zonder titel (schuif en ruis)


for viola, trombone, prep. soprano saxophone, electronics (no-input mixer), electric guitar, voice

2007



Viola and trombone play each a first descending then ascending slide (glissando). Both slides are very close to each other, differ in range and tempo, thus creating interferences and beatings. The slides are dunked into a block of static, permanent noise sounds from saxophone, no-input mixing board and breath. The guitar makes a slow, continuous scratch on the lowest string, producing a noise sound and at the same time two slides - one ascending, the other descending.
This slide-and-noise-block is played twice, as identical as possible. Before, in-between and after, there are long silences.
The title means in english without title (slide and noise).

The piece was written in 2007 for a residency of the sextet Lucio Capece (saxophone, bass clarinet), Julia Eckhardt (viola), Christian Kesten (voice), Radu Malfatti (trombone), Toshimaru Nakamura (no-input mixing board) and Taku Sugimoto (guitar) at Vooruit in Gent/Belgium, and was performed at Q-O2 in Brussels.
zonder titel (schuif en ruis) opens the CD wedding ceremony made from these recordings.


Christian Kesten's "zonder titel (schuif en ruis)" consists "simply" of lengthy sustained notes by the sextet tutti placed between extended sections of non-playing. The filled areas are made up of fine burbling with subtle, barely rising pitches. As with many works of this general form, its success relies, for me, on the natural deployment of the sound blocks, how well they "hang" in space. To my ears, this one does the trick and does it very well. more (Brian Olewnick)
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