GHB/tanzaggregat
At-A-Glance
Composed: 2011
Length: c. 6 minutes
Orchestration: 3 flutes (3rd=piccolo), 2 oboes, 3 clarinets (3rd=bass clarinet), 3 bassoons (3rd=contrabassoon), 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones (3rd=bass trombone), timpani, percussion (triangles, conga, tom-toms, glockenspiel, flexatone, side drum, log drum, hi-hat, woodblocks, agogo, marimba), harp, piano, and strings
First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: First LA Phil performances.
About this Piece
“GHB” is the abbreviation for a drug that is quite popular in the techno scene. In line with the aesthetic and interactive orientation of this scene, the drug has euphoric, disinhibiting effects and enhances the feeling of direct physical closeness: communal closeness and empathetic compassion as states of intoxication within the rituals of techno culture. This orchestral piece aims to evoke such states without actually producing techno music. It is, therefore, a kind of synesthetic transference.
However, GHB has inscribed itself into the piece in another way: It is also the pitch cell G-H-B [G, B, and B-flat in English notation] that is processed using a fractal algorithm at the very beginning of the piece, thereby generating the pitch material. This material is processed with complex high-speed rhythms derived from electronic dance music as commonly used in the techno scene. As in most of my pieces, this orchestral work engages with a kind of archival or referential approach to other music and its history.
On one hand, a Serbian folk song (“Lela Vranjanka”) is sampled here. On the other hand, deliberate allusions to the ballet music of the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian are created as a conscious homage. This homage is intentional because Khachaturian’s ballet music seems to me no less a resounding, uninhibited physical action than the pulsating energy of a techno night. Additionally, Khachaturian’s refined approach to instrumentation serves as an inspiration for the orchestral writing in this piece.
Finally, there is one more note regarding the continuity of this orchestral piece. Like most of my works, this orchestral piece is characterized by features that could be summarized with the following keywords: states of intoxication, electronic music, sampling techniques, and the world of fractal beauties. The piece is dedicated to Bernd Künzig. —Marko Nikodijevic/Courtesy of Boosey & Hawkes