Bent Sørensen

Schattenlinie

About the whispering in movement No. IV (The movement 'Kirschgarten') The word 'stemmer' is whispered by the musicians in movement IV, as marked in the parts (marked whisper in the music). The word 'stemmer' is Danish for 'voices'. The Danish letter 'e' is here pronounced approximately like the 'e' in the English word 'stem'. The whisper should be 'airy' and barely audible, not as loud as to be mistaken for talking/singing. If you prefer the German word 'Stimmen' (same meaning and approximate same 'sound') you may substitute that word for 'stemmer' - at your discretion. If you make the substitution then all occurences must be changed. In bar 7 the clarinet player whispers 'stemmer' after the last forte note of the piano has died away enough to make the whispering audible. In bar 12 the pianist initiates the whispering, and is immediately followed by the viola player, creating an 'echo' effect. In bar 19 follow the same procedure as in bars 7 and 12. Further whispering, two possibilities/options: 1)) AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION (this option is preferred by the composer and was used at the premiere performance of this movement at Risör Festival 8 July 2008). The special circumstances surrounding this particular performance (see last paragraph) allowed a number of people (approx. 10) from the attending audience to be instructed in advance to participate in the whispering from their position amongst the audience in the hall. It is not necessary for the audience 'whisperers' to have a score at hand, they will whisper on cue from the musicians on stage. The first occurrence of this feature appears in bar 21-22 where the especially prepared members of the audience become part of the whispering echo. When the clarinet player has whispered 'stemmer' the audience follows immediately, creating a multi-voiced echo effect. It is very important that the audience does not coordinate their whispers in rhythmic unison, the effect should be one of random echos from various directions. In bar 27, 36 and 38 the audience should follow the same procedure, on cue from the musician(s) on stage. 2)) WITHOUT AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION This option leaves out audience participation, which might prove difficult to organize in advance in ordinary performance. The echo effect should then be created solely by the musicians on stage, also in bars 21+22, 27, 36 and 38. The whispers among the musicians can 'bounce' back and forth, 'echo-like' between the musicians, at their discretion. The movement 'Kirschgarten' is dedicated to the Risör Festival of Chamber Music, just like the other movements of SCHATTENLINIE. However, this movement is in particular dedicated to the many enthusiastic volunteers, on whom the Festival rely. Hopefully the volunteers have enjoyed the opportunity to be involved as 'musicians', although only for a single night, a brief moment, where they can relax - by whispering 'stemmer'. Bent Sörensen, april 2008 (rev. 2012)