Susan Hadley on Commonplace
Always
seeking to express on stage the strength of her feelings, Commonplace
is a very heartfelt dance for Susan Hadley. In Commonplace
Susan seeks to present the power of community within a group
of women. Knowing the University Dance Company (for whom the
dance was created) was predominantly female, Ms. Hadley took
the opportunity to create a dance focused on the rituals of caretaking
among women.
Despite, having grown up with parents who maintain strong
ties to the people they grew up with, and even having long standing
friends of her own, Susan senses that her generation is one where
individuality, mobility and personal success have led to a sense
of loss of place and of belonging to a larger circle, that we
have become lonely as a generation and a culture. We are all
working and trying to raise families, possibly in more isolation
than in years gone by. Susan seeks to stress how rituals and
community can supply the bulwark that we can fall back upon in
times of need.
Another point of reference for this work is the images of
women throughout the world who have suffered the loss of their
families, often at gun-point in the middle of the night, as the
result of political turmoil. These women have gone on to support
one another and have taken to public expression of their loss.
The examples are too many to name, but the stories from Argentina
and Sarajevo stand out in recent history. The mothers of Argentina
going to the military square in silent protest, day after day
maintaining their vigil, communicated to the world not only the
tragedy of what had happened but demonstrated the amazing power
of the human spirit to rise above incredible odds. There is one
section of Commonplace where Ms. Hadley has incorporated
this image of women walking in a circle. There are also moments
of uncontrollable grief represented by a dancer actually throwing
herself at the others, but the strength of the circle remains
unbroken.
The women of this world have managed to find strength in traditional
or new rituals, that demonstrate how community is often strongest
in times of sorrow or grief. Although individuals may crack,
the community is there to support one another. "Women have
a great sense of compassion, and our compassion comes from how
we stand witness to each other," states Ms. Hadley.Although
these are the starting points of Ms. Hadley’s creation it
is all synthesized through her own personal expression and those
of the dancers performing. Susan does not want her dance to be
a series of individual performances in a dance about a ritual,
but more a coming together of the dancers in a ritualistic way,
where the movements are no longer new and unfamiliar but where
the dancers can sense one another to produce a strong effect.
In testimonial to the universality of these themes, Ms. Hadley
has been approached by a diverse cross section of the population
who, after having seen the dance performed, commented on how
it truly reflected their lives.For many years Ms. Hadley has
had the privilege to work closely with Bradley Sowash on the
creation of many of her works. Bradley composed the music in
close association with Susan and they were able to freely exchange
ideas. Finding music that is already written is a new departure
for Susan, and although she finds lots of music she likes, finding
something that she thinks suitable for her choreography is another
matter. Susan knew she wanted to work with music from a folk
rather than classical background as a support for her concepts.
When Susan heard Forgotten Peoples by Veljo Tormis
for the first time (on loan from the Grandview Public Library)
she did not know the meaning of the words, but the music itself
spoke so strongly to her that it was obviously a perfect match
for the ideas she was forming for her next dance.
Whenever a choreographer chooses to work to music with lyrics
(as Ms. Hadley did with Trail of Broken Hearts
to the music of k.d. lang for BalletMet) many questions are raised.
Exactly how closely should you follow the words, should the choreography
reflect the content of the song and how artistically independent
can one become from the lyrics? When the words are in a language
that is little understood, (and in the case of Forgotten Peoples,
some dead languages) those lines of decision become further blurred.
Even without understanding the words, there is a universality
in the music of Veljo Tormis that immediately touches the listener,
as it did Ms. Hadley. There is much ‘world music’ that
is incredibly enjoyable to listen to but how do you justify making
it your own? It is often so flavorful of its roots that as an
artist you do not want to lessen it or look insensitive to the
music if you do not share those roots. Although a definite record
of one culture, Forgotten Peoples does not feel
culture specific; in fact it is remarkable in its ability to
speak to many with its mysterious and ancient harmonies. Ms.
Hadley felt free to put her own cultural statements on top of
this music which she also feels blend with the tone of the music.
The choice of only six selections from the 51 on the recordings
was not so difficult to narrow down as it may seem. Many sections
had spoken words that Susan did not wish to use or feelings different
than those Ms. Hadley wished to express. She also stayed away
from heavily male sounding choral sections.Restaging this dance
for the dancers of BalletMet has been a joy for Susan. Although
originally created on dancers with a contemporary dance background,
Commonplace has transferred well to the women of
BalletMet. Susan says that the concept of the gulf that lay between
the different dance disciplines in the past really is out of
date these days as today’s dancers are expected to dance
a much wider range of styles. It is certainly true of the BalletMet
dancers who have experienced a wide variety of choreographers
and their works. Having worked with the dancers on Trail
of Broken Hearts they had already been exposed to the
physical interests that lie at the heart of Ms. Hadley’s
choreography: the demands of mobility in the torso, the grounding
of the weight, working off the vertical.
Commonplace has another level of demands as
well, those of the spirit. The dancers must invest of themselves
in the work, to achieve a sense of ownership that would allow
them to drop the more traditional balletic traditions of personal
excellence and standing out from the crowd in exchange for giving
themselves to a powerful group that breathes as one. At the end
of her first week of rehearsals Susan said that she really began
to feel that happening. Because Commonplace comes
from a heartfelt place, not a "choreographer’s intellect,"
Ms. Hadley says she is very serious about this work and is grateful
to the dancers for being as serious in return. Although rich
in details of bodily design and spacing, Susan believes that
you can only convey the sense of ritual she seeks by having the
movement as second nature, to have worked it to a point where
you no longer have to think about the choreography itself but
to take comfort in it and to be aware of those around you. To
develop the "virtuosity of unison."Originally for the
costumes Ms. Hadley went to the local vintage clothing shops
and bought a selection of black dresses. She wanted them to be
similar in feel - there is a sense of timelessness and also a
somber feeling about black - but not the same. Because vintage
clothing does not hold up too well to continued wearings by dancers,
for this presentation by BalletMet the designs are newly constructed
by the costume department under the direction of Lynn Holbrook.
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The Music -
Forgotten Peoples
The set of six song cycles that make up Forgotten Peoples
were composed over a period of twenty years (beginning in 1970)
due to the composer’s thorough research for authentic sources
and his desire to have time to absorb the unique qualities of
each culture.
"Veljo Tormis has reserved the song heritage of peoples
in the area from Estonia round through Karelia and towards Finland,
peoples whose languages and songs have all but disappeared. However,
this is no mere ethenomusicological exercise, but an imaginative
gesture which evokes the musical essence of these cultures. The
music of Veljo Tormis taps the most ancient roots in a fluid,
powerful idiom, and offers a fascinating counterpart to the work
of another Estonian composer, Arvo Pärt." - Paul Hillier
The songs are performed in the original languages. The titles
of both individual songs and song cycles are in Estonian, Tormis’
mother tongue ( with the exception of the Karelian songs where
the original language has been used). Originally, the songs were
not given titles by their singers.
Veljo Tormis on Forgotten Peoples, June 1990.
"Being an Estonian composer, I consider it natural that
my work is based chiefly on the motifs of Estonian folklore.
I turned to our national heritage in order to discover my musical
mother tongue - my people’s musical identity - which the
previous generations of composers (e.g. Saar, Kreek and Tubin)
had already been searching out and discovering for their day
and age. While exploring the archives, studying the folklore
publications, and listening to recordings, I realized that Estonian
folk song is part of a very ancient culture. The components -
the melody and the words as well as the manner of performance
- are structurally connected. It also became clear to me that
the musical tradition belonged to pre-Christian, shamanistic
civilization, one very close to nature from the ecological point
of view. To characterize the place of the Estonian language,
I'd like to borrow from the writer Ain Kaalep, who said that
‘we - Estonians, Finns and Hungarians - are the Red Indians
of Europe.’ There is obviously no other civilization of
the same period that could have retained their language and ancient
music. In 1969, I went on an expedition with students from Tartu
University and discovered for myself the Livonians, a small group
of people whose language is similar to Estonian. The next expedition
in 1970 introduced me to the Votians and Izhorians. Hearing these
disappearing languages spoken by living people inspired me to
research their folk songs. Since then, I have made serious studies
of the folklore of the Baltic Finns; one of the results of this
effort is the song cycle Forgotten Peoples. From
the beginning I have been striving for an appropriate and authentic
response to the original material; when studying the sources
I have also consulted folklorists. I was fortunate to hear the
songs of the Votians and Izhorians performed live, which gave
me a deep emotional charge.
All the Baltic Finns had a tragic history; they have been
trampled from both east and west by so-called liberators during
the two great wars of this century. Hundreds of thousands of
people were driven from their homes and scattered over the plains
of Russia and Siberia, and the small groups who managed to remain
are dying out. By now, all the Livonian, Votian, and Izhorian
singers, whose voices I still vividly remember, have passed away.
I still get a Christmas card every year in Livonian, but for
how much longer? It is because of this that all the series end
in farewells, with the departure into eternity and space...However,
I would not like to sing a final requiem to any of these people.
The aim of Forgotten Peoples is to awaken understanding,
and help retain the ancient Balto-Finnic heritage.
Their way of thinking and their values might even give some
support to insecure contemporary man in his everyday rat-race.
I am convinced that the world would be considerably poorer without
the culture of these people."
- Veljo Tormis
The selections of music used
in Commonplace come from the following sections
of Forgotten Peoples.
Liivlaste pärandus - Livonian Heritage
(1970). A series of Livonian folk songs for mixed choir; original
texts adapted by Herbert Tampere and transcribed by Karl Kont.
Isuri eepos - Izhorian Epic (1975). A series
of Izhorian runic songs for mixed choir; original texts adapted
by Arvo Laanest.
Ingerimaa õhtud - Ingrian Evenings (1979).
A series of Ingrian folk songs for mixed choir; original texts
adapted by Ada Ambus.
Vespa rajad - Vespian Paths (1983). A series
of Vespian folk songs for mixed choir; original texts adapted
by Maare Joalaid.
Karjala saatus - Karelian Destiny (1989). A
series of Karelian runic songs for mixed choir; original texts
adapted by Kari Laukkanen, ulo Tedre and Jaan Õispuu.
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Veljo Tormis, composer
Veljo
Tormis was born in Kuusalu, near Tallinn, Estonia, August 7,1930.
Having studied organ and choral conducting at the Tallinn Music
Institute, he turned to composition in 1950. Studying first at
the Tallinn Conservatory, and then the Moscow State Conservatory,
where he studied with V. Shebalin and Fortunatov. Tormis graduated
in 1956 and returned to Tallinn to teach. In 1962 he took first
prize at the All-Union Young Composers’ Competition and
in 1967 received a first-class diploma for the opera Luigelend.
In 1967 Tormis was made a Merited Artist of the Estonian SSR.
An expert on Estonian folk music, Tormis is primarily known
as a composer of vocal music rooted in the traditions of his
native folk song and yet entirely contemporary in feeling. One
of his best known works is Estonian Calendar Songs.
"I do not use folk song, it is folk song that uses me.
To me, folk music is not a means of self-expression; on the contrary,
I feel the need to express the essence of folk music, its spirit,
meaning and form. I believe the runic songs to be the highest
achievement and most original phenomenon of Estonian culture.
But today, runic song has ceased to exist as a component part
of the Estonian way of life. Through modern art forms, I try
to expose the originality and meaning of runic song. Eternal
is the great circle of life, eternal are the life events repeating
in their own way with each passing age."
- Veljo Tormis.
Selected works of Veljo Tormis
| 1955 |
4
etüüdi |
| 1956 |
Kalevipoeg |
| |
Symphony |
| 1959 |
Symphony |
| 1965 |
Luigelend
(Swan Flight) Opera |
| |
Meestelaulud
(Men’s songs) |
| |
Hamleti
laulud (Songs of Hamlet) |
| |
Eesti
kalendrilaulud (Estonian Calendar Songs) |
| 1966 |
10
vokaalminiatüüri |
| 1967 |
Ballada
Maarjamaa |
| 1969 |
Looduspildld
(Nature Pieces) |
| |
Laulu
algus (The beginning of the song) |
| 1970 |
Külalaulud
(Village songs) |
| |
Liivlaste
pärandus (Livonian Heritage) |
| 1971 |
Vadja
pulmalaulud (Votic Wedding Songs ) |
| 1972 |
13
eesti lüürilist rahvaviisi |
| |
Raua
needmine (Invocation of Iron) |
| 1975 |
Isuri
eepos (Izhorian Epic) |
| 1979 |
Ingerimaa
õhtud (Ingrian Evenings) |
| 1983 |
Vespa
rajad (Vespian Paths) |
| 1989 |
Karjala
saatus (Karelian Destiny) |
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Tormis Bibliography
H. Tauk: ‘Veljo Tormis’ Six Estonian
creators of Modern Music edited by L. Normet (Tallinn,
1970)
L. Normet "Veljo Tormis" Kompozitorï
soyuznïkh respublik (Moscow)
Tormis Discography
Forgotten Peoples - Estonian Philharmonic Chamber
Choir. E.C.M. New Series, 1459/60.
Overture No. 2 - Scottish National Orchestra.
Chandos, CHAN 8656.
Raua Needmine - Danish National Radio Chorus.
Chandos, 9264.
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