vridna, vågsång

is an approximately 33-minute string trio that Kristenson wrote 2016 in close collaboration with violast Tove Bagge, violinist Julija Morgan Kiibus and double bassist Hanna Cronhjort. Exploring friction and resistance in both musical timbre and the string instruments bodies. The following year a revised, shortened, and full quartet version of that piece was created especially for the Malva Quartet.

vridna, vågsång originates from a desire to evoke resistance that resists, that pushes down, that gives frustration and weight but also the resistance that gives strength and a kind of wild, angry joy.

”The piece focuses on two notes, both of which it resists occupying completely as instruments strain outward from it by having their tuning pegs turned. This brings a de-tuned, microtonal quality to the texture while the inclusion of human voices further twists the timbral and luminous kaleidoscope through which the sustained pitches sound, like a living, breathing organism.” Andrew Mellor, 2021

time expands space

the translation of the Swedish title vridna, vågsång can be understood as: twisting, wavesong/lullaby. the word vågsång is a wordplay containing both the actual meaning (wavesong) of the word and its soundalike ‘vaggsång’ (lullaby).

For our rehearsals (in 2016), I came up with sketches and short motifs that we tried out, reshaped and developed together as a group. Our work process was mostly oral, where I explained some short ideas with instructions on how to listen while performing. And together we developed those ideas into small mini-songs and exercises where we went through expressions such as resistance, slow developments, tentative rhythms and twisting motifs. During our rehearsals, I used a language that also reflects in the final score. This language was part of our creative process, where I wanted to welcome the musicians into creating the music where we could use our different knowledge of the instruments and how we perceive sound. It is a language that aims to direct the listening in different directions.

Composer Lo Kristenson is interested in resistance as a musical expression. This documentary is about her and how the work vridna, sågsång came about.