(Re)Phrasing—Shaping Music with Modern Instruments aims to demonstrate how the affordances of modern musical instruments can influence phrasing. The goal is to expand on our understanding of these affordances and how this affects the way we express musical ideas.
Phrasing is how a musician shapes music. Phrasing is the performer's musical language and is strongly linked to how well one masters one's instrument and can communicate musical ideas and interpretations. Instrumentalists have seen technical developments and innovations over hundreds of years, leading to the instruments we use today. Modern orchestral instruments are often very different from their historical predecessors with the development generally being in the direction of more evenness through the registers, larger volume, and projection [1]. The methodology of playing is also highly focused on evening out the idiosyncrasies of the instrument to make all notes through the registers have the same shape. But what happens when everything sounds the same? Has phrasing become a victim of evenness?
This project uses a period boxwood instrument, modern boxwood instruments, modern mopane instruments, and modern grenadilla instruments (which are the norm today) as tools for research on phrasing. By switching tools between these instruments, I have identified and related various techniques to establish how the affordances of the different instruments can influence phrasing.
Participating musicians:
Tor Erik Seime Pettersen – piano
Link to preliminary artistic results and reflections: Research Catalogue
Bio:
Christian Stene is the Associate Professor of clarinet and Ph.D. Artistic Research Fellow at The Grieg Academy – Department of Music at the University of Bergen, Norway. He is also the National Chairperson (Norway) for the International Clarinet Association (ICA) and a Buffet Crampon and Vandoren performing artist. Christian was the principal clarinetist of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra from 2010 to 2022 and the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra from 2007 to 2010.
In addition to teaching the clarinet class at the Grieg Academy, Christian regularly gives masterclasses in Norway as well as in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Singapore, Malaysia, China, Australia, and the U.S.A.
Christian regularly appears as guest principal clarinet with various Scandinavian, European, Asian, and Australian orchestras, notably the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
For more information and sound examples please visit: www.christianstene.com