contents
1. summary
2. listen
3. programme notes
4. details
5. performances
summary
Rozalie Hirs’ arbre généalogique (2011) is her first major work for lyrical soprano and large ensemble, expanding her exploration of harmony, timbre, and form through poetry and song. Setting her own poem ‘Stamboom’ (“family tree”) — in Henri Deluy’s French translation — Hirs creates a meditative sound world where ancestry and memory unfold through music. The soprano and bass lines, simple yet shifting in intervallic relation, generate evolving harmonies through frequency modulation, gradually transforming the ensemble’s colour and texture. Electronic sounds, derived from the same frequency structures as the acoustic writing, subtly refract and enrich the sound, weaving voice, ensemble, and electronics into a unified sonic family tree.
listen
programme notes
In her first extended work for lyrical soprano with large ensemble, arbre généalogique (“family tree”) expands Hirs’ exploration of harmony, timbre, and form through a poetic lens. Drawing on her background as both poet and singer, she integrates voice into her compositional practice in a natural and organic way. Earlier vocal works — In LA (2003), Pulsars (2007), Bridge of Babel (2009) — had centred on spoken text, tracing the shifting boundary between music and poetry.
Here, melody comes to the fore. Hirs sets her own poem ‘Stamboom’ (“Family tree”), from her collection Geluksbrenger (2008). The text traces ancestry as flowing streams of memory and language. For this setting, Hirs turned to Henri Deluy’s French translation, whose playful compound words (such as mèremèrepèremère) inspired a vocal line of archaic, incantatory character. Both the soprano line and the bass part are intuitively shaped and kept relatively simple. As their intervallic relationship shifts, new harmonies emerge through frequency modulation, propelling the music forward.
The soprano unfolds slowly, with breath and spaciousness, while the ensemble transforms gradually in colour and density. Long, arching spans create a meditative sound world. Generational imagery in the text resonates with the music’s unfolding structure: interludes expand into luminous sound fields. The result is both intimate and architectural — a personal narrative refracted through abstract harmony.
As in Roseherte (2008), electronic sounds form an integral layer. The same calculated frequencies that underpin the microtonal chords were also used to generate the electronic sounds in Csound, which then subtly colour and refract the ensemble. Together with the soprano, they form a living fabric — a sonic family tree of voice, ensemble, and electronics.
details
commission
arbre généalogique (2011) was commissioned by ASKO|Schönberg and its artistic director Willem Hering.
dedication
arbre généalogique (2011) is dedicated to Susan Narucki.
instrumentation
soprano
flute/ alto flute
oboe/ cor anglais
clarinet/ bass clarinet
bassoon/ contra bassoon
French horn
percussion (vibraphone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, crotales, drumkit)
piano
violin 1
violin 2
viola
cello
contrabas
midikeyboard & computer with Logic software and Logic sampler with 300 electronic sounds (1 player)
optional: live ring-modulation
duration
17′ ca.
publisher
The score of avatar (2022) can be purchased through its publisher Deuss Music.
poem
The music composition arbre généalogique is based on the poem Arbre généalogique by Rozalie Hirs, translated into French by Henri Deluy (from: Action Poétique No. 198, France, 2009). The Dutch poem Stamboom was originally published as part of Hirs’ fourth poetry collection Geluksbrenger (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Querido, The Netherlands, 2008).
performances
10 November 2011, 20:15, PROMS, Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Susan Narucki (soprano), Pierre-André Valade (conductor), Asko|Schönberg
13 november 2011, 14:00, November Music, Verkadefabriek Den Bosch, The Netherlands – Susan Narucki (soprano), Pierre-André Valade (conductor), Asko|Schönberg
The above photograph of Rozalie Hirs and Susan Narucki was made by Miek Zwamborn after the premiere on 10 November 2011 at Muziekgebouw aan ‘t IJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.