the oldest instruments and one of the newest, in this case in the traditional form of a Sonata. Additionally, the connection between space and harp music, space exploration including innovation and discovery of the unknown while harp music being rooted in tradition.
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