HOWARD
Ombra
for Mezzo-Soprano and Viola with Optional Sound Design
ISSUU version for perusal only
ISSUU version for perusal only
EMILY HOWARD Ombra
In Three
Parts
for Mezzo-Soprano and Viola with Optional Sound Design (2022)
EDITION PETERS
LEIP ZI G · L ONDO N · NE W YOR K
PROGRAMME NOTE
ISSUU version for perusal only
Ombra (2022) is a 40’ dramatic vocalise for mezzo-soprano and viola in three parts, first performed as part of The Wernicke’s Area, a mixed media installation led by ANU Productions at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. The work can be performed in its acoustic version or accompanied by sound design, created by Bofan Ma, based on the original immersive sound design from The Wernicke’s Area.
The work responds to the story and medical condition of Debbie Boss, wife of ANU’s co-artistic director and visual artist Owen Boss. In 2014 Debbie was admitted to hospital for surgery to remove a previously undiagnosed meningioma tumour from a part of the brain known as the Wernicke’s Area. Since the surgery her everyday life has been affected by epilepsy. When Debbie suffers a seizure the symptoms manifest as audio hallucinations and aphasia: a loss of comprehension of both heard and spoken words.
Ombra takes inspiration from a series of diaries kept by Debbie, a trained soprano who can no longer remember the lyrics to even the simplest of songs. Responding to George F. Handel’s Ombra mai fu, which was Debbie’s favourite aria to perform, Ombra is a mental theatre, embodying an inward, ever circling wonder about meaning and comprehension.
In Ombra I, mezzo-soprano and viola unite in an intense unison exploration of a brief melodic fragment from Ombra mai fu. A set of 8 short dramatic vignettes form Ombra II. In Ombra III, Handel’s original melody is foregrounded with an instruction in the score ‘Repeat ad infinitum’. As mezzo-soprano alternates between singing, humming and silence, viola is instructed to play at times with gradual or sudden transitions between p e dolce sempre and sounding ‘like concete being grated’, a final reference to the diaries.
Ombra is dedicated to Debbie.
Score in C
Duration: c.40’
Emily Howard, August 2023
Commissioned by ANU Productions as part of The Wernicke’s Area, funded by the Arts Council of Ireland and the Irish Museum of Modern Art.
First performed by Rosie Middleton (Mezzo-Soprano) and Stephen Upshaw (Viola) at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA), Dublin, on 8th October 2022 as part of The Wernicke’s Area by ANU Production
With thanks to:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ISSUU version for perusal only
Debbie Boss, for sharing her story. Ombra is dedicated to Debbie.
Bofan Ma (Sound Design)
Rosie Middleton (Mezzo-Soprano) and Stephen Upshaw (Viola)
Owen Boss and ANU Productions
Professor Mark Cunningham and Trinity College, Dublin
The Irish Museum of Modern Art
Development for this work was supported by PRiSM, The RNCM Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music, funded by the Research England fund Expanding Excellence in England (E3).
PERFORMANCE NOTES
Ombra can be performed in its acoustic form (c.35’) or accompanied by sound design, created by Bofan Ma, based on the original immersive sound design from The Wernicke’s Area (c.42’).
Ombra I
Once a tempo has been chosen, strict timing is important.
Text: Vowels taken from the phrase “di vegetabile cara ed amabile” are emergent.
Dynamics:
M-S. Begin ppp and very gradually crescendo reaching fff at Figure 16.
Vla. Begin ppp and very gradually crescendo reaching fff at Figure 17 and then very gradually diminuendo reaching ppp by Figure 22.
Ombra II
Text:
In the ‘Very Slowly’ sections, vowels taken from the phrase “di vegetabile cara ed amabile” are emergent. In the ‘Very Fast’ sections, mezzo-soprano chooses a pitch and vowel sound (one per section).
In the ‘Very Fast’ sections, there are two dynamic shapes for mezzo-soprano to choose from:
(1) Begin ppp and very gradually crescendo reaching fff by the end of the section.
(2) Begin ppp and gradually crescendo reaching fff in the middle of the section and then gradually diminuendo reaching ppp by the end of the section.
Ombra III
World premiere interpretation of Ombra III
Repeat three times -
ISSUU version for perusal only
(1) solo viola only, as written, beautiful in a classic way (2) mezzo-soprano as written viola, as written, beautiful in a classic way, with unpredictably sudden and gradual transitions into sounding “like concrete being grated”, and back again (3) mezzo-soprano, as written viola, as written, beautiful in a classic way
General Performance Notes
Quarter tones
Quarter tones are notated as follows:
Optional Sound Design
For performances with Sound Design, there are three electronic tracks to cue. The tracks are available from the publisher – contact electronics@editionpeters.com
Cue 1 is triggered in Ombra I at Figure 3 (b.101).
Cue 2 is triggered at the end of Ombra II
Ombra III can be repeated as many times as the performers wish, and Cue 3 can be placed at any position within Ombra III. In the world premiere interpretation outlined above, Cue 3 occurs in b.47 of the second repeat.
Very Slowly (q=30)
ISSUU version for perusal only
Very Slowly (q=30)
Very Fast (q=138-152)
[See performance notes.]
Very Fast (q=138-152)
increasingly pesante
Very Slowly (q=30)
ISSUU version for perusal only
Very Slowly (q=30)
pp
Very Fast (q=138-152)
[See performance notes.]
Very Fast (q=138-152)
ISSUU version for perusal only
Very Slowly (q=30)
Very Slowly (q=30) pp
Very Fast (q=138-152)
Very Fast (q=138-152)
increasingly pesante
q=84-96)
(q=84-96)
x=58-63)
x=58-63)
x=30)
x=30)
ISSUU version for perusal only
Emily Howard
Emily Howard (b. 1979) first won critical acclaim with the orchestral work Magnetite, commissioned by Liverpool European Capital of Culture for the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Her music has been commissioned, performed and broadcast internationally by festivals and ensembles including the BBC Proms, London Symphony Orchestra, New Scientist Live, Wien Modern and Bamberg Symphony. Known for her music’s connection with science, Howard studied Mathematics and Computer Science at Oxford University and holds a Doctorate in Composition from the University of Manchester. Howard is currently Professor of Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music and Director of PRiSM (the RNCM Centre for Practice & Research in Science & Music).
Emily Howard (*1979) wurde zunächst durch ihr Orchesterwerk Magnetite bekannt, das anlässlich der Ernennung Liverpools zur Europäischen Kulturhauptstadt für das Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra entstand. Zu den Interpreten und Auftraggebern ihres Schaffens zählen Festivals und Ensembles in aller Welt, darunter die BBC Proms, das London Symphony Orchestra, New Scientist Live, Wien Modern und die Bamberger Symphoniker. Howard, die in ihrem Schaffen Verbindungen zur Naturwissenschaft herstellt, studierte Mathematik und Informatik an der Universität Oxford und wurde an der Universität Manchester im Fach Komposition promoviert. Gegenwärtig ist sie Professorin für Komposition am Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester und Leiterin von PRiSM, dem hochschuleigenen Zentrum für Praxis und Forschung in Naturwissenschaft und Musik.
The Peters Contemporary Chamber Series offers the opportunity to discover new works to programme, study and play. Representing the full breadth of our library of modern chamber music, this curated series of performance materials ranges from established repertoire to pieces recently premiered.
Mit einer sorgfältigen Auswahl aus unserem breitgefächerten Katalog moderner Kammermusik lädt die Peters Contemporary Chamber Series dazu ein, neues Repertoire zu entdecken, zu erkunden und zu Gehör zu bringen. In Form von Aufführungsmaterialien umfasst sie etablierte Werke ebenso wie erst kürzlich uraufgeführte Kompositionen.
Photo
© Sam Fairbrother