flut

ABOUT

This is the first joint composition by the Austrian composer/sound artist Bernhard Gál and the Slovenian-Bosnian composer/pianist Belma Bešlić-Gál, preceded by the concert projects Vortex and Void, and an artistic cooperation regarding the interdisciplinary art project Sterngucker. The act of composing is commonly regarded as a solipsistic activity, which more or less rules out the possibility of creative teamwork. This collaboration is an experiment where individual aptitudes, mannerisms and modes of operation, as well as specific conceptual and technical approaches at creating music are united under the umbrella of a mutual aesthetic perspective.

Audio recordings of sand are the prevailing source materials of the electro-acoustic part of flut, the first compositional collaboration of Belma Bešlić-Gál and Bernhard Gál. The envisioned relationship between the singular and the whole is already reflected in the nature of the used sound materials: For the human ear one single grain of sand remains largely inaudible – the polyphony of the mass is needed to obtain a perceivable sonic experience – the individual sound events of innumerable sand grains conflate into a single gestalt, the unanimous sound of sand.

At the same time, acoustic features of the bass flute and its unique playing techniques are understood as additional grains of sand, merging with the electro-acoustic sound projection. The objective is to create a consistent sonic experience composed of interwoven yet discrete elements.

flut came into being at the suggestion of the composer Hossam Mahmoud and has been premiered in conjunction with his project „Oud Plus“ at the Stift St. Peter in Salzburg in November 2011.

flut has been selected as Austria’s official contribution to the World New Music Days 2013.