Interesting projects

Welcome to the webpage of the Swedish composer Patrik Jarlestam
If you're looking for my visit to Japan-stories, go here

Here is where you can listen to the latest music
which has been written and performed:

Two operas
- one scene scene and one with folk music theme

I've just been handed the libretto by Jonas Bernander for this joint project, a 15 minute opera scene which will premiere next year in May as part of my master exam. Creating and writing operas, in their nature, with all the people involved is fascinating and challenging at the same time. The amount of time it takes to get everything together is huge. So this will probably be the main focus of the coming semesters. The opera scene is based freely on the myth of apollon and Cassandra, and the music will be performed by a Pierrot Lunaire-ensemble setting. The bigger opera is to be played by Swedish folk musicians and small folk music choir while incorporating classical opera singers. Both of the projects will be co-operations between the Music Academy, the Opera Academy and the Dramatic insititute of Stockholm.

Swedish Radio Choir -
I've given this matter some thought

"I have given this matter some thought" is written for mixed choir and was performed in 2011 by the Swedish Radio Choir at the Royal College of Music. The piece is a warning to how it can be to work too much, and a tribute to what you can do instead, and have some fun.

The choir starts surrounding the audicence in a C-shape, behind and to the sides. As the piece progresses, they start to walk towards the stage to join into a single group. This use of having a choir simulate a surround sound system in a concert hall, was inspired by Henrik Strindberg's Puff for wind quintet, and an surround "echo-piece" by composer Ilari Kullervo-Hongisto.

Lyrics: I've given this matter some thought…

I think
I've worked too hard
To fully enjoy the life, the music, the week-ends

I think
It has been too long
Since the clock spun round non measured

I don't want it like this

I cannot find the time to take time
Where is the time that makes time?

I've given this matter some thought
And this is not something I long for.

I don't want it like this

Play a game - read a good book
Take a walk - to go outside
Or just sleep 'til dinner
Make fruit cake - a lot
Find a forest - write poems
Make sculptures - of ice cream
Go to a spa
Take a trip - to go somewhere
Treat your feet right
Try cooking - try a new beer
Get a massage
Pokemon
See movies
Relax from work
Science fiction
Do something new
Now

I think I'll take the week-end off.

The Grand Piano of Light

The project named "The Grand Piano of Light" had its premiere concert in 2011. I had built a series of patches in Max/MSP to translate Midi in realtime to Lighting commands in DMX. This was to let the pianist use the grand piano as a way of controlling the light rig, but also to show more of how music could look when translated through light, and if these elements could work together to create a more intense/varied/different concert experience than the music could alone.
I also wrote a piece for this setup called Light/beacon (for piano, electronics and lights) about the protests in Egypt and Libya. Luigi Nono once said that composers should give testimony about their times, and this is mine about the world at the start of 2011.

Quotes from Mubarak and Gadaffi are interspersed with quotes from a protester in Egypt. A revolution is riddled with dualities, from the sadness of having to go through it, the insecurities of what lies ahead to the raw will and feeling of wanting to change your situation and future outsets, the A sections of the piece use the piano as the saddened voice of the people, to the explosive B part where rage and electronica express the pure adrenaline of when revolutionary battles flare up.

Jaroslaw Kaliski plays the piano, Anton Trochez and Magnus Lundin were the lighting technicians and Erik Eklund is the founder of the "Grand Piano of Light" project.

Maurizio Pizati - Röd konsert (3:07 into the clip)

A while ago, back in february, I played percussion on the premiering of a piece called "Röd konsert" (red concert) by Maurizio Pizati from Italy. The piece was commissioned by the duo EN.D.E, in their ongoing quest to get music written for and performed on archlute and a whole lot of different recorders. Performing musicians where Katarina Widell and Patrik Karlsson of the aforementioned duo, Ivo Nilsson (Trombone) and The Stockholm Saxophone quartett.

I think it still is as important as ever for us composers to get in on performing our own and other composers music as well. The feeling of playing in a group and creating music together live is something that still gives me great pleasure.

Baroque, old/new counter-point and hard rock

These are some images from my bachelor exam concert in the R1 concert hall in Stockholm.

The piece is entitled "Förstöra.Förgöra.Förändra", which translates as "Destroy, Eradicate, Change" and is written for Baroque ensemble and modern harp. Ever since I had taken a course in early music instrument knowledge, I had become interested in writing for earlier instruments, since they exhibit a sound world which I am not used to, so my music sounds fresh to me even though I have heard it many times. Their instruments are also pitched in 415 hz, which makes them sound one semi-tone below normal. Due to their construction, they sound better in certain keys than others (as few accidentals and flats as possible is good), while I can use the “worse” sounding keys to good effect.

The title comes from a quick mistranslation of the Meshuggah album "Destroy Erase Improve", from which I started to experiment around with different words with similar meaning to the original words(since all the words started on f in Swedish) and this is what came out as a good title. I started working on the piece in Japan, when I was last there, since I wanted to be in the country which inspired me so much, but look at my own music from afar to see what was exotic about it, and which styles and expressions would crop up when I was in a completely different surrounding. In a way, to dig out that which lies hidden in me, by exposing myself to something completely other yet still known to me.

On the subject on the venue, I had been planning for a longer time a larger and longer concert in this nuclear reactor hall. Using a baroque orchestra and a choir to come close to some inner human voice, and at the same time using a place which is 24 meters below ground, cut of from the world and at the same time so completely constructed by man and artificial. This combination of (egenskaper) i thought would suit my idea greatly. Circumstances did not come together to support such an idea, so I could only finish the Baroque part of the plan, but it turned out great.

The piece is available both for sinfonietta, and in a "showreel" version for baroque orchestra (since it's over 19 minutes long) in the audio section.

Below are the musicians in the ensemble, who I give a great many thanks for making this project come together. It was a great and fun experience to work with all of you!

Thomas Schützer: Traverse flute
Kyoko Nakazawa: Baroque oboe
Nina Grigorjeva: Baroque bassoon

Jana-Christine Langenbruch: Alto recorder
My Eklund: Alto recorder
Heidi Rohlin-Westin: Tenor recorder
Antonio Giummarella: Bass recorder

Henrik Eriksson: Baroque trombone
Kristoffer Siggstedt: Baroque bass trombone

Henrik Berg: Harpsichord
Stina Hellberg, Harp
John Martling: Archlute

Catalina Langborn: Baroque violin
Johannes Jakobsson: Baroque violin
Sandra Marteleur: Baroque violin
Andrea Ravandoni: Baroque viola
Jonas Bleckman: Baroque cello

Castlevania - the concert (clips)

I arranged music from the japanese video game series Castlevania, for symphony orchestra which was performed during the "Castlevania - The Concert" happening in Stockholm. The event even had Castlevania composer Michiru Yamane perform as a pianist and harpsichord player together with the orchestra.

The concert took place in the Concert House in Stockholm

MMORPG Mortal Online - soundtrack

Mortal Online, an MMORPG developed by the Swedish based company Star Vault has been released, to which I've composed the soundtrack. It is a more realistic medieval take on the genre compared to World of Warcraft, and features full PvP and and Check out the webpage www.mortalonline.com if you haven't already. Some of my music to the game is also on the audio section

Music for dance

On my internet journeys I've encountered a posting of She - dance performance. It was performed in Visby 2007 at the "February meeting" concert with dancers and composers studying there.

The music consisted of me playing percussion to prerecorded electronics. Java, Peking and regular gongs were used, as well as cymbals. We tried to find an ancient and ethereal voice from the babelonian myths the piece was based upon, through thee use of electronics. All the while keeping the music fresh through improvising with the percussion. During the concert itself the electronics part broke down when there was 2 minutes left, neither of the dancers nor me knew if we should continue or not, but we did and we managed to end the piece in quite a satisfying way.

The dance performance was later turned into a film by Darya Allaf, with a new version of music by me, and the choreography by Anna Gordh-Humlesjö. Today I found it posted on youtube and thought that this might be interesting to share. It's funny how one's feelings towards a piece can change differently depending on the piece. This still feels, not quite like I've written it but still it's definitively from my sketch book. This is probably why I like it so much, so check it out on my videos page

Video: Darya Allaf
Music: Patrik Jarlestam
Choreography: Anna Gordh-Humlesjö
Dancers: Anna Gordh-Humlesjö
Josefin Bohlin
Song: Sanne Skjervik

Some Western Wind

I performed vibraphone on the piece "Some western wind" for solo jazz harp and symphonic orchestra written by the harpist Stina Hellberg, and arranged by us both for Sandvikens symphony orchestra. This piece has been mentioned in the harpblog of Camac, famous harp makers in France.

"Some Western Wind" is inspired by the music of Dave Holland, Stina's favourite jazz musician, together with Afro-Cuban and Swedish folk elements. The work also fuses classical concerto and more improvisatory jazz forms. There is an extended harp solo, for example, where the double bass, vibraphone and percussion can form a jazz quartet with the harp and improvise together.