Neptune's Field (Neptuni åkrar)

Afterthoughts

Neptune's Field is built on arpeggiation of harmonics. These are organized in big waves and create an amazing acoustic phenomena. They are transparent, they have rhythmic energy and are no less than remarkable to experience. And for the eye - choreography. Time after time we see the dance like bowing movements as they spread from the cello section to the violins.

The waves of arpeggiation of harmonics are a fine expression of my artistic statement: Rhythm and Sound.

As sea waves approach a shore they begin strong before dying away gently. This is due to a practical circumstance. Harmonics need a certain bow pressure to sound. I like to help the musicians to feel secure and this becomes a structural idea. An obvious variation of the arpeggiation would be to reverse the dynamic contour, but I do without. It's not necessary, even though there are thirty six waves in succession.

And I avoid other obvious possibilities to vary the waves. The order of entrances is kept the same with the cello coming first. And the wave is always rising. But the angle of inclination changes from medium to almost flat, to steep and finally to five waves in a row with all instruments starting together. And as the waves appear more frequent they are grouped together. So much work and love and thought were spent on those waves of arpeggiation on harmonics. They were the point of departure and the goal for this journey.

The rhythms

Using all four strings the arpeggiation can be played in 12/16 or 4/4 depending on how you shift the bow. Moving from 12/16 to 4/4 is perceived as going from a quick and lively character to a peaceful one. The arpeggiation can also be layered between voices in counter rhythms. If one compares my preliminary study Cut Sections. Time Freezes with Neptune's Field it is obvious that the rhythms are more complex in the piano trio - as one would expect.

The orchestration

Orchestration offers of course fantastic means to develop the limited material. For a long time I considered writing Neptune's Field for an orchestra without percussion. However the unfolding of the waves called for mallet and noise instruments.

Harmony

The harmonies offered some difficulties. The natural harmonics from the strings provide very simple - trivial - chords. I divided them roughly in two categories: with or without sharps. In the next step I created a succession of chords that basically alters between these two categories, but also on different formal levels. Those pitches that were not used at all became the most important for the bass part as well as for the brass parts.

The bass

has a life of its own throughout the piece. It follows an independent path of progression. A simple arithmetic system controls when the bass will appear, either in the beginning of a wave or after the middle of it or not at all. The number of bass notes grows in a slightly irregular way. The harp plays towards the end all the bass notes in rapid succession. Falling of course - the wave is rising. In fact the bass line is a kind of a passacaglia that is completed toward the end by the harp.

Idiom

Sometimes the bass falls with a glissando. There is double bass gliss., timpani gliss. and trombone gliss. This is one of the idioms that I have been using for a long time. Why? To make the music more personal, to add some personal markers - like a jazz musician that you can recognize because of the personal phrasing. I want a very low bass that often finishes a tone by going even lower using glissando. I do not double the bass by the octave but support the low register with everything that I've got: contra bass clarinet, contra bassoon, double bass...

Another idiom is borrowed from one typical way of playing the electric guitar: you pluck a lower pitch and then you bend it up to the pitch you want. Towards the end of the tone you release it with a fast glissando all the way down the finger board. Add a delay and there's the typical woodwind gesture in Neptune's Field.

Intonation

I'm using only a few natural harmonics, the fifth, the fourth and the major third/sixth which is low compared to the major third of the equally tempered scale. Because of this the low thirds are substituted for artificial harmonics when holding long tones. However in the slow, last part we can fully enjoy the strange microtonal chords made of these natural harmonics.

Breathing

Besides the arpeggiation, breath is a simple yet important idea. The breathing comes from something as simple as a shifting of the bow that is not hidden but naturally emphasized as the weight of the hand presses the bow down on string when playing close to the frog. This idea grows throughout the work until it becomes the fundamental gesture of the third part. Now finally in harmonically richer chords played by four solo double basses and four solo cellos. I love to work with a simple idea like this one. My music is never ornamental, gaudy or glamorous. I want the simple and natural.

The screen

This is an idea that I had after composing Neptune's Field and I will continue to develop this idea further. However it describes rather well what's going on in Neptune's Field. The arpeggiation functions as a screen. You can see/hear through it. The music of the winds is heard through the screen and is only loosely related to it.

The noise

Neptune's Field ends in noise. I use very little percussion, each one of the three players have three cymbals, someone has a tam-tam, someone has a bass drum. Each one has a rain stick. The timpani player has a china cymbal that he puts on one of the heads. The wind instruments play air sounds and finally also the strings play with only noise - in two waves. I use one type of noise that is created when you brush the hair along the strings. Simple, practical, beautiful. The whole work becomes noise. A move into blurriness.

Henrik Strindberg, 2006

Email from listeners

Hello Henrik!
Some month ago I heard Neptune's Field on Wish in P2 and became completely taken with it. It was amongst the finest I have heard.

Hello!
The other morning the request program of P2 played Neptune's Field, that I was delighted with. Is it recorded and how can I get it? I want to give it to my son as a Christmas gift.

Hello Henrik!
Was really taken with your music. Is Neptune's Field available on CD, and if so on what label?
Kind regards Ola

Hello Henrik!
Heard your Neptune's Field on the radio earlier this week... Exceedingly enjoyable! Of course it's already downloaded on my computer, but I would like to hold a bought CD in my hand. What and where can one buy music of you..?

Thanks so very much for the fields...
A relief for the soul...
Warm regards