Imaginary light: Rebecca Lawrence & Isaac Roth Blumfield

Program: 

Clara Iannotta (b. 1983) a blur of fur and bone (ii) (2023)
Haukur Þór Harðarson (b. 1989) new work (2026)
Rebecca Saunders (b. 1967) Fury for double bass solo (2005)
____________

Improvisation for violone and modular synthesizer - Rebecca Lawrence & Isaac Roth Blumfield (2026)

Imaginary light is a program that combines contemporary works for contrabass solo, exploring the instrument´s depths of timbre and all-encompassing sound. Through three recent pieces written by prominent composers in Germany´s contemporary music scene, the sonic compass of the double bass is stretched, exposed and expanded and reformed through the use of detuning, harmonics, and multiphonics. The distortion of fundalmentals and the shimmering, fluctuating nature of harmonic sounds evokes the interplay of light and shadows, bringing a sense of dimension and wonder to the seldom-heart instrument.

The musical collaboration between Rebecca Lawrence and Isaac Roth Blumfield on modular synthesizer began with a series of improvisations and field recordings in December 2024. Each time the artists meet, they improvise with layers of previously created material, including field recordings from their homes in Germany, Switzerland, and the USA, samples from nostalgic media, and the recordings of their past sessions using historic string instruments. This process serves as a testament to a continually unfolding conversation between the artists, and a dialogue of memory culture, assimilation and belonging. They have performed at the BHV45 series at the Parfümerie Frankfurt, the Darmstädter Ferienkurse, and the Bludenzer Tage Zeitgemäßer Musik.