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String 'em Up - Berlin 1998 An Ongoing Project of Radical and Innovative String Music |
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In 1998 I had the opportunity to initiate 'The Relative Violin' project as part of The Inventionen Festival in Berlin. This was intended as an overview of the violin as instrument and icon from a contemporary music standpoint. With this String 'em Up project, I hope to present the wider panorama of 'the string' and its use in the music of our time. I hope that the project will develop and evolve over the next years, encompassing a full range and pool of innovative and mainly improvising string players in a series of Festivals and CD's. The first String 'em Up project will take place at Podewil, Berlin from the 26th March to 30th. This is the proposed provisional line up. Is it possible to re-invent the violin? Yes, according to the extraordinary American violin maker Carleen Hutchins. Her Violin Octet is a 20th Century development of the 16th Century Viol Consort concept of eight finely matched instruments. This modern violin consort consists of thorough scientifically researched instruments from the extra oversized double bass to a tiny treble violin, tuned one octave higher than the regular violin... these instruments are an acoustic wonder, much louder than the standard string instruments normally heard. One of the violin sets is now in regular use by the outstanding musicians of The St. Petersburg Octet and they will perform old and newly commissioned works for the first time in Berlin. Each of these new instruments will be able to be heard separately in acoustic isolation and/or as ensemble in a mega mix, utilising the various spaces available at Podewil. Acoustics is the fundamental basis of all music and the natural harmonics of strings have given rise to a multitude of original voices in contemporary music. The String 'em Up project has some very long strings which are bowed (The Fence by Jon Rose); long strings which are attached to a grand piano and hit (The Exploded Piano by Pierre Berthet ); Cello strings which are played with two bows by new music virtuoso Francis Marie Uitti. There are some very short strings which are cranked (the unique sound of Stevie Wishhart 's Hurdy Gurdy). There are violin strings which are nearly forced through the finger board (Mari Kimura's special subtone bowing technique); Strings played with frenetic energy (not to say with the use of a toilet brush too) by Double Bass innovator Barry Guy. The new generation of high octane improvising Bass players will be represented by Joe Williamson (he prefers rusty beer cans to toilet brushes). Miya Masaoka has turned the Koto from the genteel sounds of a plucked postcard into a bowed monster of avant guard extremes. Sympathetic strings, heard only in the ambient background on ancient instruments, are brought out into the contemporary light by means of amplification (the Viola d'Amore of Arditti's Garth Knox). Berlin's best known improvising double bass player, Matthias Bauer will change hats and also compose an original for the Violin Octet. There are many ways to bow and there are bowers who don't use real bows (Jim O'Rourke is a specialist in the use of the E-BOW and he will be working on The Fence as well as his usual guitars). There are bows that are played by other bows (Jon Rose amplified and MIDI Bows); string players who bow like their life depended on it... the theatrical side of Joelle Leandre's performing skills certainly does; and there are bowers who seem to have been there from the beginning of experimental music (like Barre Phillips); and there are musicians who wouldn't be seen dead with a bow (guitar's major innovator Derek Bailey prefers to use a plectrum!); and there is Tristan Honsinger who's bowing technigue is so awesome that the sound resembles electronic white noise more than a regular cello. And talking of electronics, there will be MIDI violins, computer driven strings, interactive bowing systems... and that's not to mention the string instruments that have come into existence through lots of home hacking (the 19 string cello, the Whipolin, etc); Let alone the genuine pervert of string Instruments (The Museum of Dr. Johannes Rosenberg will be available for voyeurs). And just when you thought the whole thing is getting out of hand, you'll realise it has as... Hollis Taylor will play her duo arrangements of traditional fiddle music, often expressed in impossible to play time signatures. She'll also be performing her scordatura tour de force 'Trail Mix', played on five different violins all tuned differently. And making sense of it all (for those inclined) will be Dr. Eric Janssen (professor of Music Acoustics, Communications & Language, Stockholm University). You want workshops . . . . . . .? You want a grand finale . . . . .? The Eight Double Basses of The Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra will finally get their say and serenade you with the best and the worst moments from life at the bottom of the orchestra. 'A String is a String is a String' Dr. Johannes Rosenberg (and don't you believe it!) Jon Rose - 26 Juli 1997 |
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