Anton Nielsen Hedonia - Cross In The Mountains
Eternal Stasis (1923 - 1991)
Sound Art & Music:
The production of music and sound art of A.N. Hedonia can generally be divided into 3 main periods. An early period (1940–1945) centered around the use of acoustic instruments and relatively traditional approaches towards composition. A middle period (1945-1965) exploring conceptual, experimental and relational approaches to music making. This period include extensive chamber works, large choir works, the production of an opera as well as various sound art pieces exploring the potentials of recording technology as the primary instrument and medium. In his late period (1985-1991) his primary concern seemed to be auditory exploration through the use of synthesizers (in combination with various techniques and approaches from earlier periods).
Despite the various changes in tools and techniques almost all of his sound production retain certain thematic, aesthetic, sensory and compositional similarities. His general fascination with lack, absence and stasis is particularly noticeable throughout all of his oeuvre. Each composition tend to focus on a single musical or conceptual idea which either remains completely static or is transformed/developed ever so slowly throughout the piece. The duration of each work is often quite extensive and almost always incorporates extreme repetition, a very limited dynamic range (often quite soft), a somewhat sparse/limited selection of sounds and instruments (especially in his early and middle period), incorporation of “silence”, an emphasis on atmosphere, noise and spatial characteristics as well as a general avoidance of contrasting sections and overt emotional expression.
Most of these traits are already somewhat present in his very first attempts at composition.
Examples of this include the 13 small piano miniatures on “Solitude” (1940-1941) , his choral reharmonization of danish hymns on “In Praise of Nothing” (1942), and his collection of extremely slow contrapuntal organ compositions on “Visceroptosis - Lowered Organ” (1942-1943). All of these early works are widely regarded as student pieces that only hint at some of the more unusual idiosyncrasies and extreme approaches of his later work. This somewhat derogatory classification of music from this period is partly due to its simplicity, its brevity as well as its relatively naive approach to formal and structural development. Another reason for this classification is that the music still seem to rely quite heavily on earlier traditions of western European art music (especially renaissance, romantic and impressionistic music) in regards to both harmony (functional harmony and modal approaches), the centrality of melody & modes as well as to a lesser extent the techniques and approaches used to structure and develop the musical material (e.g. the use of Cantus Firmus and Canons in “Visceroptosis - Lowered Organ”). In spite of the relatively subdued nature of most of this work it is quite noticeable that a lot of the music from this period seems to still be somewhat concerned with emotion (particularly melancholy), individuality and expressivity (which is in stark contrast to a lot of his later works).
Throughout his late teens and early twenties he started slowing down the rate of change as well the general pace of his music quite significantly. He gradually abandoned any traditional notions of melodic writing, opting instead for extremely slow chordal movements, extensive repetition, excessive use of sustained sounds and the incorporation of non-pitched instruments and noises (e.g. percussive instruments, air sounds, breathing sounds etc.). “This approach creates a space for the listener to exist and/or disappear in, forcing their attention towards musical variations on a microscopic scale e.g.; texture, timbre and intonation, "the sound of silence”, the struggle of the performer and the sound of the space where the performance is situated rather than the vulgar, banal and clichéd manipulation of emotion through melodic or thematic development” (translation of excerpt from letter send to former teacher).
Transitional pieces from this period include “Stilstand” (1944), “Broken Organs” (1944) and “Veiled Intimacy” (1945) which all explore slow, quiet, unstable and extremely fragile auditory landscapes obtained through the use of unusual registers, various extended playing techniques and extreme dynamics (very quiet). In spite of the slow and relatively abstract nature of these pieces, they are seen as transitional pieces due to the fact that they still contain some sort of ghost or remnant of earlier melodic approaches.
Image from abandoned church where Anton composed a significant portion of his music during the 1940’s.
The first pieces that fully conform to his self described “Aesthetic of lack” are generally considered to be The Call To Prayer // Tinnitus (1945), “Snare - The Entrapment of Animals (1947-1953), and Asphyxiation Studies #1 - Pipe Failure (1949-1951).
The Call To Prayer // Tinnitus (1945) exemplifies the beginning of this highly unorthodox and quite radical approach to both creation and interpretation of the aesthetic-, formal- and philosophical utility of music and sound. The piece consists of a very long sequence of static high frequency “sound objects” that are created through the use of various small church bells, an organ (only the highest register), 12 triangles, a choir, 4 snare drums and 4 radios playing static (white noise). Each “sound object” is repeated extensively with very limited variation happening throughout the whole piece.
The music is for the most part perceived as an incessant, continuous and hyper intense ringing interspersed with small moments of silence, absence and relief.
By mimicking and ascribing aesthetic value to the high frequency ringing sounds experienced by people suffering from Tinnitus the piece simultaneously suggest/makes audible the hidden anguish that each individual must carry (Tinnitus is only audible to the person with the condition) while ascribing a transcendental and religious meaning to this suffering. I.e. “the true prayer” / connection with the metaphysical is best described as a personal and internal relationship that we establish with "the divine”. A relationship that is only available to us through great struggle, pain and solitary contemplation/meditation. “Our tinnitus (and our pain) is generally most prominent/audible once the noise of the social world dissipates and we can finally be alone in silence. It is exactly in this state of solitude and isolation that we are best able to contemplate our own being, our finitude and our place in the world. This suffering, this complete lack of harmony, this futility, this arbitrary indifference of existence, this is the call to prayer. It is the eternal ringing of our being”.
Anton Nielsen Hedonia - Cross In The Mountains (oil painting series)
The exploration and musicalization of medical conditions and the arbitrary suffering they impose on our existence (aka. our continuous struggles against our own biology, psyche and nature) seem to be a shared theme in most of the pieces created during this time. The pleasure in suffering, the complex ambiguity of the power in self denigration and the transformative potential in being able to withstand the trials of existence is highlighted through the aestheticization of pain, lack and self denial. Other prominent pieces exploring these themes include:
Snare - The Entrapment of Animals (1947-1953):
An opera centered around religious (particularly protestant) ideas about self mortification, bondage, entrapment, free will and the redemptive qualities of self sacrifice. The opera features a gagged tenor playing the lute while “singing”/attempting to vocalize text excerpts by Martin Luther, a self flagellating, blindfolded and physically restricted (bound) soprano singing text excerpts by Sarah Osborn (the severity of her restriction gradually increase during the opera. Eventually the soprano is completely immobile/confined.), 3 flautists playing “flute masks“ (similar to the medieval torture device “shame flutes” but modified to be playable), a gagged and body suspended 4 person choir singing recomposed versions of lutheran hymns, a cembalo prepared with snare wires, drumheads, animal skin and animal snares/traps, an organist, 3 percussionist playing prepared snare drums and a dancer trying (and failing) to break free from their entrapment (the performer is wearing animal hides, an animal mask and is restricted by snare wires normally used for the entrapment of animals).
Asphyxiation Studies #1 - Pipe Failure (1949-1951):
Three movements of extremely slow microtonal music for half pulled organ stops, asthmatic vocalist with (inhaler/nebulizer), brass quintet and woodwind quintet (primarily performing air sounds).
Mvt. 1 Bradypnea:
Consists of a long series of extremely slow, airy and unstable chords.
The Vocalist performs an intense and strained exhale or inhale on each chord change.
The maximum rate of change is 12 breaths/chords pr. minute.
Mvt. 2 Dyspnea:
Simulates an acute severe asthma attack through vocalized wheezing, coughing, extremely fast breathing and hyperventilation accompanied by hectic, intense and high frequency air sounds produced on various wind and brass instruments. Beneath these hectic air sounds is a layer of slow, unstable microtonal chords that gradually increase in volume, instability and dissonance throughout the piece. The vocalist frequently grasps at and uses their nebulizer becoming more physically erratic as the movement develops.
Mvt. 3 - Apnea:
Consists of large chunks of silence interspersed with short bursts of material (chords and/or hectic breathing/air sounds) from movement 1 and 2.
The duration of breaks in between each burst increase as the piece develops, eventually ending in complete silence.
Anton Nielsen Hedonia - Graves of the Fallen Freedom Fighters
In addition to the thematic similarities between these pieces many musicologist and art critics have noticed that the choice of material, its instrumentation and its development seems to be guided by a conceptual or relational framework rather than a concern for the technical and structural innovation of modernistic music or the expressive and emotional considerations of romantic music. Due to this unusual approach many scholars consider the music to be a prime example of proto-conceptualism in music highlighting various similarities (primarily in approach and not necessarily in expression) with the music and thinking of composers like John Cage, Erik Satie & La Monte Young. The extensive usage of text alongside the incorporation of performative and theatrical elements in the music has also made some critics consider the music to be; “a strange and very unappealing mutation of opera”, “a dadaist exercise in the absurd” and “an innovative progenitor to the development of fluxus and performance art prominent in the 70’s”. His concern with the framing and exploration of ideas through music over immediate sensory pleasures, technical skill and/or traditional notions of beauty has been described similarly to Marchel Duchamps “abandonment” of “retinal art” in the 1910’s.
This treatment of concepts and ideas as the primary compositional motor and artistic concern were particularly prominent in much of the 1950 and the early 1960’s which saw A.N. Hedonia treating recording technology and storage mediums as his primary instruments. Rather than notating music and having it performed on acoustic instruments he would instead develop a conceptual framing that allowed him to record and imbue “empty” sonic environments with meaning. Prominent examples of this include:
Visceral Hypersensitivity - Heightened Organ (1952):
Recordings of various inner organs.
The recordings were realized through; attaching contact mics to various parts of the body, swallowing lavelier mics, using various stethoscopes, doppler echocardiography as well as recording with condenser microphones in an Anechoic chamber.
Lack (1953):
Recordings of various “empty”, abandoned or “silent” environments.
Locations include; Forests at night, his childhood home & various abandoned countrydside houses.
The Site of Grief / Environment of Loss (1953-1958):
Recording of various sites associated with grief, sorrow, mourning and loss.
Locations include:
crematories, churches, graveyards, the burning of funeral pyres, religious singing, as well as other funeral rituals etc.
Two Recordings are made in each space. One with the mourners performing the funeral ritual and one in the absence of the mourners (empty space).
In Praise of Excess - The Absence of Lack as Its Own Void (1955-1965) :
Is a very large collection of approximately 40-50 pieces that explore extreme and constant stimulation with loud and relatively unchanging noisy sounds. The pieces generally avoid traditional notions of pitched and/or dynamic development in favor of a single noisy sound that lasts for an extended period of time with very limited timbral variety. This overall collection is often divided into 3 smaller subsets / series that each have their own unique approach to the creation and structuring of its material.
The 1st subset is “The Noise Within” which consists of extremely gained recordings of the self-noise of various electronic equipment such as; microphones, preamps, mixer boards, handheld recording devices, surgical equipment, electromagnetic noise of various electronics, ground hum, as well as reappropriated material from “Visceral Hypersensitivity - Heightened Organ”.
The 2nd subset is “No Input” that exclusively uses aggressive distorted drones made through no-input mixing, feedback between microphones and speakers as well as music made by physically interacting with jack cables connected to amplifiers (mixing boards, guitar amps etc.). without any input source (e.g. electric guitars or other instruments).
The 3rd subset is “White Noise Studies - Imitations”. This subset consists of a large number of soundscapes that all have approximately the same frequency distribution as white noise. The original sound source is often heavily layered with multiple re-pitched and heavily equalized versions of itself on top of each other. The resulting drone is often extremely dense and very noisy. Each imitation/replication does still vary somewhat significantly due to the timbral and spatial characteristics present in the original source material. Source material used include; white noise, extremely fast snare rolls, recordings of ventilation systems, fricatives, breathing sounds, air sounds produced on flutes, rain, fire etc.
Another important collection of pieces from this period that deals with themes of absence and decay is “Music From The Ruins - Studies In Erasure” (1959-1963). The techniques used in these pieces vary quite significantly but the conceptual basis is the same for every piece. Each piece is created by damaging, distorting or erasing material from a preexisting piece of music. The techniques used to achieve this effect include damaging the medium used to store the music (i.e. making cuts into vinyl records or cutting tape into small splices), using broken or subpar gear to play back and re-record/reamp the music (this process is often repeated ad nauseam until the original music is heavily transformed & abstracted) and/or erasing parts from scores of preexisting music.
Alongside this practice of exploring the artistic, auditory and conceptual potentials associated with “lack and absence” he also kept on developing new ways of working with many of the themes prominent in his earlier work (continually interested in the usefulness of; self-denial, suppression/bondage, asceticism, self-mortification, religious thought and the ability to endure pain). Examples of this include:
Bound By Flesh:
More info coming soon.
Freedom is the Cage
(bound performers interpret music by John Cage or appropriations of music and/or techniques by John Cage).
More info coming soon.
Anton Nielsen Hedonia - Blood Beech