Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen

Born in 1932 in Copenhagen, he studied theory, music history and composition with Finn Hofding and Svend Westergaard, and instrumentation with Vagn Holmboe at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen. He made his compositional debut in 1955 at the Festival of the Scandinavian Conservatories with Variations for solo cello (1954). Like other compositions of the early period (e.g. two String Quartets), the Variations exhibit evident neo-classical influences, notably of Bartók1s style. The early 1960s brought a total change of inspiration, towards an entirely anti-romantic stand. Gudmundsen-Holmgreen turned to serial music (Chronos, 1962), the absurd and the grotesque (works by Samuel Beckett), all of which found its reflection in the development of his own individual musical style, manifested in such pieces as Collegium Musicum Concert (1964), Mester Jakob (1964), and Je ne me tairai jamais. Jamais (1966). At that time Gudmundsen-Holmgreen worked as a technical assistant with the Royal Danish Theatre (1959­1964). In later years his style emerged to what is called Onew simplicity1, being a reaction to the Onew complexity1. The result was an insertion of Oeveryday elements1, repetitions and banalities. Hommgreen1s music became more ritualistic. Compositions like Tricolore I (1966), Tricolore IV (1969) and Plateaux pour deux (1970) are good examples of this technique. In 1967­72 he taught composition at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus. At the same time he used sophisticated constructions in his works, including
a mirror scale, symmetrically dividing the composition around a central tone, as in his Spejl pieces. In the mid-1970s, Gudmundsen-Holmgreen started to insert quotations from early music, filtered through his Otone-sieve1 system. Works from this period are: Genbrug (1975), and Symphony, Antiphony (1977). The composer1s musical material is always subjected to strict discipline: scale-binding, rhythmic or melodic mirroring and mechanical repetitions with rhythmical displacement. The main point is repetition. But in recent years one can also see a less obvious role for structure and law, resulting in a bigger interest in the role of the musicians as a living presence. We can feel this in his String Quartets 5­8 (1982­86), his beautifully ritualistic Triptykon (1985) and works like For cello and orchestra (1996). Even though his music often sounds provocative, pessimistic and abstract, one can always feel the warmth of a composer working in
a sensitive and decent way, with an unstoppable will to write uncompromising and authentic music, which is easily missed at the first encounter, but grows stronger on closer acquaintance.
Andre Chaudron

Selected works: Variations for solo cello (1954), Ouverture for strings (1955), Lamento for timpani, percussion and strings (1957), In Terra Pax for ensemble (1961), 3 Epigrams for piano (1962), Je ne me tairai jamais. Jamais for choir, narrator and orchestra (1966), Five pieces for orchestra (1966), Tricolore I for orchestra (1966), Tricolore II for orchestra (1967), String Quartet No. 4 (1967), Trikolore III for orchestra (1967), Prelude and fugue for brass ensemble, electric guitar and percussion (1969), Tricolore IV for orchestra (1969), Quartet for 18 for chamber ensemble (1970), Mirroir for tape (1971­73), So Long for electric guitar (1972), Re-Cycling for ensemble (1975), Ritual Dance for 5 percussionists and electric guitar (1976), Passacaglia for clarinet, piano, tabla, violin and cello (1977), Symphony, Antiphony for orchestra (1977), Trio for violin, horn and percussion (1979), Flight for flute, clarinet, horn and 6 percussionists (1981), String Quartet No. 5 OStep by Step1 (1982), String Quartet No. 5 1Parting1 (1983), String Quartet No. 5 1Parted1 (1984), Triptykon for percussion and orchestra (1985), String Quartet No. 5 1Ground1 (1986), reTurning for flute, clarinet, percussion, harp and piano (1987), Concord for chamber ensemble (1987), Three poems to texts by S. Beckett for mixed choir (1989), Concerto grosso for string quartet and orchestra (1990), For piano for piano (1992), Double I & II for prepared piano and violin (1994), Trafik for chamber ensemble (1994), Observationer for bass clarinet, piano and cello (1995), For cello and orchestra (1996), Teritorialsang for bass clarinet, cello and prepared piano (1997), In Triplum, Still, Lebn, Countermove I,II,III for organ (1999), Arkaisk Procession for organ (2000), Caravanfanfan-farefare No. 1 for chamber ensemble (2001), Caravanfanfan-farefare No. 3 for clarinet, violin and piano (2001), Caravanfanfan-farefare No. 3 for chamber ensemble (2001), For Violin and orchestra (2002)

Solo for El-Guitar may be regarded as one of the first mature solo pieces for the electric guitar. It leaves virtually no room for performance on an acoustic instrument. When composing the piece, Gudmundsen worked closely with Ingolfg Olsen, an accomplished electric guitar performer. Although Gudmundsen-Holmgreen describes himself as an outsider, he is in fact one of the most important figures in contemporary Danish music. He is then an 1established outsider1 in whose oeuvre there is no room for compromise and whose art exhibits a consistent rejection of large scale topics. In his pursuit of an architecturally simple and constructive language, the composer feels a connection to such artists as Cage and Beckett: OBeckett concentrates on meanginglessness, which in itself has
a remarkable power, since it liberates new possibilities in one1s experience of the world1. Gudmundsen-Holmgreen continues in the same interview: OIn removing all the well-meant speech that one is surrounded with, by knocking it over point by point, one comes to
a catastrophic condition that has something deeply liberating about it. This is also why I like Cage so much. He has pulled the rug from under everything we hold dear.1
The above quote is an adequate description of the symmetrically constructed Solo. Gudmundsen-Holmgreen likens the piece to the structure of crystals, mainly to explain that his music has neither story, development nor direction. The foundation is formed by
a small number of chords in which the note E occupies a central position. Sometimes the notes of these chords are sounded together but more often they are exposed to time, as it were, as slow arpeggios, the listener is thus bereft of any sense of progression. In the fifth movement there is a rudimentary song, completely out of tune with the rest. According to the composer, the penetration of this childlike and simple, pure melody provokes a feeling of innocence. On
a rhythmic level, each movement is divided into cells, which are not subjected to transformation. Dynamics are also regulated. In the otherwise introvert cycle, the second part is very striking for its rough, additive structure. In it, the composer consciously links up with the tough sound of rock music, which, in his view, is Othe sound of the electric guitar1.
Anthony Fiumara