Zeitgeist is teaming up with Twin Cities composer collective Spitting Image to presents new commissions by Spitting Image Collective composers Katherine Bergman and Daniel Nass at Studio Z May 4-6. Zeitgeist's Heather Barringer interviewed Katherine Bergman to discover more about her new work earth sleeps below that premieres this weekend.
Your new work for Zeitgeist, earth sleeps below, is part of a body of your work that is inspired by Minnesota landscapes. What initially drew you in this direction?
My interest in environmental music originated simply from a love of the outdoors and many hiking and camping excursions. However, it grew into something more important; a sort of documentation of our precious wilderness. Our climate is changing at an alarming rate. In fact, Minnesota is the second most-affected state in the U.S. (after Alaska) by climate change. And along with a changing climate, the land and its inhabitants are also quite visibly affected, driving efforts to document and preserve as much as possible. It occurred to me that our environment as it currently exists ought to be documented through art as well. While my music most certainly reflects the serenity and wonder of the wilderness experience, it also recognizes the fragile relationship that we all share and need to sustain.
Describe the research you did prior to composing earth sleeps below.
Last year I wrote a large work for the Minnesota Percussion Trio entitled Land of Cloud-Tinted Water that explored the diversity of various wilderness areas throughout Minnesota. In preparation for that work, I visited numerous state parks and nature preserves throughout the state to collect field recordings; study their landscapes, inhabitants, geography, history, etc; and simply to experience each place. Voyageurs National Park was one of those places, and I visited several times, both during summer and winter. The summertime experience was ultimately featured in Land of Cloud-Tinted Water, but I was captivated by the winter landscape there and wanted to explore it further. I went back for another visit last February while I was in the process of composing earth sleeps below.
earth sleeps below confines itself to a single harmonic world but explores a wide range within this world. Does this relate to Voyageurs National Park? If so, how?
Voyageurs consists of a vast area of interconnected lakes. Through earth sleeps below, I imagined the music beginning at surface level on one such lake, and panning out to discover the multitude of surrounding waterways, all connected and flowing as one.
Zeitgeist is also performing your work Black. Would you talk about how nature is reflected in that piece as well?
Black (2013) depicts a walk through the dense forests of the Minnesota Northwoods in the dead of night, emphasizing that with the absence of light (and light pollution from cities) we have a heightened sense of hearing, and with that, a heightened imagination for what might be lurking around. Surrounded by complete darkness, the sounds of the forest are magnified and the mystery of the wilderness intensified.
My interest in environmental music originated simply from a love of the outdoors and many hiking and camping excursions. However, it grew into something more important; a sort of documentation of our precious wilderness. Our climate is changing at an alarming rate. In fact, Minnesota is the second most-affected state in the U.S. (after Alaska) by climate change. And along with a changing climate, the land and its inhabitants are also quite visibly affected, driving efforts to document and preserve as much as possible. It occurred to me that our environment as it currently exists ought to be documented through art as well. While my music most certainly reflects the serenity and wonder of the wilderness experience, it also recognizes the fragile relationship that we all share and need to sustain.
Describe the research you did prior to composing earth sleeps below.
Last year I wrote a large work for the Minnesota Percussion Trio entitled Land of Cloud-Tinted Water that explored the diversity of various wilderness areas throughout Minnesota. In preparation for that work, I visited numerous state parks and nature preserves throughout the state to collect field recordings; study their landscapes, inhabitants, geography, history, etc; and simply to experience each place. Voyageurs National Park was one of those places, and I visited several times, both during summer and winter. The summertime experience was ultimately featured in Land of Cloud-Tinted Water, but I was captivated by the winter landscape there and wanted to explore it further. I went back for another visit last February while I was in the process of composing earth sleeps below.
earth sleeps below confines itself to a single harmonic world but explores a wide range within this world. Does this relate to Voyageurs National Park? If so, how?
Voyageurs consists of a vast area of interconnected lakes. Through earth sleeps below, I imagined the music beginning at surface level on one such lake, and panning out to discover the multitude of surrounding waterways, all connected and flowing as one.
Zeitgeist is also performing your work Black. Would you talk about how nature is reflected in that piece as well?
Black (2013) depicts a walk through the dense forests of the Minnesota Northwoods in the dead of night, emphasizing that with the absence of light (and light pollution from cities) we have a heightened sense of hearing, and with that, a heightened imagination for what might be lurking around. Surrounded by complete darkness, the sounds of the forest are magnified and the mystery of the wilderness intensified.
Katherine Bergman is a Minnesota-based composer who draws on literature, environmentalism, and found materials to create work that has been described as hypnotic and visceral. She has received commissions and performances from the Gustavus Wind Orchestra, The Dream Songs Project, the Minnesota Percussion Trio, and other leading ensembles and festivals throughout the United States. Katherine holds degrees from the University of Northern Iowa and Gustavus Adolphus College, and her composition instructors have included Mary Ellen Childs, Jonathan Schwabe, and Samuel Adler. Katherine is director and co-founder of Spitting Image, a collective of Minneapolis-St. Paul composers. More information at www.katherinebergman.net.
Zeitgeist & Spitting Image Collective
May 4-6 • 7:30 p.m. • $15 / $10 students & seniors
Details
Teaming up with Twin Cities composer collective Spitting Image, Zeitgeist presents new commissions by Spitting Image Collective composers Katherine Bergman and Daniel Nass plus Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung’s captivating work Spiral XIV “Nimitta.”
Details
Teaming up with Twin Cities composer collective Spitting Image, Zeitgeist presents new commissions by Spitting Image Collective composers Katherine Bergman and Daniel Nass plus Cambodian-American composer Chinary Ung’s captivating work Spiral XIV “Nimitta.”
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