Danish composer and viola player Astrid Sonne recorded abstract electronic
vignettes on Human Lines (Escho, 2018), but they are a far cry from
Brian Eno's archetypes.
The work, amateurish and unfocused, only achieves some pathos in the closing
viola sonata Alta
Sonne premiered her one-hour-long
composition Ephemeral for viola, electronics and choir in Berlin in 2018. The full recording is on
Live from Berlin Atonal 2018 (2018) and
five fragments surfaced on the EP Ephemeral Camera Feed (2022).
This is the work that best illustrates her persona halfway between the club dj and the classical composert.
In the first half she launches in two minimalist sonatas and intones an a-cappella hymn.
The second half is full of tension and drama, as intricate electronic patterns
generate a sort of dense fog. The last seven minutes are again devoted to
hypnotic a-cappella singing.
The six-song EP Cliodynamics (2019) is emblematic of her eclectic art:
an apparently random assemblage of
chamber music, droning ambient music, electronic dance music, and choral a-cappella church music.
The surrealistic spasm of Area Under a Curve rises above the average.
She toyed with timbres and rhythms on
Outside of Your Lifetime (2021) with a more cinematic approach, particularly evident in Stuck in Pause.
The madrigal Fields of Grass adds a new element to her toolbox.
However, the problem remains that these compositions are rather trivial and uneventful.
