I was introduced to Penderecki after I finished a set with my project, The Nausea, and someone asked if I was influenced by his work. This led me to obsessively study his compositions, and I quickly discovered composers like Grisey, Xenakis, Ligeti, Stockhausen, and others. I realized I had stumbled upon approaches to composing for ensembles that explored sounds I had been searching for and trying to create with my solo setup of pedals, a violin, and extended techniques. In particular, I was captivated by the use of microtones throughout their works, as well as their commitment and dedication to texture and extreme dynamics.
While the first Penderecki piece I studied was St. Luke Passion, I've chosen to focus here on Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima because it was intriguing to me that he created this piece as a study of texture, density, and dynamics. The composition suggests that music and notes are only one way to look at what we do as composers and instead, focus more on sound itself. The exciting aspect here is that when we compose we can move beyond the limitations of “music” and instead prize the sonic experience above and despite everything else.
When I actively listened to Penderecki's work, I was deeply inspired and encouraged to take my interest in abrasive and dense textures and learn how to write for ensembles to help me explore and research them. Add to that Grisey’s influence of breaking down sounds into frequencies scattered across instrumentation to maximize potential for tonal density, which I believe Threnody also achieves effectively.
The sounds in this piece are unique but also familiar, as they echo so many elements of human sonic experience.
