Oort Cloud (2009) is a visionary composition for soprano saxophone, two accordions and a large loudspeaker setup. The work combines and refines some of the strongest aspects of Jexper Holmen’s musical thinking. Its extreme expression lies not only in the length of the work but also in the athletic performance required of the musicians – the soprano saxophone plays continuously for the full duration of the work (utilising so-called circular breathing) and the two accordion players are asked to contract and extend their bellows at an extremely slow speed, thus calling for a gymnastic tour de force in an unusual extension.
The music itself creates a room of sound around the audience or, as in the world premiere stereo recording (launched on Dacapo Records in November 2010 with a complimentary 5.1 surround sound download option) around the individual listener. It moves extremely slowly – but it does move!
The listening space changes with the patience of an angel, or as the expansion of a cloud of dust in outer space. It’s unusually generous music, allowing the listener to ‘move’ in and out of the listening experience, as if moving between different rooms at one’s own leisure. The musical form in combination with the technical loudspeaker setup creates an extraordinary musical event – of the kind one rarely forgets.
