about the composer
Adrianna Kubica-Cypek’s music focuses on the idea of sensory fusion, combined with controlled aleatorism and repetitiveness. Her playfully interactive scores often result in music that balances on the border between minimalism in material and maximalism in expression. Trained in classical contemporary composition, she writes for choir and instrumental ensembles as well as electro-acoustic pieces. Her work is strongly influenced by a preference for singing, with organic and melodic elements taking centre stage. In several compositions she tends towards a dramatic musical approach. She studied classical composition, orchestration and music theory at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice (PL), the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse in Lyon (FR) and the Royal Danish Music Academy (DKDM).
Recent commissions include works for the Ætla Vokalensemblet, DR Vokalensemblet, New Music Orchestra and soloists such as Tanel Eiko-Novikov and Flemming Vidar Valmmundsson. In addition to her composition work, Kubica-Cypek is active as a private teacher of contemporary composition techniques and has been a composition teacher at the Rhythm Music Conservatory (RMC) in Copenhagen.
About the composition
L’hiver – Winter – from the cycle Saisons , for 16 voices a cappella, explores space and structures whose forms evoke memories of that time of year. It is also an attempt to evoke the physical experience of the season in terms of cold and textures.
Each composed season is a play between organised notes and freedom. Sometimes the singers sing certain melodies together but independently, according to their own sense of tempo, dynamics and interpretation. Together, but apart, they create a certain atmosphere, with different harmonies emerging from sliding melodies that cross each other. This makes it impossible to ever perform the composition exactly the same.
Saisons and the intention to include synesthesia as an essential part of the musical creation process has been one of my main focuses since 2021, when the first part — L’été — was created. Followed by two other completed seasons — L’hiver (2022), Printemps (2024) and Autumne to be created towards the end of 2024 — all parts are linked by the same intention to evoke a personal sensation of different auras of the year.
La femme lumineuse
Adrianna Kubica-Cypeks L’hiver is part of concert series La femme lumineuse. An integral part of the thematically layered programme, it also stands out among the other works for Kubica-Cypek’s emphasis on synesthesia and sensory experience. Unlike other compositions that explore abstract or metaphorical themes, such as the spiritual dimensions in Roxanna Panufnik’s Celestial Bird or the light images in Justė Janulytė’s Iridescence, in L’hiver Kubica-Cypek uses music to evoke the bodily experience of cold and textures. Furthermore, the work plays an important role in the creation of a specific spatial atmosphere. The composition utilizes the sound space through sliding melodies and changing harmonies, creating a rich and dynamic atmosphere that immerses the listener in the musical representation of winter. This approach emphasises the sensory and spatial aspects of the season, creating a striking contrast with the other works in the programme, which are often more focused on abstract and thematic elements.
