Monday October 17 at 7pm, we’re presenting a concert that is unique in every way. Here, composer and musician Herman Müntzing will gather an ensemble consisting of established impov-musicians from Gothenburg, students from Högskolan för Scen och Musik and students from Kulturskolan Askim-Frölunda-Högsbo to perform the piece MORF1.

MORF1 is a piece that is rooted in improvisation and chance. It is led by Herman himself and can be performed by both established educated musicians as well as by people who lack any formal education in music, but who are interested in creating music or sounds. Every participant gets a number of cards with instructions that Herman has chosen, and where the participants don’t know in advance which cards they will receive or in what order the cards will come. The instructions could be for instance “slow”, “fast”, “gentle”, “forceful”, “follow”, “silence” or “open”. The participants then themselves decide how to interpret and perform according to the instruction on the card.

We asked Herman to describe a little bit more about his thoughts on the piece and how he works in preparation with the participants.

“For me, the perspectives of MORF1 are both sonorous and sociological. From an artistic point of view, the starting point for me was frustration over my own pitfalls when it comes to being an improv-musician. Improvisation is supposed to be free, but often I found myself repeating the same kind of patterns or phrases. And the idea that came to me was to find a way that would allow me to step outside myself and let external impulses direct the musical direction, thus going against my own instinctual responses. This way, something more dynamic and interesting could be created.

The sociological part of the idea behind MORF1 comes from an idea about breaking down the barriers that I feel exist between “professionals” and “amateurs” and rather see the people who perform the piece as participants on equal terms, regardless of previous experiences. Before each performance we have rehearsals that to a large extent is about talking about what music can be and how we can create sounds together.

Using the instruction cards I want to also remove the idea of “accomplishment” from the equation. Anyone can relate to notions such as “slow” or “forceful”, but my interpretation and my way of approach will differ from yours. Overall, this results in a piece of music that’s constantly evolving, and that can never be repeated. For the participants it’s about letting go of expectations and that it can be performed in a way that’s right or wrong and to just accept that it can only be what it becomes. Nothing more, nothing less.

The ensemble that we’ve gathered for the performance at Frölunda kulturhus consists of 15 people from ages 13 years and up, and I’m so excited to present this as part of the 2022 GAS Festival.”

Read more about MORF1 here:
https://gas-festival.com/event/herman-muntzing-se-presents-morf-1/