"...if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you" (Nieztsche)

In this concert, I dive into the abyss of sounds and possibilities of the contemporary double bass, with deeply personal works by composers Øyvind Mæland, Idin Samimi Mofakham, Edvin Østergaard and Jan Martin Smørdal.

The concert repertoire differ slightly from the album release, since I instead of Mofakham’s work for 4 basses and electronics play the solo piece "The Sky Fell Before the Dawn".

The music is multifaceted and portrays a wide range of expressions: from Mæland’s almost impressionistic interlude (originally composed as a cello solo in his opera Ad undas – Solaris korrigert), via a lullaby composed by Mofakham, written not so soothe, but to mourn, and Østergaard’s contemplations and outbursts into the bass’ A-string and its (many) partials, to Smørdal’s short and delicate tableaus where he is searching for a complexity in sounds through the presence of the performer.

Øyvind Mæland - KOMMEN du vid meg?

Version for solo double bass (2012/2021)

In the middle of my sci-fi-opera Ad undas - Solaris korrigert (2013), there is a scene suddenly without any words or singing. Struggling with communication, the Operator has tried, clumsily, to comfort Shiri with a dream of "FOR all tiim onli travel out" – out in space! "VULD the lonli in uss disappear then?". When they sing "KOMMEN du vid meg?”, a long cello solo has barely begun. A darker - in several meanings of the word - version of this solo was made for Håkon Thelin and his double bass in 2021.

Idin Samimi Mofakham - The Sky Fell Before The Dawn

For double bass (2025)

The Sky Fell Before The Dawn is a lullaby written not to sooth, but to mourn. Dedicated to the memory of children killed in war and genocide - especially in Gaza - the piece transforms the universal gesture of cradle song into a fragile lament. 

Edvin Østergaard - Into A

Overtone music for double bass (2019)

Into A is based on the fundamental tone A on the double bass. By dwelling on this one tone, its multiphonics and harmonic partials are slowly revealed. The piece combines simplicity with the highest form of complexity, and I am intrigued by the idea that articulation of rich sound and attentive listening are related skills. Håkon Thelin’s artistic research and his development of new techniques form a decisive basis for the composition.

Jan Martin Smørdal - 3 instances

For double bass (2021)

In these tableaus I embrace simplicity, searching for a complexity in sounds through the presence of the performer. The 3 parts of the piece are situations in which the (impressive) "trying to" of the performer becomes part of the piece. The last part is an adaptation of my modular miniature collection SHO(r)TS.

Download program text (PDF): Norsk

Download tech rider (PDF): Norsk / English

Link to pictures