In April 28th, 2021 my piece [montserrat] was premiered by the ensemble NORRBOTTEN NEO. After aproximately one year of pandemic with the COVID-19, it was possible to perform my piece in the Nathan Milstein Hall from the KMH (Stockholm). Wonderfully conducted by Sofia Winiarski.
With this piece I wanted to experiment with the characteristic texture of the mountains of Montserrat, and after living 4 years there when I was a child, it was special to express my artistic view about this beautiful place.
It was really interesting to represent the roughness and the grey rocks from this marvelous mountain with the scordatura of the strings, but also with the magnificent sound from the alto flute, the bass clarinet and the bass drum.
One sound that makes this piece really special and that makes you feel that you are in Montserrat is the sound of the Bells, that are played by the piano, the vibraphone and one tubular bell. But also with the alto flute and the bass clarinet playing some ressonances. There is also a part of “reality” with a tape that sounds inside the piano and which emits the real sound of the bells that mixes with the instruments in certain parts.
The misterious and irregular lines of the mountains is another element that you can perceive when you are listening to the piece. I represented the drawing of the mountains with glissandis and fast movements in all the instruments going up and down, as if I were literaly drawing the lines in a painting. The scordatura helped in the string instruments to make more interesting arpegiandos.
And the spiritual voices from the boys’ choir, Escolania de Montserrat, is also a present element in the piece. I was a member of the choir from the age of 10 to my 14th, and in the piece you can hear the angelical voices, and synthetic voices mixed with the instruments, coming from a distant sound and creating a blurred memory. And also if you listen carefully you can also listen to my voice singing from when I was 12 years old.
Miquel De Jorge Artells 