Polymnia

Polymnia

Symphony orchestra – 1998
1999-03-12 Academy of Music and Drama, Göteborg – cond. Per Borin – first performance

Durata 15’00”

Polymnia is the dance and mime’s mouse in Greek mythology. The name is a contraction of poly and hymnia, which means “many songs“. The work Polymnia consists of three parallel forms/layers that develops differently and have contrasting perceptions of time/tempo.
In the latter third, only one of the layers prevails for a moment, showing a less complex face. The numbers 3-5-7-9 and their proportions in relation to each other play a crucial role in the development of the forms as well as in the design of the tone material. The latter is a balancing act between on the one hand groups of notes that may exist simultaneously in many major keys and on the other hand groups of notes that cannot exist in any major key at all.

The various instruments are constantly looking for new players to form different small ensembles within the orchestra. These flow between the three different layers and are thus a common denominator for these.

A few samples: