Bertrand Denzler: Low Strings
by Beliah / Heilbron / Majkowski / Shirley
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Low Strings 4
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Low Strings 3
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credits
released February 8, 2023
Bertrand Denzler: composer
Sébastien Beliah: double bass
Jon Heilbron: double bass
Mike Majkowski: double bass
Derek Shirley: double bass
Recorded by Sébastien Beliah ar Ausland, Berlin, 24 March 2022
Rights administration: SUISA
Photography by Benjamin Denzler
Design by Matthew Brandi
Produced by Mark Wastell
"The guttural groan and growl of these strings sustain for the duration and from them comes a catalog, a menagerie of harmonic interaction. Hoot owl beats. Wind buffeting. Singing sirens. Doppler whirr. War drum thrums. Turning motors. Celestial wobbles. A turbulent flood of musical movement from what seems minimal manual motion. But the subtle variation of bowing action still audibly tethers itself to the behaviors of beatings. The relatively stable periodicity of players sounding in tandem or the volatile excitation of broken, offset overlapping relationships. The sense of harmonic expansion with increasing volume under greater pressures. The rolling undulations of slower bowing and frenetic vibrations of quicker action. Sometimes multiple beatings appear simultaneously, rippling through one another as in a pool of reflection and interference. Low waves slow the others down; high ones send a swiftness through them. Composed around the same time as the suite of bass explorations for Félicie Bazelaire, Basse seule, of which the shared continuousness of sounding conveys a kind of systematic searching of harmonic possibilities, with changes made more apparent in their proximity, compared to the more free yet disorienting expressivity - and deeper timbral palette - of the cellular structures and silences of developments like the Arc series for CoÔ." (Keith Prosk, Harmonic Series)
"Few instrumental combinations have as much sheer sonic power as a double bass choir. The massing of low-register string voices has a particularly dramatic multiplier effect that hits bodily, producing sounds grasped as much viscerally as aurally. Composer Bertrand Denzler’s appropriately titled Low Strings leverages this formidable force in the guise of a double bass quartet, here consisting of Sébastien Beliah, Jon Heilbron, Mike Majkowski, and Derek Shirley. The composition, two versions of which appear on the album, does indeed exploit the multiplier effect of having several double basses playing long-duration tones within a tightly bound range anchored at the bottom of the instrument’s compass. Think darkly dense, dissonant harmonies and unstable sound masses thrown off by the clash of overtones, like the crashing and grinding of tectonic plates in motion deep underground." (Daniel Barbiero, Avant Music News)
Low Strings, written in 2016 for Sébastien Beliah to be performed with three other double bassists, is the latest missive from Denzler’s body of compositions. The two pieces here quaver and rumble at the bottom registers of the instruments as long arco tones resonate against each other. Execution of compositions like this rely on the patience, attention to sonic detail, and carefully attuned listening of the performers, and this exemplary ensemble was sagely assembled. Beliah, Jon Helibron, Mike Majowski, and Derek Shirley all have extensive experience with these sorts of contemplative pieces in both improvisational and composed contexts. But the opportunity to hear four masters like this massed together is rare. The music sits with a resolute placidity as the microtonalities and overtones accrue. One sometimes hears music like this for overlapping sine tones, but the acoustic resonances of the double bass along with the variegated sonorities resulting from slow arco playing result in a far richer intonations and inflections. This is not music that progresses in any traditional sense of the word, yet it is hardly static in the way that the sounds evolve and play off of each other. While the 20-minute readings of “Low Strings 4” and “Low Strings 3” don’t differ widely from each other, the programming of the two creates a contemplative listening experience, allowing one to be fully immersed in the engulfing sonic space. Beliah did a phenomenal job, effectively capturing the nuanced performances. Listening on a decent set of speakers is strongly recommended. (Michael Rosenstein, Point of Departure).
Bertrand Denzler: composer
Sébastien Beliah: double bass
Jon Heilbron: double bass
Mike Majkowski: double bass
Derek Shirley: double bass
Recorded by Sébastien Beliah ar Ausland, Berlin, 24 March 2022
Rights administration: SUISA
Photography by Benjamin Denzler
Design by Matthew Brandi
Produced by Mark Wastell
"The guttural groan and growl of these strings sustain for the duration and from them comes a catalog, a menagerie of harmonic interaction. Hoot owl beats. Wind buffeting. Singing sirens. Doppler whirr. War drum thrums. Turning motors. Celestial wobbles. A turbulent flood of musical movement from what seems minimal manual motion. But the subtle variation of bowing action still audibly tethers itself to the behaviors of beatings. The relatively stable periodicity of players sounding in tandem or the volatile excitation of broken, offset overlapping relationships. The sense of harmonic expansion with increasing volume under greater pressures. The rolling undulations of slower bowing and frenetic vibrations of quicker action. Sometimes multiple beatings appear simultaneously, rippling through one another as in a pool of reflection and interference. Low waves slow the others down; high ones send a swiftness through them. Composed around the same time as the suite of bass explorations for Félicie Bazelaire, Basse seule, of which the shared continuousness of sounding conveys a kind of systematic searching of harmonic possibilities, with changes made more apparent in their proximity, compared to the more free yet disorienting expressivity - and deeper timbral palette - of the cellular structures and silences of developments like the Arc series for CoÔ." (Keith Prosk, Harmonic Series)
"Few instrumental combinations have as much sheer sonic power as a double bass choir. The massing of low-register string voices has a particularly dramatic multiplier effect that hits bodily, producing sounds grasped as much viscerally as aurally. Composer Bertrand Denzler’s appropriately titled Low Strings leverages this formidable force in the guise of a double bass quartet, here consisting of Sébastien Beliah, Jon Heilbron, Mike Majkowski, and Derek Shirley. The composition, two versions of which appear on the album, does indeed exploit the multiplier effect of having several double basses playing long-duration tones within a tightly bound range anchored at the bottom of the instrument’s compass. Think darkly dense, dissonant harmonies and unstable sound masses thrown off by the clash of overtones, like the crashing and grinding of tectonic plates in motion deep underground." (Daniel Barbiero, Avant Music News)
Low Strings, written in 2016 for Sébastien Beliah to be performed with three other double bassists, is the latest missive from Denzler’s body of compositions. The two pieces here quaver and rumble at the bottom registers of the instruments as long arco tones resonate against each other. Execution of compositions like this rely on the patience, attention to sonic detail, and carefully attuned listening of the performers, and this exemplary ensemble was sagely assembled. Beliah, Jon Helibron, Mike Majowski, and Derek Shirley all have extensive experience with these sorts of contemplative pieces in both improvisational and composed contexts. But the opportunity to hear four masters like this massed together is rare. The music sits with a resolute placidity as the microtonalities and overtones accrue. One sometimes hears music like this for overlapping sine tones, but the acoustic resonances of the double bass along with the variegated sonorities resulting from slow arco playing result in a far richer intonations and inflections. This is not music that progresses in any traditional sense of the word, yet it is hardly static in the way that the sounds evolve and play off of each other. While the 20-minute readings of “Low Strings 4” and “Low Strings 3” don’t differ widely from each other, the programming of the two creates a contemplative listening experience, allowing one to be fully immersed in the engulfing sonic space. Beliah did a phenomenal job, effectively capturing the nuanced performances. Listening on a decent set of speakers is strongly recommended. (Michael Rosenstein, Point of Departure).
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