BACKSTAGE WITH… Violinist/director Alexandra Wood
The City of London Sinfonia’s ‘Coming In From The Cold’ concert on 9 December explores the Danish concept of ‘hygge’. Can you tell us what hygge is?
There is nowhere better at creating that amazing atmosphere of winter warmth than the Scandinavian countries. Hygge is all about feeling cosy and feeling safe, and about having light in the dark season. That’s how I see it, at least, and is what we will be trying to recreate to some extent with this concert.
When did the idea for such a concert come about?
We thought about doing it a few years ago, but for various reasons it didn’t happen. Much of it is about finding the right venue, so when someone suggested the Round Chapel in Hackney, which is absolutely beautiful, we said, ‘Let’s do it!’.
And how do you go about creating musical hygge?
We wanted to give the idea of the music evolving. It starts with Kaija Saariaho’s Nocturne for solo violin, which is very icy, very cold and is quite an unusual, almost unearthly sound. The concert then gradually progresses until you reach two works by Pe¯teris Vasks, where the soundworld is much richer and much more enveloping. The idea is that metaphorically the listener is coming in from the cold and snuggling up by the fire.
Along the way, the audience gets to hear works by the likes of Dobrinka Tabakova, Arvo Pärt and Elena Kats-chernin. Did programming a cold-to-warm concert take a lot of research?
Some of the pieces I already knew, plus in other cases I knew different works by the composers who are featured, so it was a case of finding the best pieces of theirs to fit the journey. We also liked the idea of changing between the gears in terms of who is playing. So as well as full chamber orchestra, there are solo pieces and smaller chamber groups there too. This helps to create a bit of undulation while also highlights the different sounds that are possible within the group.
And aside from the music itself, will you be trying to create a sense of hygge in other ways?
Yes. I’m not sure we’ll be allowed candles, but the lighting will be as close to candles as we can get. The idea is that the atmosphere will be something that is lovely for the senses, so we hope to have wintery smells and decorations too. There will also be some sort of activity for the audience to do during the music, but I’m not allowed to reveal what that is yet!