Ooid (1993-1994) for solo alto saxophone and sinfonietta

«Ooid» is a 15 minute work written for saxophonist Lars Lien, who has performed the piece numerous times with BIT20 Ensemble and Oslo Sinfonietta. The piece was included in the album «Absolute Pling-Plong: Eight Ways of Making Music» from 1995 with Lars Lien and BIT20 Ensemble. A spectacular live recording of this piece with Lars Lien and Oslo Sinfonietta is expected to be released in 2023.

Rebne and «Ooid» was awarded Work of the Year by The Norwegian Composer’s Association (Norsk Komponistforening) in 1995. After receiving the award, Rebne famously stated «I will never make a gestural piece like this ever again». 

About the work:

«Ooid» was made at time when The First Microtonal Wave (Rebne’s definition) hit the Norwegian contemporary music scene. Rebne experienced that the microtonal music at that time evolved in a a slow and, as he states «in a bit dull» way, with succesive sustained microtonal chords. Rebne’s reaction was to try to do the opposite, and make a rapid and gestural piece. All of the harmonic material in the piece is derived from the spectral timbres of of the solo alto saxophone’s multiphonics, and is expanded in the ensemble chords. The gestures are indeed waves in different shapes and forms, commenting on the event of the Microtonal Wave. The piece is filled with different ways of creating microtonality. The saxophone player sings into the saxophone while playing ring-modulated sounds. Rebne states that this piece has many qualities similar to his other works, displaying combinations of energetic and poetic sound material. «Ooid» is a virtuoso, shiny, bubbly, exuberant and delicate piece.