POW Ensemble Den Haag
Goska Isphording: Cembalo
Luc Houtkamp: Elektronik
Chad Langford: Elektronik
Werke von Luc Houtkamp, Chad Langford, Jorrit Tamminga und Karlheinz Essl
In diesem Konzert wird das altehrwürdige Cembalo gegen alle Regeln der Kunst als unkonventioneller Klangerzeuger verwendet.
Mit Hilfe der Live-Elektronik werden diesem historischen Instrument neue Klangwelt abgefordert, jenseits aller Erwartungen.
Das Den Haager POW Ensemble hat für dieses Gemeinschaftsprojekt Werke in Auftrag gegeben, die nach einer Tournee durch die
Niederlande nun auch im Essl Museum zu hören sein werden.
www.powensemble.nl
Programme
Karlheinz Essl (* 1960): Sequitur XII for harpsichord and live electronics (2009)
Luc Houtkamp (* 1953): The Snippits Code (2012)
I. Chords and Harmonies
II. Cycles
III.The Snippits
IV. Echoes & Cadenza
Chad Langford (* 1973): CLVRSTRND (2014) premiere
Jorrit Tamminga (* 1973): Lilleke Spiekerbak (2012)
I. Part one
II. Part two
All pieces (except Essl’s) have been composed in 2012 especially for POW Ensemble.
Programme notes
In this composition, the harpsichord is played in a highly unconventional manner. Except for the end of the piece, no keys
are touched. Instead, the sound board and the lowest string of the instrument (1F) are excited in different manners. A contact
microphone mounted on the sound board acts like an acoustic lense that amplifies sounds that are normally inaudible. The interaction
between the harpsichordist and the live-electronics creates a kind of meta-instrument. Its novel sounds and expressions purposely
avoid the typical percussive sound of the harpsichord, which is only heard at the end of the piece as a quotation.
By preparing the instrument with a thin nylon thread, sustained „drone“ sounds can be produced as an antitheses to the needle-sharp
and rapidly decaying harpsichord attacks, which György Ligeti tried to overcome in his harpsichord composition Continuum.
The Snippits Code can be characterized as a baroque concerto in which the orchestra has been replaced by two computers. Almost
all sounds produced by the computer players consist of live-processing of the harpsichord’s sounds.
The title of the composition relates to its third part, in which an interaction between the three musicians develops with
the aid of short musical phrases and a set of compository rules. Naturally, the third part has a cadenza for harpsichord,
to be improvised using a certain set of tone arrays.
CLVRSTRND can perhaps best be thought of as a refraction or a distillation of a little radio-style drama which I wrote for the POW
Ensemble last year, Overstrand. Whilst I found Overstrand to be rather over-explicit in its storytelling, in CLVRSTRND I wanted to simply present emotive spaces, gestures, and contrasts. For this reason I won't say too much about the piece,
except to suggest that in the opening of the work we seem to find ourselves adrift, in the hold of a wooden ship….
In Tamminga’s youth, when harpsichord music came from the radio, his father switched it off, saying “Lilleke spiekerbak”,
ugly box of nails (in dialect). Tamminga later, being a musician and composer, learned to appreciate the sound, thanks to
his music teachers at the conservatory.
In this composition for Strings Attached, speakers are connected to the harpsichord in order to change its sounds. One single
harpsichord tone is used as a base: a sharp attack with a clear sound, which is manipulated and transformed in various ways.
The piece has three sound phases: an energetic start, a quiet part in the middle and a grooving grand finale.
Bios
Luc Houtkamp (1953) is a composer/performer who bridges the gap between the worlds of free improvisation and computer-based
composition and performance. Since the mid-eighties he has been designing his own interactive music software, resulting in
pieces performed by himself and in collaborations with musicians and ensembles all over the world. In 2004 he has been awarded
the VPRO/Boy Edgar prize for his work as a band leader, composer and musician.
By establishing his own group POW Ensemble in 2001, Houtkamp has created a new platform for exploring and expanding the musical
potentials of the computer. Through POW Ensemble, the possibilities of the electronic, composed and improvised music are combined
into a new unity.
http://luchoutkamp.nl
Harpsichordist Goska Isphording specializes in the performance of contemporary music. She gives solo recitals and performs
with chamber music ensembles and orchestras. She is also active in music theatre and multimedia productions and has premiered
numerous solo and chamber music works.
Born in Poland, Goska Isphording graduated at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in 2001. Her interest in contemporary art
led her to follow the Masters program in contemporary harpsichord techniques with Annelie de Man at the Conservatory in Amsterdam.
During this period she also worked with Elisabeth Chojnacka at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Goska Isphording was awarded various
prizes at renowned contemporary music competitions. Goska Isphording is a founding member of Roentgen Connection - ensemble
for the performance of the contemporary chamber music. Her interest in new media and electronics brought her together with
the POW Ensemble, an unexpected yet surprisingly fruitful musical combination.
http://www.goskaisphording.com
Bassist, composer and educator Chad Langford is a native of Montana (USA). His music has been performed in North America,
Europe and Asia. Creating a fascinating, visceral synthesis of intricately-layered rhythms, text, and arching melody, his
work frequently utilizes both acoustic and electronic instruments and ensembles. His principal composition teachers have included
Eric Funk, Tomas Svoboda, Diederik Wagenaar, Yannis Kyriakides, and Gilius van Bergeijk.
http://chadlangford.com
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