Torben Snekkestad: The Poetics of a Multiphonic Landscape

Field of study: Artistic Research

The project is an artistic research project focusing on the saxophone's ability to produce multiphonics (multiple sounds on an instrument considered monophonic). The project has become a personal artistic exploration into the process of unfolding the poetics of these complex sonics and a reflection over the process, methods and the creation of an album trilogy, consisting of acoustic solo music recorded during the research period.

Research Question

What happens if the raw musical material, in the creation of a set of solo saxophone works, is based on the multiphonics only and what this material in itself suggests – possibly independent of any stylistic affiliation?

Objectives

Snekkestad's main objective is to examine why the saxophone’s multiphonics have such a captivating effect on him. How could he possibly explore their intrinsic qualities and unfold the poetic potential in them? By the same token, his ambition is to find a suitable artistic context for this enamoured relationship that so heavily has stirred the waves of Snekkestad's imagination.

In the reflection text, Snekkestad discloses how some unexpected paths during this pursuit revealed themselves. From sprouting interest toward underwater soundscapes, to the making of a hybrid instrument called reed-trumpet; and how his personal catalogue of multiple sounds found its place, not in a public pdf-document or book release, but in a German wooden archive box.

Documentation

The full title of the project is The poetics of a multiphonic Landscape.

The project comprises the following parts:

The Artistic Result

The artistic result is documented through an acoustic solo album trilogy, performed and composed by Torben Snekkestad. It consists of the albums Winds of Mouth, Plateau and The Reed Trumpet. Listen to the music on SoundCloud.

Written documentation

Snekkestad's critical reflection is available in NMH's digital archive Brage.