Bend


The title of this piece refers mainly, but not exclusively, to the organization and tuning of the ensemble. There are two groups of strings instruments, surrounded by piano, bass clarinet, flute and percussion. One of the string groups is 'bent', which means that all the instruments in the group have strings tuned a quartertone higher than the rest of the ensemble. I used the computer program Open Music to incorporate the 'bent' tuning into the harmonic language of the piece, trying to reverse what we, the listeners, perceive as tuned and mistuned. Bend was finished in April 2003 and was premiered by the Contemporary Chamber Players, with Cliff Colnot, conductor.
Krzysztof Wolek



Full recording of the piece available on
CD Accord Music Edition ACD 188


First Performance:
May 26, 2003, Chicago, USA
Contempo - The University of Chicago
Contemporary Chamber Players
The University of Chicago's Mandel Hall
Pacifica Quartet, Eighth Blackbird
cond: Cliff Colnot