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composition - A Posture of Attendance
A Posture of Attendance is a series of site-specific compositions composed in Oslo in 2024. These compositions are written for different locations and involve 3 to 7 same or similar instruments.
In A Posture of Attendance, the room itself becomes a collaborator. The harmony is composed according to the room’s frequencies, and musicians are positioned based on its resonant qualities, making sound and architecture active participants in the performance. This raises a question: How does architecture influence listening and interaction between musicians and the audience?
Photo by Marco Slaviero
This reflects Blesser and Salter’s (2006) notion of aural architecture, where sound is deeply entangled with space, which in turn shapes musical perception and interaction. The space acts as a co-creator, reflecting and transforming sound, influencing how musicians respond to one another. It also raises another question of whether the reverse is possible: can we not only understand the architecture of a space through sound, but also shape how we feel about the room by manipulating sound?
Rhythm serves as evidence of attentive listening. I introduced a factor that makes the space’s influence audible and unavoidable: a steady, circulating rhythm. The success of the composition relies on how this rhythm is sustained as the room disrupts the musicians’ ability to clearly hear one another.
Musicians may choose to stand in the corners, amplifying latency challenges and pushing listening beyond sound into intuition and physical awareness. The shared pulse—felt and maintained collectively—becomes the foundation of the piece.
I further challenge this pulse by introducing rhythmic variations. Musicians can choose to accelerate, decelerate, or destabilize the circling rhythm. Can the pulse remain flexible without clear auditory cues? Do they rely on one another or only on their individual sense of pulse? In these moments, I ask myself: How much do I trust the others—and how much do I trust myself, especially when I don’t know if others are shifting the rhythm intentionally? And is it important to know?
Photo by Na Dong
The first volume A Posture of Attendance: Cello Quintet for 4 Cellos and Levinsalen, was performed at the Norwegian Academy of Music in May by cellists Tanja Orning, Urban Megusar, Elizabeth Kate, and Wei Ting Tseng.
In September 2024, the second volume A Posture of Attendance: Vibraphone Quintet for 4 Vibraphones and The Third Floor was presented at Ultima Festival at Deichman Bjørvika, performed by Jonas Evenstad, Sebastian Nilsen Lindland, Madalena Rato, and Elias Voll.
Photo by Nabeeh Samaan / Ultima Festival
In October 2024, the third volume A Posture of Attendance: Vibraphone Quartet for 3 Vibraphones and The Moving Room was recorded in Oslo, played by Jonas Evenstad, Madalena Rato, and Elias Voll.
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