Eternal Conquest 

With my second round of "Formed In Translation" we go on a journey into a medieval scene. 

“Eternal Conquest” was inspired by an amazing drawing from Leander Kemperdick.  

While Leander's painting, through its colour palette and personified depiction of death, illuminates the external perspective and thus essentially describes the senselessness of war and conquest, the music is more intended to capture the inner feelings of the protagonists. Because of their moulded world views, they are ready to face death. Although a certain fear is perceptible at the beginning of the music, the euphoria of war quickly covers up this uncertainty.

For the instrumentation, I decided on a mixture of percussion, orchestra and medieval instruments. In the intro, the view of the foreign fortress is musically depicted, thus illustrating the fear of a powerful, foreign culture. Then the main theme is presented first by a small woodwind group, afterwards by the orchestra. In the B section, the heroic story of a knight is told musically, with interplay between woodwinds, horn, viola and violin. Shortly before the end, in the fulminant orchestral tutti, triplet staccati of the low instruments are heard against the main theme, drawing a stormy finale. The theme was deliberately chosen to be dance-like and conveys optimism, hope of the feast after the battle, but possibly also the hidden fear.

It's hard to believe, but we've travelled from distant galaxies to the Middle Ages, and I'm excited to see what's in store for us next 

Formed in Translation-Team:

Visual artists: 

Madeleine Wörheide, Leander Kemperdick
Composers:
Niels N. Winter, me
Management: 
Lucy Zarse 

June 2024

Cosmic Monoliths

In April, I created the orchestral track “Cosmic Monoliths” as a release for “Formed in Translation”.

Formed In Translation is a project where two composers and two visual artists come together to create a new kind of artistry based on the principle of "Chinese Whispers" (Ger.: "Stille Post"): one artist starts by creating a piece of work and hands it over to the next in the row. The second person, inspired by their very own interpretation, forms a new piece out of the one they've gotten. This way, a first idea changes from a picture into music and back on its way through the artists' hands, translated into something new every time. The piece moves to another person in the cycle every month.

 “Cosmic Monoliths” was inspired by a drawing by Leander Kemperdick that portrays a mix of ancient and modern elements. The image features four figures walking through a cosmic landscape with massive stone sculptures and mystical green light. Despite the extraterrestrial setting, the drawing also exudes a sense of nostalgia with vintage clothing and lanterns. The musical composition blends the unknown with familiar instruments and tells a story of adventure and discovery. It starts with a dialogue between trombone, horn, and timpani to evoke the gravity and antiquity of the stone figures, and then the choir and theremin create a mystical and otherworldly atmosphere. The final section features a space battle, taking the story beyond the original image and into the realm of epic science fiction.

Formed in Translation-Team:

Visual artists: 

Madeleine Wörheide, Leander Kemperdick
Composers:
Niels N. Winter, me
Management: 
Lucy Zarse 

 May 2023