Cello sonata (coming up)

Sunday the 9th of March. Sitting in the train between Gothenburg and Stockholm (4 hours). On this train there is no Internet so I have been writing (this blog, offline) and also a bit composing.

At the moment I am writing a few new works; one piece called Sydänlaulu (Heart song) for solo violin for Aarni Pennanen and one cello-sonata called Borrelia for the Stasevskij brothers Lukas (cello) and Justas (piano). (So far there isn’t any “salary” involved, but I have applied for a work grant for this summer so that I will be able to write the sonata without having to share my time for composition with a paid job.)

The cello sonata has three movements and is about Lyme disease. The first movement is about the tick waiting for its victim in the forest. The second movement is about after been bitten by the thick, how the bacteria is slowly spreading around you body (rather aggressively). The third movement is about the pain and suffering which the Lyme patients have to deal with due to the disease.

The first movement will mainly consist of flagiolettes on the cello, for the waiting of the tick, with percussive elements on the piano. Sometimes the tick walks and comes closer to a victim and starts to get excited (with a squeaky pulse by the cello). The piano plays untroubled melodies of passersby, which the tick tries to reach and finally achieves.

The third movement is a lamento about the sufferings of Lyme patients. The cello both symbolizes the mental struggle of the patient against all pain, as well as at times the tinnitus and strong or irregular heart beat. The piano mainly symbolises the occasional strong attacks of pain, which overwhelms everything and at times almost paralyzes the Lyme patient with its strength.

For more information about Lyme I recommend you this video, but I warn you, it’s nothing for the faint-hearted!