Writing Winter into Being

Arnannguaq Gerstrøm
11. okt. 2025
4 min læsning

Opdateret: for 1 dag siden

Ukioq Vinter * Winter for flute, viola and bassoon*

Copyrigth © composer Arnannguaq Gerstrøm 2017

Some works begin as a memory of light. Others as a sound.

Ukioq – Winter – emerged from both: a crisp, clear tone, like freshly fallen snow yielding beneath one’s feet.under fødderne.

Here I begin sharing my works – one at a time – both earlier compositions and entirely new ones.

I begin with a work that holds a very special place in my heart, both musically and because of the strong, positive collaboration behind it.

When I compose, it rarely begins with notes on a page.

It begins with a sensation – a breath, an image, a sound.

The Sound of Snow in the Viola

While working on Ukioq, I vividly remember Katherine showing me different sounds on her viola.

On the back of the instrument, she shaped a sound that resembled walking through freshly fallen snow – that delicate, crisp sound created at the very moment the foot presses into the snow and it gives way.

That sound became the starting point for the entire work – and for the very feeling of writing winter into being.

Ukioq means winter in Greenlandic and is inspired by vast white expanses, stillness and the forces that shape both nature and human beings.

The music unfolds in long, melodic passages that seek to capture winter’s distinctive light and the sense of an endless horizon.

The extended techniques serve as sonic images of the surroundings: wind sounds breathed through the instruments evoke storms and breath, cracking sounds on the viola recall the crunch of snow, and key rattles suggest icy movements within the landscape.

In this way, the raw sounds of nature are woven into the poetry of the music – where the tangible and the felt meet.

A Meeting Between Greenland and Scotland

Ukioq marked my first collaboration in Scotland, and my first encounter with Katherine Wren and Nordic Viola – an ensemble that builds musical and cultural bridges across the North Atlantic.

Hearing the work performed in Glasgow, surrounded by cold winter streets and a warm reception, was like experiencing winter itself reflected in sound – its cold, its light and its stillness.

After the concert, Katherine and her husband took me on small excursions through the snow-covered Scottish landscape, visiting villages and hills beyond the city.

We walked through quiet streets where the snow softened every sound, and she showed me views and paths that, in their own way, reminded me of the vast landscapes of home in Greenland.

It became not only a collaboration, but a friendship – an ongoing journey shaped by sound and trust, which later unfolded through improvisational encounters such as Arctic Edgelands (2024), a project I will share more about another time.

Katherine Wren i det skotske vinterlandskab — *Katherine Wren in the Scottish winter landscape*

Reflections by Katherine Wren (Nordic Viola, Scotland)

Ukioq was commissioned for Nordic Viola as part of the RSNO Chamber Series in 2018 and is written for flute, viola and bassoon.

It is a musical response to Faroese composer Kári Bæk’s Vár (Spring), written for the same instrumentation, and portrays winter from a Greenlandic perspective.

There is a sense of cold and ice, and of winter’s severity, but also joy, playfulness and energy in the music.

I spent a month in Greenland in 2017 and, through Arnannguaq, had many opportunities to learn about the country, its nature, people and music.

For me, this work captures many of the emotions I experienced there, and I feel a deep personal connection to it.

Ukioq was recorded by Nordic Viola (Helen Brew – flute, Katherine Wren – viola, David Hubbard – bassoon).

It has always been a great pleasure to work with Arnannguaq.

Everything is agreed clearly in advance, and her work is always delivered on time and with the utmost professionalism.

At the premiere of Ukioq, she was the perfect ambassador for her country, taking the time to speak with the audience about her work and about Greenland.

Winter’s Resonance

Reading Katherine’s words moves me deeply.

She was the first person I worked with in Scotland – a musician who is both visionary and generous.

Katherine is an artistic entrepreneur in the very best sense: she builds bridges between countries and people, creates space for experimentation and makes contemporary music feel both natural and welcoming.

She created a space in which my Greenlandic sound world could encounter another – not as contrasts, but as reflections of one another.

Ukioq became the beginning of a shared language, in which sound and nature, winter and warmth, structure and freedom could merge.

A Dream to Send into the World

Even in the stillness of winter, I believe in the persistent rhythm beneath the snow – a pulse reminding us that life continues to move, even when everything appears still.

Through my music, I wish to share this experience – this way of listening – and I hope that someone, somewhere, will recognise something of themselves within it. 💖