Beyond the ink

From the initial idea of a cello concerto inspired by melting glaciers to the premiere of a set of 5 pieces for solo cello, I have been collaborating with the wonderful composer Veronique Vaka for the past 3 years.

Not only is she a unique voice and inspired composer, Veronique maintains an openness and a receptivity to ideas that makes her a joy to work with. Implicit in her music is the idea that the performer is a true collaborator, meaning there is freedom written into the music for the performer to breath life into the music from their own perspective and inspiration.

Many musicians playing new music are obsessed with “playing the ink”, being as true to what the composer wrote, nothing more, nothing less, and especially when the instructions are so detailed that it is nearly impossible to play. With composers like Veronique, not only does she often write “freely” or “ad lib” to indicate that timing is flexible and somewhat at the player’s discretion, she is constantly searching for sounds that don’t have a standard notation and therefore is limited by the conventions of engraving. This kind of boundless creativity demands that the performer also sheds some of the older assumptions and takes some responsibility and initiative in the creative process, becoming an active participant and co-creator of the music.

For me, this is the crux of the creative process, to go beyond the ink and breathe life into something new and it is even better when you can be stretched and inspired by collaborators like Veronique.

The music for the concerto, Gemæltan, and the solo pieces, Neige Éternelle, are available for purchase through her publisher, Universal.