Iris ter Schiphorst
Why I love writing for orchestra (2001)
on the occasion of the Scottish premiere of BALLADE FÜR ORCHESTER: HUNDERT KOMMA NULL
Writing for orchestra/ Why I love writing for orchestra...
or: Reflections on sound
The sound of an orchestra is very specific, simply because all registers are present in the orchestra, i.e. all tones and partial tones exist in a balanced relationship from bottom to top.
The sound of an orchestra has a long history, and the balance of the harmony of all instruments is the result of a long historical process.
However, it is precisely this balance that makes it so difficult for composers today to elicit different colours from the orchestra. In my opinion, the typical symphonic sound, the typical beautiful orchestral sound, is irrevocably linked to certain historical moments and works, to certain composers – and thus, for me as a composer, it is simply history. And as such, it is spent.
However, trying to write against this sound, or to elicit a unique sound from the orchestra, is an incredible challenge, because this specific sound is totally persistent. But that is precisely what I find so appealing about working with an orchestra. Working with this special sound. And working with it in a way that incorporates what the orchestra, what this typical sound once was, that is, working with it in a way that also incorporates the feeling of irretrievable loss.
To compose with the knowledge that I love symphonic music, Brahms, Schumann, Mahler, etc., to compose with the knowledge that this love is a form of nostalgia...
Composing with the knowledge that I love the orchestra, even though I actually consider it a completely outdated 'machine', a machine that in its entirety is no longer relevant, a machine that is primarily used today to preserve tradition...
An 'old warhorse' (if you'll pardon the expression), with old rituals, old hierarchies, old structures, old spaces, etc., etc. However, it does have some excellent musicians.
Personally, I don't think it's enough to simply want to 'modernise' this old warhorse with new playing techniques, to want to bring its sound to a so-called 'avant-garde level', to want to 'simply' polish up this traditional beautiful sound with modern playing techniques. I don't find most attempts really convincing, or rather, it's not what interests me personally in my work for and with orchestras. But for me, it doesn't work either to use the instruments 'just like that' – in their traditional sound – and instead to rely 'formally' on the unknown.
What interests me – in addition to what I said above – is the 'expansion' of the orchestral apparatus and the alteration of its typical sound by creating other contexts, e.g. by incorporating elements that do not per se belong to the orchestral apparatus. This includes, for example, the use of microphones and amplification for individual musicians or groups of musicians in order to evoke a completely different sound, or the addition of sampled sounds or music, etc.
I also find it compositionally appealing that nowhere else is it possible to superimpose so many layers at the same time, nowhere else is it possible to make completely disparate elements sound simultaneously.
If one really wanted to test this museum piece for its relevance today, if one really wanted to try to create something fundamentally 'new' and contemporary with it, then completely different conditions would be needed than those currently available. Above all, it would take time, time and more time. But frankly, I don't believe that anything fundamentally new is actually possible with this apparatus. I believe that the apparatus will always be stronger than any attempt to elicit something new from it. And yet – or perhaps precisely because of this – I love composing for orchestras.