Brice Jackson

Frode Haltli and Emilia Amper: The Border Woods

The performance of The Border Woods by Frode Haltli and Emilia Amper was absolutely

stunning. I love performances that defy my expectations and push my comprehension of music

and this piece did both. I went into this performance having only heard music by Emilia Amper,

a Swedish nyckelharpist, so as one would assume, I was expecting the night to be filled with

music from the Swedish folk tradition. In a way, what I expected did occur, just in an

unassuming manor. Frode Haltli is a Swedish-born composer and accordionist and the music

performed that evening was of one of his recent pieces, The Border Woods. This piece fuses

sonic textures and contemporary techniques with music in the traditional style of Swedish folk

music. The ensemble was comprised of Frode Haltli on accordion and microtonal accordion,

Emilia Amper on nyckelharpa and microtonal nyckelharpa, and two percussionists. The piece

began with the two percussionists rolling on various suspended cymbals, establishing the

atmosphere for the rest of the piece to come. Due to the acoustic properties of the hall and the

mixture of different resonant frequencies from the cymbals, the space was filled with an

oscillating mush of overtones. The sonorities created almost acted like a fog, possibly

referencing the fog looming over this mythical Border Woods. The intimacy drew everyones

attention to the stage and Frode was the first to break the silence with a sigh from his accordion.

After a few sighs, Emilia entered with the main theme on the nyckelharpa, a melody that was

composed to mimic the tradition Swedish style. After the exposition, there was a long duet

section, with random interruptions from the two percussionists who were now playing marimba

and vibraphone. During a discussion between Frode, my friend John McColley, and I after the

show, it was disclosed that the duet section was made up of many little fragments of melodies

that were strung together by improvised passages performed by Emilia and Frode. The piece
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continued to bounce back and forth between the two main compositional ideas, atmospheres and

traditional music of Swedish culture, including certain modes from Arabic music as well.

Towards the end of the piece, Emilia and Frode both switched to the microtonal version of their

instruments, while the percussionists played on crystal wine glasses in harmony, and played

through a section of solo improvisations. They started playing in polyphony and eventually came

together and were joined by the two percussionist to finish out the piece in a dance like folk

melody.

I was absolutely floored by what I witnessed that evening. As I mentioned previously, I

was under the impression that I was going to be enjoying an evening of pure Scandinavian folk

music. I was more than happy with what I experienced. From the minute it started, I was truly

captivated. The audience was generally silent, aside from a few coughs here and there, but the

performers were full of energy. They all embodied the emotions that were occurring in every

moment of the music. The performers seemed to be acting more like cultural musicians in a

contemporary context. There was a sense of what I like to call a collective ear. They were all

listening to each other and reacting accordingly rather than focusing on what was written or

supposed to happen. As weve discussed in class, the term global music brings to mind only a

certain type of cultural music, whether it be from Africa, India of the Middle East, but global

music is rarely discussed as still being a part of the growing contemporary musical world. This

piece shows that cultural music can be seamlessly integrated into contemporary music to create

beautiful art. The piece also represents how connected we are on a global sense these days. The

modes, scales, and styles may have been primarily derived from Swedish music, but there were a

number on instances throughout the piece where other cultures musical ideas were implemented.
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The fact that these didnt sound foreign to the piece is a testament to the composer, the

performers, and to the immediate connection we all have to the rest of the world today.