Category: bass flute

  • A Pierre….

    A Pierre….

    With two performances behind me, I thought I would jot down a few notes on A Pierre. Dell’azzurro silenzio, inquietum by Luigi Nono. This is a “notes to self” for my future performances, but I hope they shed some light on some questions for other performers as well. These comments pertain primarily to the flute part.

    I won’t go into the background of the piece, instead, I will direct you to Daniel Agi’s helpful article and table of multiphonics for performing this work on a C bass flute. Here is a share version of the full article. I also recommend reading the “Notes on the text” by André Richard and Marco Mazzolini found in the score. Another interesting read is an article by Laura Zattra et al “Studying Luigi Nono’s A Pierre“.

    Nono portrait concert with Musikfabrik Sept. 2024

    The part of the score that elicits the most questions for flutists is the indication for whistling (fischio). Roberto Fabricciani, Nono’s flutist collaborator in this work, whistles through his teeth; this is the method that can best combine whistle sounds and the resonance of the flute. I would prefer whistling this way if I could. Despite my efforts, I can’t reliably control the pitch with this way. Since the score indicates exact pitches (although the octaves can be adjusted to your whistle range), I whistle through the lips.

    It’s important to know that the notation can be misleading in that it shows long, held sounds. However, the “Notes on the text”, found in the score, make it clear that every note should actually be in flux: multiphonics need not be entirely stable, fischio sections should fluctuate between the flute sound and the whistles (except where specifically noted that the whistle should be held out). This is also confirmed by a conversation with clarinetist Ernesto Molinari, who appears on the SWR recording with Fabricciani. The transitions from flute sound to whistling are very important. This is in no way reflected in the notation, but it is very important. Do not think that you need to learn a special technique of playing and whistling at the same time. It’s nice if you can keep the resonance of the flute while whistling, but it is the the transitions, the in- between sounds, that are most important.

    If you know Nono’s Das Atmende Klarsein, you will be familiar with the technique of whistling and playing with the resonance of the flute. In my opinion, this is a different use of the effect from what Nono wants in A Pierre. In Das Atmende Klarsein, there are melodic and harmonic considerations that argue for the whistling and the flute resonance to be as steady and balanced as possible, whereas in A Pierre, they should be elegantly unsteady.

    It has now become quite common to play A Pierre on a bass flute in C. There is no published score for this instrumentation; one has to take the original and make the transposition. At some point though, I want to try this piece on the instrument for which it was conceived, a narrow-bored contrabass flute in G. (There are very few of them in existence. See Daniel Agi’s article linked above). My suspicion is that this instrument produces fewer higher partials than modern bass flutes in C, which often have embouchure holes with high walls and a sharp blowing edge so that they can project in ensemble situations. These high partials are taken up by the electronics, especially the band-pass filters, and amplified. I don’t think this sounds terrible, but I wonder if Nono had used these modern instruments in his experiments, he might have chosen different parameters for the filter’s cut-off frequencies and different transpositions for the harmonizers?

    Ernesto Molinari also said that the original idea is to have the players seated, not standing. I seem to have a vague recollection of a photo from the original performance with the players seated on stools that looked like contrabass stools. He also said the work should not go on for too long, never more than 10 minutes. For me personally, I think feels correct: this work is a small puzzle of a present for Pierre Boulez, almost jewel-like, and not a zoned-out, meditative work, despite its trippy, hallucinogenic sound world.

    Also, keeping to the original timing (without being metronomically, robotically strict) does create a proper coinciding of the delay lines with the fermatas. According to Juan Parra, with whom we performed the electronics – theoretically, during the fermatas, Nono has calculated an event in the past that should be heard in the delay during the fermata. The fermatas are there not only as points of meeting for the players, but for the electronics to play out their parts as well. This is why they are given specific durations. The delay lines are also specifically chosen at 12 and 2 x 12 (24) seconds long for important psychoacoustic reasons. According to experiments Nono and his team did in the electronic studio, twenty-four seconds is approximately the time in which most people do not hear a musically repeated idea as a repetition, but as an independent idea.

    I hope this is helpful to anyone working on this piece, including my future self 🙂

  • Multiphonics for Saunders Bite

    I am very pleased that a number of young flutists are learning Rebecca Saunder’s Bite for solo bass flute. However, I am a bit ashamed that I did not have a good look at the multiphonic table in the earliest versions and insist on alternatives and corrections. Better late than never! Here goes:

    Multiphonic table from Saunder’s Bite. Blue circled ones need open holes, the red ones are just wrong.

    I’ll address them one by one. However, a preface to all of them in general: you are allowed to make substitutions, if a multiphonic just refuses to speak. Find something similar, or replace it with one of the ones given. I also won’t remark on the microtonal variations, some of the written notes are about a quarter-tone off. Don’t sweat it or try to tune it, just use the fingering if it works.

    1. ok
    2. ok
    3. If you don’t have the open hole, I suggest substituting this one with number 5. If you think of another solution, I am curious!
    4. I think this one was meant:

    I would substitute number 5 for this one too, if you don’t have an open hole. However, it is used rarely (I’ll have to check, maybe not at all in the final version).

    5. ok

    6. ok

    7. ok

    8. Forget the C# in parenthesis. This one needs to be rolled out quite a bit.

    9. ok

    10. ok

    11. ok

    12. If you don’t have an open hole, substitute with 11 or thirteen, depending on what sounds better for you in context.

    13. ok

    14. ok

    Some are really tricky to produce, try rolling way more out or in that you normally would, or experimenting with the position of your tongue. Book a Zoom lesson if you really need help. Good luck and have fun with the piece!

  • Bite by Rebecca Saunders

    This is a cross-posting from Musikfabrik’s BLOG

    In Bite for solo bass flute, Rebecca Saunders attempts a special synthesis of speech and bass flute sound that I have not encountered in the repertoire so far. Unlike most works that use the voice and the flute, the voice is not relegated to a singing or narrating role. The phonemes of speech are used to shape elements of the flute sound, much like an ADSR envelope shapes the amplitude and filter of a synthesizer’s oscillator. This what I call speech-gesture language was developed during our work on her ensemble piece Stasis. In Stasis, I was given a text from Samuel Beckett and had quite a lot of freedom to put words to various palettes of multiphonics or other sounds, forcing each word into a sound.

    In Bite there is no such freedom, it is a thoroughly composed work and all the speech-gesture language has found its way into the notation. No clearly spoken text can be heard.* A performer does have the freedom, however, to add text if it helps to shape a phrase or even a single sound. Some text I added found its way into the printed version.

    My only other interference in the compositional process had to do with the editing. The first draft lasted about 19 minutes, we brought it down to about 13 for this final version. I pleaded for one section not to be cut, because I particularly liked playing it.

    Aside from learning the notes, I had several particular challenges in learning this piece. The first was the physical challenge. Since my bass flute is particularly heavy I had to buy a special stand to take the strain off my wrists and elbows. The work is also quite cathartic, sometimes one is required to shout or loudly vocalize with fluttertounge. This is something I enjoy, but I had to take care not to strain my voice during hours of practice.

    There were plenty of artistic challenges for me as well. The work is interesting in its contrasts. Spectrally, one goes quickly from very rich, saturated sounds to very détimbré sounds, from over-blown rock ‘n’ roll sounds to the finest multiphonics. That in itself is technically difficult. In addition, all sounds are introduced in the first three minutes of the work. Since sonically nothing really new is introduced, I have to somehow generate my own flow of energy to engage the listener for the remaining ten minutes. This energy and engagement is musically very important because there is no development or narrative (which I find amusing in a piece which uses elements of speech).

    I think this is one of the brilliant aspects of Rebecca’s music. Its modular components allow one to color their own interpretation with their own spectral and dynamic palettes. Indeed, one is forced to do so, because one can’t rely on traditional forms or gestures to carry the music. This opens up the path to contemplate and develop other aspects of musicianship.

    I hope in these endeavors I succeed somewhat, and curious listeners will enjoy this recording. It took place after several years of performing it in concert, so I had plenty of time to let the interpretation mature. Yet each time I look at it anew, I always make discoveries!

    The score is available through Peters Edition. If you have a library copy, check to see if that copy matches the latest Peters Edition version. There are quite a few differences.

    *This is a great contrast to the piece I am working on now by Georges Aperghis for solo piccolo/narrator “The Dong” based on text by Edward Lear, which will be premiered in Musikfabrik’s concert in Darmstadt hopefully August 7th, 2021.

  • (Bore) Size Matters

    Several times this year I have had other flutists asking me about my bass flute and whether I was able to play easily in the upper 3rd and into the 4th octave. My Kingma bass flute has a mid-size bore (sorry, don’t know the exact specs) and is able to play up to high C comfortably, high C# and D with effort. When I recorded Mark Barden’s Personae for bass flute and bass clarinet last year, I resorted to borrowing a Pearl bass flute that had a narrower bore, because I could never reliably hit a high E on my Kingma (which is otherwise an awesome instrument!). This passage is an example:

    I am posting this to reassure you that if you are a seasoned bass flutist and are having real difficulty with these notes, don’t bang your head against a wall or berate yourself. Check your bore size. If you have one of those lovely large-bored instruments I really envy you – they sound marvelous! But I don’t envy you when you have to play in the 4th octave. Carla Reese sums things up nicely in her guide for buying large flutes:
    “In general, a big bore instrument will have a stronger low register and a weaker high register than a small bore instrument. Bigger bores also tend to have a slightly slower response and more difference in tone between registers. Big bores are ideal for playing in flute choirs (especially for the bass) but can be heavier and need more air. Small bores are ideal for solo repertoire, where the demands can require more agility and a stronger high register.”

    A colleague of mine who is a woodwind doubler has an extra small-bore Kotato bass flute, he says a high D pops out with hardly any effort.

    I wish someone would invent a bass (or alto) flute that has an adjustable bore size!

  • Performing Luigi Nono’s Flute Music

    I am very honored to have been invited by Daniel Agi and Tempo magazine to contribute my experience of performing Luigi Nono’s music. Our article has been published; here is the abstract:

    “A performer of Luigi Nono’s late works is often faced with crucial questions regarding interpretation and technical details. An important tradition has evolved in performing these works, nevertheless it is not always easy to find the necessary information to play them adequately. This article attempts to answer some of the technical and interpretational questions in the context of Das atmende Klarsein and A Pierre – Dell’Azzurro silenzio, inquietum. Our hope is that it will contribute to the discussion about authenticity and freedom of interpretation and provide flutists with practical information not found in the scores.”

    Here is the link to the abstract and citation.

    Here is a link to a share version of the full article.

     

  • Pierre Boulez Dialogue de l’Ombre Double for flute/bass flute

    Adapting, recording and releasing the flute/bass flute version of Boulez’ Dialogue de l’Ombre Double has been a ten year labor of love (and frustration). The mischievous flutist inside me listened to this clarinet piece and thought, why doesn’t Boulez write for flute this way? Not to disparage his wonderful works for flute, but his Dialogue has such contrasting characters who are so articulate and moving in ways that his flute characters are not.

    In 2007 I received permission from Boulez to attempt a version. After completing the score and several performances, the version never received acknowledgement, but it received no prohibition, which I took as an OK to continue. Now the necessary permissions have been received for the recording, which I am proud to announce is available here:

    Pierre Boulez, Dialogue de l’ombre double, version for flute and bass flute

    The score is not available commercially. Please contact me if you are interested in taking a look at it. It has not been fully edited, there are some odd enharmonic spellings of notes due to transposition.

    Some comments about the flute/bass flute version: I originally wanted to make a version for just the bass flute. While I think this may be technically possible, I was too frustrated by the instability of the intonation of the upper register. Maybe on today’s bass flutes, with narrower bores, this would be less of a problem. The bass flute has also less scope for dynamics than the clarinet. This is not surprising, clarinet making and performers have had generations to develop their art. Bass flute making and playing is still in its early generations – although Eva Kingma and Kotato are making wonderful headway. So I decided to switch from flute to bass flute between movements (although I attempted to do so in a way that is not monotonously predictable, I hope) in order to play in tune and to emphasize the changes of character.

    I would like to take the opportunity here to thank Melvyn Poore, who recorded the initial, final, and the transitions, and performed the electronic parts in concert with me. He also made the recording which is now available. Thanks also to Hendrik Manook who did the final mastering. A big thank you to Mark Steinhäuser, who transcribed and transposed the score for me.

     

  • Berio Sequenza Audio Recording and Saunders Bite

    Some time ago I posted about recording the Berio Sequenza for Flute. So many other projects have been realized since our session in January 2016 that there has been a large gap between recording and release, but we have made sure the recording is decent. I have only the following reservations: since the idea was to produce a video, I did my best to perform from memory with large takes. While that may make for a better performance, the audio does have some issues of timing; some passages could have been more accurate regarding speed and length, had I been looking at the score. The video has not been issued yet, but I hope that when it comes out it will offset my disquiet. (Although watching oneself opens another can of worms.)

    The recording is available through the Musikfabrik Label, which is a digital platform that offers multiple download choices – please browse the catalogue, you might find other recordings that interest you! Here is the link.

    My next big recording project will probably not take place until 2019, when I plan to record Rebecca Saunders’ Bite for bass flute. I have performed the piece several times, and have no exclusivity. So if you are interested in a massive, expressive, sighing, ranting piece for bass flute with low B [edit: now there is a C-foot version.], please check it out! If you have a library copy, please check your version against the final version sold by Peters Edition. Some earlier versions started circulating before the final one, and there are significant changes.

  • Bass and Alto Flute Resource – a gold mine

    I want to share with you two websites by Carla Reese that just about say it all when it comes to composing for alto or bass flute.

    Alto Flute

    Bass Flute

    What I appreciate are her explanations about the dynamic capabilities and limitations of these flutes. I am often frustrated by composers who write ensemble works and choose these flutes for their range only, rather than for their timbral capabilities. Often, I am expected to match the dynamic environment of my colleagues playing trumpet, (bass) clarinet, bassoon, and English horn – instruments that more or less match the range of these flutes. When frustrated, I have been known to peevishly remark to the composer, “a saxophone would have served your purpose better.” The inevitable response is:”but I love the color of these flutes.” “Well then write so that you can actually hear the color of these flutes”, is my usual unspoken response.

    As Carla explains on her site, “Dynamic range, and projection, on the bass [and alto] flute[s] is controlled predominantly by tone colour rather than actual dynamic”. She further provides a spectral analysis that compares the sound of the C, alto and bass flutes.

    If you are considering writing for bass or alto flute, especially in an ensemble situation, please read her pages!