'KORTE BREVE FRA EN LANG REJSE' (short letters from a long journey) is based on the travel description written by Danish writer and intellectual Ingeborg Stuckenberg in 1903. She ran away from a life of frustration in Copenhagen, to begin anew in New Zealand, and documented the journey from Bremen to Auckland in a series of eight unsent letters, which were first discovered in the 1960's. She found it impossible to create a life for herself in New Zealand, and committed suicide in 1904.
Matias Vestergård writes about his work with Ingeborg Stuckenberg's text:
"The letters are unique for their sarcastic humor, poetic imagery and an underlying sense of bitterness and disappointment that runs through the work. Stuckenberg remains an impersonal observer throughout, only hinting briefly at her own personal circumstances and the justification for her suicide in the final letter.
I have selected passages from each letter, and created a kind of audio drama, where the narration is shared between a singer, an actor, a choir and orchestra. In this production, a staging was also created by director Johan Klint Sandberg and the composer. It formed the final half of my official graduation concert at the Royal Danish Academy of Music in march 2022."
KORTE BREVE FRA EN LANG REJSE (2022)
Audio drama for singer, actor, choir and sinfonietta
texts by Ingeborg Stuckenberg
music by Matias Vestergård
Første brev: Bremen - Antwerpen - Dover
Andet brev: Atlanterhavet
Tredje brev: Genua - Neapel
Fjerde brev: Afrikas kyst
Femte brev: Det indiske ocean
Sjette brev: Ekvatoren
Syvende brev: Australien - Stillehavet
Ottende brev: New Zealand
Singer: Signe Asmussen
Actor: Signe Thielsen
Conductor: Clément Mao Takacs
Director: Johan Klint Sandberg
Flute 1: Ditte Aggerholm
Flute 2: Helene Schrøder
Flute 3: Kristín Ýr Jónsdóttir
Clarinets: Jonas Lyskjær Frølund
Trombone 1: Annaroosa Lampela
Trombone 2: Ole Vetle Johansen
Trombone 3: Gunnar Helgason
Percussion: Fredrik Ertvaag
Piano: Lea Han
Harpsichord & Accordion: Yngvild Haaland Ruud
Viola 1: Daniel Śledziński
Viola 2: Caroline Risbo Gammeltoft-Hansen
Viola 3: Kinga Dauner
Viola 4: Anna Elísabet Sigurðardóttir
Choir: Hávard Magnussen, Harold Thalange, Jónas Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Connor McLean, Theo Suissa Heimann, Johannes Linneballe, Mads Andersen & Gustav Johansson
Lights: Yaw Darko
Sound: Svend Hjelholt
Video: Niklas Ottander & Geo Dusnoki