| 1998 | Water Stories |
| Choreographer: | Marla Eist |
| Company: | Independent |
| "Arne Eigenfeldt's alternately pulsating and soothing
score complemented the fluid flow of the performers' strokes, adding to
the piece's success."
Gail Johnson, The Georgia Straight |
| 1997 | Defiant Paths |
| Choreographer: | Judith Garay |
| Company: | Independent |
| "The only problem I had with Defiant Paths
was the music, composed by Arne Eigenfeldt, which was dominated by minor
keys and entire phrases sung in monotone. At 40 minutes long, the discordant
score became tiresome, distracting, and ultimately annoying. Although its
mood suited the story line, the music overpowered the dance and took away
from the enjoyment of an otherwise captivating performance."
Gail Johnson, The Georgia Straight "In Defiant Paths, to a flat, spare score by Arne Eigenfeldt...The sombre music is matched by the loose burgundy and brown clothes...and by almost every moment of the dance's eight sections." Kaija Pepper, Dance International |
| 1997 | Aria for My Father (Remembering / Forgetting) |
| Choreographer: | John Alleyne |
| Company: | The Stuttgart Ballet |
| "...dazu die wummernden und grollenden ostinaten
Lautsprecher-Klange von Arne Eigenfeldt (denn am Orchester wurde an diesem
Abend wieder einmal gespart.)"
"..to the whimpering and rumbling ostinati loudspeaker sounds from Arne Eigenfeldt (once again, they saved money on an orchestra.)" Horst Koegler, Stuttgart Zeitung "..zumal die ihm von seinem Landsmann Arne Eigenfeldt eigens komponierte Musik hochst eindringlich wirkt...""...Arne Eigenfeldt's original music (was) very deep and unforgetable..." Helge Martin, Stuttgarter Echo "Fur sein neuestes Stuck komponierte der Kanadier Arne Eigenfeldt eine stimmungsvolle, uberwiegend ruhige und nur gelegentlich aufbrausende Streichermusick, die, wie auch fur alle anderened Ballette des Abends, vom Band eingespielt wurde.""For his newest piece, Canadian Arne Eigenfeldt composed a complimentary atmospheric piece, and with only occassional powerful and roaring strings, that, like all the other ballets this evening, were played from tape." Friedrich Paul, Badische Nachrichten "Die Musik, die der Kanadier Arne Eigenfeldt speziell fur "Aria for My Father" komponierte, reflektiert, indem sie an Wellen erinnert, das Auf und Ab zwischen Erinnern und Vergessen.""The music that Canadian Arne Eigenfeldt specially composed for "Aria for my Father, reflects, by reminding us of waves, the up and down between remembering and forgetting." Andrea Kachelriess, Stuttgarter Nachrichten "Aber Alleyne setzt das "Erinnern/Vergessen" (so der Titel der eher meditativen Musik von Arne Eigenfeldt) nicht etwa in Handlung um...""But Alleyne sets "Remembering/Forgetting" (which is the title of the rather meditative music by Arne Eigenfeldt) not in clear pictures..." Hartmut Regitz, Stuttgarter Nachrichten |
| 1997 | les yeux fermes |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Katherine LaBelle |
| "[Danced] to another great score by Bennathan's long-time
collaborator, Arne Eigenfeldt, for violin, viola and, cello..."
Kaija Pepper, Dance International
|
| 1997 | Boy Wonder |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Ballet BC |
| "...Arne Eigenfeldt's score builds, and the Babayaga
String Quartet fills the theatre with joyful, optimistic music. It's all
as brilliant and faceted as cut crystal..."
Shannon Rupp, The Georgia Straight "...is set to a score by Arne Eigenfeldt" Kaija Pepper, Dance International |
| 1996 | Les Arbres d'Or |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Dancemakers |
| "The work is enhanced by Arne Eigenfeldt's beautifully
elegiac original score for woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion. The
choice of instruments contributes to the muted restraint of the work..."
Paula Citron, Globe and Mail "Arne Eigenfeldt's highly emotive score is the perfect period soundtrack, evoking moments of Jacques Tati-like merriment or Claude Lelouche plaintiveness." Susan Walker, Toronto Star "...the work (has) an almost elegiac tone. This mood is reinforced by Arne Eigenfeldt's chamber music score." Michael Crabb, Dance International "The emotions in the piece connect to Arne Eigenfeldt's haunting original score of strings, piano, percussion and suitably non-electronic sound..." Elissa Barnard, Halifax Chronicle-Herald "Throughout, Arne Eigenfeldt's relentlessly whining score, which lacks rhythmic vitality, threatens to plunge the piece into melodrama." Rose Anne Thom, Dance Magazine "Eventually, the cast, joined by thin plaintive phrases of Arne Eigenfeldt's commissioned but characterless score, dance tight circles..." Clive Barnes, New York Post
"Mr. Bennathan has created a gentle, gold and rust-colored world in this meditative full-evening work, performed in long stretches of silence and to quietly anguished string music by Arne Eigenfeldt. Jennifer Dunning, New York Times |
| 1995 | ZigZag |
| Choreographer: | Pipo Damiano |
| Commissioner: | Little Chamber Music Series That Could |
| "...this time the relationship was with conductor/composer
Arne Eigenfeldt, as well as with each other. In big white shirts and black
pants, they cavort like musical notes, as if part of Eigenfeldt's score.
Describing Elliot as voluptuous within her careful, straight lines could
double as a description of the music."
Kaija Pepper, Dance International
|
| 1994 | In and Around Kozla Street (Warsaw) |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Ballet BC |
| "..a single cello (violin, actually) traces the mournful
melodic line of Arne Eigenfeldt's score..."
Chris Dafoe, Globe and Mail "Backed by Vancouver composer Arne Eigenfeldt's taut score, Kozla Street is a masterful study in heroism and frailty." Louise Whitney, Dance International "In the past, Bennathan and composer Arne Eigenfeldt have created choreographic universes that border on the transcendental. Not this time." Michael Scott, Dance Connection "It's hard to forget earlier performances... particularly Pite's sad, broken movements to Arne Eigenfeldt's beautiful score..." Kaija Pepper, Dance International "Set to Arne Eigenfeldt's haunting, melodic score, the ballet is a series of half-tones..." Deborah Meyers, Dance Magazine "The original music was composed by Arne Eigenfeldt who captured well the spirit of the ballet." Ross Micheal Pink, Review Vancouver "Set to a tense, restless score by SFU music teacher Arne Eigenfeldt, the ballet touches on the desperate lives of Jews in the Warsaw ghetto during World War II...The audience responded with bravos that were meant as much for the work's creative approach as for the dancers' achingly beautiful treatment of the choreography. Their jagged groupings and constant separations were echoed in an abstract backdrop suggestive of barbed wire, in the composer's relentless race to the inevitable, and even in the layers of shapeless clothes." Louise Phillips, Vancouver Courier "The haunting musical strains were put in motion by Arne Eigenfeldt, a faithful Bennathan collaborator." Kathleen Lippa, Muse The work is far from grim - Arne Eigenfeldt’s score is a lush and large soundscape. Its movements evoke a sweet emotional sensitivity, which depict the courage and passion of people faced with persecution. Rachana Raizada, The Ubyssey |
| 1994 | Les Vents Tumultueux |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Dancemakers |
| "...a deceptively romantic score by long time collaborator
composer Arne Eigenfeldt...as always, the music and the costumes sync perfectly
with Bennathan's dance...It's an artistic triumvirate made in heaven."
Daniel Collins, Dance International. "Moving to digital musical interludes by Arne Eigenfeldt..." Pauline Tam, Ottawa Citizen "Continuing a fruitful, long-standing collaboration between choreographer and composer, Arne Eigenfeldt's new-age score powerfully enhances the transient moods and overall dynamics of the piece.It marks the journey across scenes of collective high energy into moments of privacy, abandon, despair and eventually resolution. It progresses in movements, with long segments of silence that are as momentous as the rest." Lewis Hertzman, Dance Connection "The artistic struggle is obvious when Arne Eigenfeldt's score falls silent..." Shannon Rupp, Georgia Straight "Silent portions were as momentous as those marked by Arne Eigenfeldt's new-age score." Lewis Hertzman, Globe and Mail "...the minimalist strains of Arne Eigenfeld's (sic) music joining in from time to time to support the dancing and bind everything together. William Littler, The Toronto Star |
| 1993 | The Strangeness of a Kiss |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | National Ballet of Canada |
| "...Arne Eigenfeld's (sic) original score creating
an appropriate tension."
Michael Crabb, Toronto Star "Like his past several works, The Strangeness of a Kiss is enveloped by a soaring violin score that vibrates with intensity. At the point of near saturation, the aural complexity ceases, leaving the ears perched on gentler tones. Lisa Cochrane, Globe and Mail "...delivers as little nourishment as its irritating minimalist Arne Eigenfeld (sic) score" Michael Crabb, Dance Connection |
| 1993 | Chronicles of a Simple Life |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Dancemakers |
| "...Arne Eigenfeldt's throbbing music...proved more
artful."
Lewis Segal, Los Angeles Times "Arne Eigenfeldt's music, inspired by Vivaldi, has its own contrasts." Anna Kisselgoff, New York Times "But it was the pathos buried in Arne Eigenfeldt's synthesized orchestral score, and Nancy Bryant's heavily populated backcloth, that laid the most emotional resonance on the piece..." Elizabeth Zimmer, Village Voice "Eigenfeldt's score, performed on a synthesizer instead of by a chamber orchestra, as originally planned, added to the intensity of the choreography. The postmodern music, drawing on themes by Vivaldi, was wonderfully coordinated with the dancers." Lewis Hertzman, Dance Magazine "The music and dance matched each other well, the result of a close colaboration between choreographer and composer. For the most part the music had a strong classical character and strings were predominant, but into this traces of contemporary influences were integrated, giving it a more timeless quality." Don Ryan, imprint "Set to composer Arne Eigenfeldt's Vivaldi-inspired score..." Gary Smith, The Spectator "...(danced) to the radiantly supportive strains of Arne Eigenfeldt's Vivaldi-inspired score..." William Littler, The Toronto Star "The score, by Vancouver composer Arne Eigenfeldt, was originally intended to by played by chamber orchestra. Played as it is by synthesized orchestra, it is a triumph, brilliant in conception, and wonderfully apt to the movement on stage. Behind the postmodern style are figurations from Vivaldi. At times the music booms, while the dancers are deliberately still, a favorite, effective Bennathan device." Lewis Hertzman, stepTEXT "... a lovely Vivaldi-inspired score by Arne Eigenfeldt. It was the kind of collaboration that brought back memories of the halacyon days of modern dance in Toronto, when it was all a great adventure and everybody was keen to do his/her part." LEXICON "In 'Chronicles of a Simple Life,' composer Arne Eigenfeldt's lack of variation in rhythm and melody only made the dance look more repetitive. Brenda Krebs, Kansas City Star "The Vivaldi-laden score by Arne Eigenfeldt heightens the work's references to history. Eigenfeldt's music, as much as Bennathan's movement, is filled with joyfulness and exultation." Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun "Danced to Arne Eigenfeldt's Vivaldi-inspired score..." Shannon Rupp, The Georgia Straight "The actual music is a Vivaldi-inspired score by Arne Eigenfeldt" Robert Everett-Green, Globe and Mail |
| 1992 | Quand les Grandmeres s'envolent |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Dancemakers |
| "...Arne Eigenfeldt's score that mixes fluttering
sound with arcane pauses."
Deirdre Kelly, Dance Magazine "...there is even terrific music (on the program): Mozart's Requiem, two of Strauss's Four Last Songs, and Arne Eigenfeldt's score for Bennathan's Quand les Grandmeres s'envolent, so well suited to the piece that it holds its own in such company." Penelope Reed Doob, Globe and Mail "...with music by Arne Eigenfeldt" Deirdre Kelly, Globe and Mail "...moved to the highly charged music of Arne Eigenfeldt, which enters at crucial moments as an integral element in the sequence of symbolic patterns..." Ronald Hambleton, The Toronto Star |
| 1990 | Song of the Nightingale |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Independent |
| "Composer Arne Eigenfeldt writes a fascinating page
in the program about the innovative processes involved in producing the
sounds that accompany the work - sound made by live acoustic instruments
in response to the dancers' movement is modified on the spot by computers,
for instance. Too often, what this produces is mad-scientist laboratory
noises or inter-galactic burglar alarms - though, again, there's a ravishing
sequence near the end, for violin and tinkly percussion, that is, again,
substantial compensation."
Max Wyman, The Province "Arne Eigenfeldt's menacing soundscape of torn words and phrases, slammed together until they are no more than static above the composer's trademark sound of rushing wind. He calls the parts of his performance system "hyperinstruments" - acoustic instruments "extended" through the use of computer control. Unfortunately, the results are not always easy on the ear." Michael Scott, The Vancouver Sun "Arne Eigenfeldt's original score is part of the backdrop - dancers don't move to it, it's more an audio version of a set. The unusual sounds are part of a computerized music system Eigenfeldt calls hyperinstruments: a violin and percussion instruments are enhanced through a computer program and then sent through synthesizers. It gives the music an other-worldly quality." Shannon Rupp, The Georgia Straight |
| 1988/1996 | The Fall |
| Choreographer: | Serge Bennathan |
| Company: | Ballet British Columbia / National Ballet of Canada |
| "...(danced) to an electronic score by Arne Eigenfeldt."
Jack Anderson, The New York Times "..la musique éstrange et grave d'Arne Eigenfeldt..." Aurore Busser, Cannes "...(the work) was a joy, as is Arne Eigenfeldt's spacey score that sounds like wind chimes." Adrian Chamberlain, Victoria Times-Colonist "Serge Bennathan's The Fall is set to an unrelenting electroacoustic score by Arne Eigenfeldt..." Lewis Hertzman, Dance Magazine "...set to music by Arne Eigenfeldt..." John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun |