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Sylvan Guerveno (Music Major)
"L'Enfer en Soie"
Sponsor: Professor Edwin Dugger, Music
Project Description
Sylvan will compose a symphonic poem in two movements, titled "L'Enfer en Soie" (Hell in Silk), based on "L'Héautontimorouménos" (The Self-Tormenter)--a poem from the 1857 collection Les Fleurs du Mal, by Charles Baudelaire. The dualism that is present in the poem becomes, in this piece, an exploration of the pain of psychological torment, and the relief that may also come with one's own tormenting behavior. This alliance of pain and pleasure is realized in a musical texture combining unusual orchestral sonorities and music with vocal-like qualities. University Orchestra Director, David Milnes, will conduct this symphonic poem, Sylvan's Senior Honors Thesis in Music, for its first public performance at Hertz Hall, in conjunction with the Haas Scholars Spring Conference in April 2002.
Scholar's Photo
Scholar's Journal
Most composers, I imagine, dream of being paid to write music. When I received the Haas scholarship, I felt in a way that it was my first "commission" as a composer. The funny thing is that I’m still very reluctant to call myself a composer; after all, I’m still a student, learning the crafts of composition and orchestration, and the more I’ve learned about music, the more I’ve felt that I knew so little about it. Listening to a piece while following a score from geniuses like Stravinsky or Debussy is such a humbling experience. But we all, (geniuses and mere mortals), have something to say, some contribution to make to the world around us, whatever our fields!
Mine is music composition, and this scholarship is allowing me to write my first orchestral piece, a symphonic poem, which is to say, a work based on a literary work (I chose a poem from Baudelaire). Although I relate to some elements of the poem, as I started composing last June, it became clear that my piece was based more on my own life than on Baudelaire’s work. It’s like writing a short story, only instead of words, I used music or specific solo instruments to create symbolism and metaphors. In my opinion, all creative works are influenced to a great extend by the personality, state of mind, psychology, moods, etc, of their creators. One of Stravinsky’s masterpieces, The Rite of Spring, was based on a dream he had.
Incidentally, going to the music library back in June to get the scores of The Rite, and many other great works by a variety of composers, from R. Strauss to Bartok, was my first step. Like in most fields, research had to precede writing. How did these great masters use all the different sections of the orchestra? What kind of "special" effects did they go for? How did they develop their ideas? Before finding one’s own voice, influences are inevitable, (even the great Beethoven’s first two symphonies recall at times Mozart), and thus, specific parts of some scores ended up serving as models for a few sections in my own piece.
Writing music is both frustrating and exciting; nothing that I didn’t know after writing for years in rock bands, then for professors when I went back to school. Hours can go by, and you have nothing. But when you do finally compose some measures, ah, what a blast! I use a music notation software, and, after entering notes in the computer, clicking play, and hearing my music, it feels rewarding, even if the synthesizer sounds are cheesy; when the UC Berkeley orchestra plays my piece next April, I will probably be on a natural high! But first, reality check: I thought I’d have 10 minutes of music by the end of August…I remember my composition professor telling me essentially that I was crazy to aim for a 20 minute long piece, which I thought I would have by next April. Of course he was right; I have just over 5 minutes of music right now, and I’ll be lucky to have 10 by the time the orchestra plays it. That was part of the learning process. Composing, and orchestrating (that is, giving to each section of the orchestra specific melodies, rhythms, or effects to play) is a very time consuming labor. One day, it was June first, the next thing I knew, August was melting like an ice cube. Arghhhh!
But it’s not the quantity that counts, it’s the quality…all those hours I spent editing what I had composed, following the many wonderful suggestions from my great adviser, Professor Dugger, were worth it. There is still much more orchestrating and composing lying ahead, but when the orchestra plays that last chord, next April, I will feel like I succeeded, and if my music has moved in some way at least one person in the audience, then, my mission will have been accomplished.
Berkeley, September 9, 2001
Sylvan Guerveno
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