Hugi Guðmundsson - Old and New

Hugi Guðmundsson’s latest work, Apocrypha, was written between 2005 and 2007, enjoyed a world premiere in summer 2007 (in Holland) and was eventually recorded in the peaceful settings of Skálholt, Iceland. The album has won contemporary classical composer Hugi a plethora of accolades and awards this year, including a 2008 Iceland Music Award, a prestigious DV (Icelandic newspaper) Cultural Award (for achievements in the field of music) and, most recently, a Kraumur Fund Prize (one of only six awarded).

Born in Reykjavík in 1977, Hugi studied composition at Reykjavik College of Music under Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson and Dr. Úlfar Ingi Haraldsson. In 2001 he moved to Denmark for further composition studies with Prof. Bent Sorensen, Hans Abrahamsen and Niels Rosing-Schow at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He finished his first Masters degree in the spring of 2005, and his second (electronic music, Institute of Sonology, Netherlands) in the spring of 2007.

Over the last few years he has written compositions ranging from solo pieces to orchestra works and his pieces have been performed widely. He has worked with internationally renowned artists such as the Raschér Saxophone Quartet, Caput Ensemble, Athelas Ensemble, Cantori New York and Prism Saxophone Quartet. In 2006 he was nominated for Adoro Te Devote (saxophone quartet and choir), which at 29 years of age made Guðmundsson the youngest composer ever nominated for the award.

Can you tell us what was the basic concept behind Apocrypha?
The basic concept was exploring the relationship between old and new in the soundscape. I wanted to put together in one piece of music different kinds of extremes; old instruments (baroque) and electronic sounds.

What was it that made you want to explore the relationship between the old and the new in particular - and why in such an "abstract" way?
Before I started composing the music I knew what kind of "feel" should be in the music. This was an emotion rather than a musical idea and the emotion had to do with the relationship each one of us has to the past. And when I say past, I mean times long before our time here on earth. At least I experience some strange emotions when I imagine how it was to live in maybe the 16th century and try to imagine what kind of music I would have written at that time. When translating these kind of emotions to music it's very easy to fall into the endless pit of banalities and I wanted to avoid that. Therefore I chose a more abstract approach to the music so the listeners can themselves fill in the gaps, as it were, rather than imposing more concrete emotions on them by composing some pseudo-renaissance music or something like that. There is a tiny element of that in the music, but it’s not very prominent.

Why baroque instrumentation?
The baroque instruments were essential to the idea right from the beginning. In my ears the sound of those instruments have a direct relation to the past so when contemporary music is played on these instruments, something very strange happens, I feel. It's like a collision of two [eras] and I find that very fascinating.

Where did you find Guðrún Ólafsdottir, the project’s mezzo-soprano?
There are very few soloists I found suitable for this piece. In fact I only found two Icelandic soloists who I thought would fit this part. I wanted a voice that sounded like a baroque voice (with a little vibrato) but at the same time the person would need to have great confidence in performing contemporary music. I originally had a tenor in mind who had those qualities but he had to cancel less than a year before the premiere. Luckily I had not spent all that much time on the solo parts (which are only about 1/3 of the piece) at that point so I contacted Gudrun, whom I knew from our student years at Reykjavik College of Music, and asked if she could do the job if I rewrote the parts. She was up for it and in retrospect I think a mezzo-soprano suited the piece much better than a tenor voice. Gudrun turned out to be absolutely amazing in this whole process. She has such control over the vibrato of her voice and she managed to totally adapt her voice to the sound of the instruments. She is also extremely professional in the way she tackles new music.

You are credited with "electronics" on the album - and you studied at the Institute of Sonology in The Hague – yet there doesn’t sound like there are so many electronics on Apocrypha.
I'm very fascinated by all the subtle things one can do with electronics and the moments when you aren't really sure if it's the instruments or the electronics you are listening to. A few people have commented on how little electronics are actually in the piece, considering I spent two years at the Institute of Sonology making them, and for me that's a great compliment. Actually there are a lot more electronics in the piece than most people think but they are often just slight colourations of the soundscapes. One would notice that something was missing if they weren't there. It is very easy to keep adding electronics in music and the possibilities are endless. It therefore takes a lot of discipline to be modest.

Your sleevenotes mention the use of algorithmic calculations; is this strategy common in music of this kind?
Yes. Too common, some might say. It is a very helpful tool when dealing with complex chord and sound structures but it can easily take over the composition if one isn't careful. In Apocrypha I used these calculations to organize certain bell-like sounds which can clearly be heard between many movements but are also quite often present in the background. I needed to do this in this fashion to be able to translate synthesized material into written pitches to be played by the instruments, and vice versa. I was very picky on what material I could use and everything is selected by ear in the end. In my case it was therefore more of an organizational necessity rather than a composition tool.

The music seems to veer from periods of bleakness and darkness to mystery and elation or drama - did you have specific moods you wanted to create beforehand or was the emotional impact of the songs secondary to the technical approach or concept?
No, the emotional impact is never secondary. I never start writing a piece or a movement without knowing what sort of mood I want to get across. Sometimes the work process takes you to a different direction than intended but I always have some sort of mood and emotion in mind.

Why did you choose to set the different sections or ‘chapters’ of the album following the Canonical Hours Of The Christian Church?
I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. It is an element of this fascination of old times I mentioned before, I suppose. The piece has a sort of meditational rhythm to it. The movements do not vary greatly in duration and between them you can often hear some sort of bell-like sounds in the electronics. This is a bit like the rhythm of the Canonical Hours, where every three hours monks would go to pray after the chapel bells have tolled.

You have composed a variety of pieces, from solo to orchestral works - do you have any preference?
Often you have little choice over what instruments you write for because you have to take those commissions that put food on your table. That is partly the reason I wrote Apocrypha. I was getting tired of not choosing which instruments I wrote for so I said no to all commissions for two years while I wrote that piece totally on my own terms. In general it's always fun to write for bigger ensembles and orchestras I must admit. Not just because they make a lot of noise, but having bigger ensemble is like for a painter to have more colours.

What drew you into the world of contemporary classical music in the first place?
Some would say I started as far from this genre as possible. I played electric guitar in a death metal band in my teenage years. As odd as it may sound I think this played a big role in why I chose contemporary classical music later on. The death metal scene in those days was all about breaking up music forms instead of using the typical pop/rock form of a 3 1/2 minute long song with verses and a chorus. We wanted much more freedom. Also the use of dissonant chords and irregular rhythms was a norm. Contemporary classical music has all this freedom and much more.

What are your plans for 2009?
I have several commissions and concerts coming up in 2009 and 2010. The biggest of those is a piece for the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra in 2010 and a concerto for solo flute and a "flute choir" (an ensemble of 15 flutes in all sizes) in 2009. That piece is written for Stefán Ragnar Höskuldsson, solo flute of the Metropolitan Opera, and will be premiered in New York autumn 2009. There are of course quite a few performances and premieres coming up in Denmark, where I reside, and Europe but there are also scheduled two performances of an older piece, Adoro Te Devote (choir and saxophone quartet), in the USA early 2009.