half-life

overpaintings for violin, contrabass and soundtrack

Helge Slaatto & Frank Reinecke
violin, contrabass & soundtrack
40 × 40″

2009–10

half-life is a collection of 40 40-second vignettes for violin, contrabass and soundtrack (comprising mainly of field recordings).

The recorded sounds provide a matrix – a canvas against which the instrumentalists place their sounds: Sometimes drawing precise lines or making tracings in order to bring out specific aspects of the field recordings, sometimes painting over those recordings with broad gestural strokes that emphasize their physicality; sometimes reinforcing a mood or resonance hinted at in the recordings, sometimes throwing in contrasting (musical) material.

In most cases loudspeakers are used in a performance situation as a means of amplifying the voice or musical instruments. In this case however the roles are somewhat reversed. The instrumentalists have the task of mediating the recorded sound into the performance space: Amplifying resonances, drawing attention to specific details, providing a physical presence even when they are not playing.

Web App

Enter the web version of half-life and tap, swipe or click your way through the 40 sections.

Headphones recommended!

Score

Download: half-life.pdf