GEIRTYR

Geirty´r for solo flute, was composed in 2018 for Tara Schwab. The title is from Old Norse for “Spear-God”, is one of the many kennings attributed to a particular Scandinavian deity.
Geirty´r is the third in a series of works for solo instruments (with Herjan for guitar and Thund for piano), derived from a larger work, a string quartet named O´ss (Ansuz). These pieces are all programmatically based on a particular Scandinavian mythological shamanic figure and his esoteric written symbol, or rune. During the composition of O´ss, I received requests for three solo pieces, prompting these three solos to be fractal microcosms of the O´ss materials (motives, rhythmic cycles, forms, etc.). All three works are the exact same number of measures and are designed as symmetries of each other, collectively making one large palindrome. Additionally, all the titles are alternate names for the same Scandinavian deity.

Geirty´r is a piece that imagines the flute as the spear “Gungnir”, flying upon the primordial wind “önd”, as a creative analogy of the physical form of the flute as a musical instrument and the air or wind that is required to make it sound. Geirty´r depicts this primordial wind in its various forms: first still and reflective form with gentle gusts; then a more twisting and moving form; finally, in its more violent and turbulent state. There are three themes that each appear in all three movements: a repeated chordal figure with trills and harmonics; microtonal linear scales; wide-range, fast moving arpeggios accompanied by flutter-tongue techniques. An extensive use of microtonality is a fundamental part of the musical language used in Geirty´r. These microtonalities include equal tempered divisions of sixth-tones and quarter-tones, and approximated overtone intervals.

• Myrkr kvervandi [Dark river, turning, whirling]?
• Fimbulvetr [Monstrous winter]

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