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Heleen
Works

2024

Affordances 1, 2 and 3

For Mixed Choir / Musarc

Score,
Composition


Material Affordance for mixed choir and recorders — 2019

Hidden Affordance for mixed choir and (free) melod­ic instru­ments — 2024

Affordance III for mixed choir a cap­pel­la - 2025

Release June 2025 at SN Variations

Commissioned by Musarc

Material Affordance I — 2019 — is a piece for mixed choir with a focus on micro­scop­ic lis­ten­ing, act­ing and con­cen­tra­tion. But the use of the recorder by every choir-mem­ber and the mov­ing of the group as a group (using Pina Bausch- dancers and march­ing bands as an inspi­ra­tion) is what comes in mind after listening/​watching.

The piece starts with a very slow uni­son melody. It is sung while blow­ing half into the recorder with the pur­pose to moti­vate the flute pro­duc­ing high sounds which changes the colour of the melody and cre­ates an extra lay­er. The slow­ness of the melody in com­bi­na­tion with the flute sounds gives a tex­tur­al impres­sion which trans­forms and becomes a real tex­ture, using a lot of dif­fer­ent tech­niques with voice and recorder (explor­ing the mate­r­i­al affor­dances’ ). Background and fore­ground change continuously. 

The last part forms a big con­trast in tem­po, ener­gy and char­ac­ter. All sub­tle­ness is gone and the whole choir starts walking/​shuffling in a very strict tem­po. With a clear mission. 

Material Affordance was writ­ten for Musarc and has had it’s pre­mière 5 july 2019 in The Whitechapel Foundry in London, the place where the Big Benn and Liberty Bell were cast. Later tat year it was picked up to be per­formed at the London Contemporary Music festival. 

It’s a piece about the per­cep­tion of the func­tion of an object. About a hid­den util­i­ty, about chang­ing the nat­ur­al way to use things: stairs are to walk on, a cof­fee to drink, a book to read, a foundry to cast bells, a voice to sing and a recorder to blow on. 

In Material Affordance the recorder pro­duces sounds in alter­na­tive ways. Actively or in a more pas­sive way. Less nat­ur­al than we have learnt. The same with cer­tain voice tech­niques used.

Credits

  • Commission
    Musarc Choir
  • Composition
    Heleen Van Haegenborgh
  • Instrumentation
    mxch
  • Premiere
    July 06, 2019 at the Whitechapel Foundry

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Yianis Katsaris

Yianis Katsaris 2025

Heleen Van Haegenborgh 2019

Heleen Van Haegenborgh 2019

Heleen Van Haegenborgh 2019

Related Agenda

21
06
2025 19:00

LP Release Musarc Affordances

Music for mixed choir, recorders, melodic instruments and violin

Label, SN Variations

21
06
2025 20:00

Possible Affordance & Implicit Affordance (pre­mière), Material Affordance 1,2,3

for Mixed choir, by Musarc

Saint Paul's Bow, London

Related Press

Past Agenda

06
04
2025 00:00

Recording Affordance I, II and III

for mixed choir by Musarc

22
06
2024 20:30

Musarc Sings, première

Piece for mixed choir

Saint Paul's Bow, London

11
12
2019 20:00

Material Affordance

By An Assembly

London Contemporary Music Festival

06
07
2019 20:00

Material Affordance

By Musarc

Whitechapel Bell Foundry, London