Third-Millennium Heart, for soprano and ten instruments, and "Constructing Postmodern Objects: Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen's New Simplicity"

Abstract

Third-Millennium Heart is a fifty-minute composition for soprano and ten instruments. The work takes its name from the text’s source material, Ursula Andkjær Olsen’s book of poetry, translated into English by Katrine Øgaard Jensen. Set for soprano, flute, oboe, clarinet, two percussionists, two pianos, violin, viola, and cello, the fifty-minute composition navigates its way through Andkjær Olsen’s words using song, speech, and instrumental movements that illustrate images from the poetry.“Constructing Postmodern Objects: Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s New Simplicity” is an article on the Danish composer Gudmundsen-Holmgreen and his unique version of New Simplicity, an artistic movement that emerged in Denmark in the 1960s. I situate Gudmundsen-Holmgreen in the postmodernist movement, and explore the use of “objects” in his compositions. I focus on Symphony, Antiphony, and the sonic objects present in that orchestral work to better understand Gudmundsen-Holmgreen’s sui generis musical style and to suggest parallels found in other artforms.