Stuðlagil (2019)
Instrumentation: clarinet, trumpet, piano
Composed in June 2019, Stuðlagil was premiered at the Time of Music Festival in Viitasaari, Finland, by members of the Uusinta Ensemble.
The piece is named after a natural wonder in East Iceland, Stuðlagil canyon, nestled in the Jökla glacial river. For centuries, much of the canyon remained hidden beneath the powerful river's surface. However, with the construction of the controversial Kárahnjúkavirkjun hydropower plant, the water level dramatically dropped, revealing the stunning, basalt column-lined canyon in all its glory. Since then the canyon has become a popular tourist destination. But instead of painting a romanticised version of the canyon, my piece aims to capture the harshness and the threatening nature of this spetacular scenery. Fast-moving tone clusters on the piano, accompanied by slow-moving micro-glissandos on the clarinet and trumpet, evoke the constant flow of the river. And as the basalt columns emerge, they are represented with sustained multiphonics on the clarinet and harsh, accented notes and chords on the trumpet and the piano.