Three by Three: Guest Artists in Focus
QUESTION 2. Galatea, premiered at the Orfeus Festival, draws from myth while sounding distinctly contemporary. What attracts you to mythological frameworks as containers for modern emotional states?
ANSWER 2. My music always resonates based on a story. Usually, when I go write a piece, without any external impulse (film, collaboration, ...) I reach for painted works and their stories. At that time, I was attracted by the painting by Gustave Moreau - Galatea and the mythological sotry of this mythical character. The painting and its story were an inspiration for me and that is why the piece is contemporary. I did not try to imitate the music from the period of the story, but I tried to retell the story with my own compositional interpretation.
Laura "SOUL" Poláčková
Music Composer
BIO: I´m - a composer who seeks the point where emotion meets sound, located in Slovakia. My work moves between genres: film, orchestral, choral, electronic and experimental. I love exploring contrasts - intimacy and vastness, structure and freedom, silence and resonance. Whether I compose for a film, a stage, or my own reflection, I aim to create music that breathes - honest, vivid, and deeply human.
Every project begins with a story- I compose across genres - from orchestral and choral works to electronic and ambient soundscapes.
WEBSITE: LaurentiaSoul
QUESTION 3. In Therra’s Dreaming, the collaboration between theremin, dance, and atmosphere feels especially fragile and intimate. What challenges arise when composing for such an exposed, unconventional sonic palette?
ANSWER 3. Therra´s Dreaming is the piece in which I first approached electronic music. It was an experiment for me as well. The concept came about very simply, and one might say, silly. I can´t play the theremin and playing it requires years of training, just like playing other musical instruments. But I wanted to use it in my piece. And so it occurred to me that since the Theremin is a "movement" instrument, let´s give it what it actually is - movement. That´s where the idea of connecting it with the dance world came from. The risk with this composition was that I didn´t know if it would work - not only technically, but also artistically. With the dancer - Kristína Miklovičová - we had several meetings and rehearsals, where we were looking for suitable movements, but also sounds that would work with this concept, until Therra´s Dreaming was finally created.
QUESTION 1. In works like Shattering (Trieštenie), where music is tightly woven with contemporary dance, how do you approach composing for movement rather than for listening alone?
ANSWER 1. The piece Shattering was created from very beginning together with dancer and the choreographer - Kristína Miklovičová. The idea that the piece would be accompanied by strong visual aspect - dance - ultimately showed me the direction I should take. Compared to compositions that do not have a visual component, a composition of the type changes considerably, especially in terms of time. I had thought out the individual sections so that they would be interesting for the viewer, so that they would sufficiently explain the plot and at the same time the viewer would not get bored. Distinctive rhythmic sections are essential in dance, so the composition begins with a distinct rhythm and rhythm is very important throughout the composition. At the same time, I was aware that the music should be interesting even without the visual perception, and I also thought about that when composing.
Silo - Trailer music, based on my SILO OST - animated short movie.
The Forest - Ambient piece
Kurtag - My electronic interpretation of a live recording by the great composer Gyorgy Kurtag.
All copyright and reproduction rights are reserved by Laura "SOUL" Poláčková.
Artwork may not be reproduced in any form without the artist's express written permission.
VIDEO - SOUND ON
VIDEO - SOUND ON
VIDEO - SOUND ON
