Located in the UK
Located in the USA
Located in Europe
- Jacob Mühlrad
REMS (2021)
- Bosworth Music (World excluding the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Iceland) and the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania))
Commissioned by Stockholms Konserthusstiftelse and Kungliga Filharmonikerna
Please contact classical.berlin@wisemusic.com for information about the performance material.
- 2+pic.2+ca.2(II:bcl)+2Ebcl.2+cbn/4.3.2+btbn.1/timp.4perc/str
- 25 min
Programme Note
The short version is available here: REMS - short version.
In my orchestral composition, REMS (Rapid Eye Movement Sleep), I explore the enigmatic and vibrant nature of the unconscious dream state. Drawing inspiration from both dream-derived soundscapes and spiritual concepts of sleep, where the soul and body are regarded as separate entities, the piece delves into the rich symbolism associated with slumber across various cultures. The composition weaves a tapestry of dream-like sonic textures, accentuated by intricate, ornamental motifs. These elements are influenced by an array of sources, such as lullabies from various traditions, nocturnal ragas from India as well as sounds from my sleep. As the dreamscape gradually subsides, the listener is left with the gentle, rhythmic sound of breathing, ebbing and flowing like the tide of dreams themselves.
Media
Scores
Reviews
… the youngest composer to have a work performed at The Royal Swedish Opera. REMS – rapid eye movement sleep – is his first large orchestral work, and one of considerable ambition.
The piece itself is a wonderous, stirring work of many textures and layers. Far from being traditionally “dreamy’, there’s an unease buried in many passages, and a prolonged tension that’s only occasionally released; no gentle lullaby this. It’s anxious and jittery too, constantly threatening to boil into great crescendos; sliding quarter tones flit in and out, while great clouds of sound occasionally rise up. Several times, a great cacophony of frenzied strings and crashing percussions adds a dramatic edge; it’s positively thunderous in places. But the drama subsides as quickly as it blooms, playful piccolos and fretful strings once again taking centre stage.
It’s extraordinarily challenging translating such themes into orchestral music, but REMS does a sterling job of offering a glimpse into this semi-conscious state – it’s an ever-shifting, fluid set of movements that confounds and surprises at each new turn.
Thus REMS has many peaceful, tranquil passages, soft lulls that make the bursts of energy all the more striking. Indeed, the second half sounds brighter, and a little more structured; several parts could be interpreted as a sunrise or waking, particularly with the gentle clanging of bells over the piece’s final few minutes.
… his talent, his keen eye for compositional details, and ingenuity at expressing the sounds in his head through orchestral instruments, is exceptional.
REMS succeeds in its ambitions then, and announces Mühlrad as one the world’s best, most imaginative, orchestral composers – it’s a piece that, far from putting you to sleep, causes the listener to sit upright and pay close attention.