Score da Tura on the Fly and Other Great Moments in String Instrument Improvisation

Gunda Gottschalk played Baltimore's Red Room last night, giving my ears a chance to drink in some fantastic improvisation for string instruments.

Her second piece of the evening completely won me over as she executed a beautiful and dynamic score da tura (the re-tuning of the open strings) on the viola as she bowed rapid strokes back and forth across all four strings. The range of intervals and odd tunings were fantastic, and as the string tension diminished the instrument timbre dissolved into an unusual shade of viola reaching for frequencies far below its capability. One of the advantages of unaccompanied solo improvisation is the freedom to abandon any pre-determined (or default) intonation schemes.

Another quality of Gunda Gottschalk's playing that I admire is the range of contrast she works with and the exhilarating transition from one extreme to another. Her first piece began with a restrained exploration of extended techniques con sordina (with the mute on at the bridge) as she worked within a confined space of quiet sounds bowed at various proximities to the instruments' bridge and neck with occasional pianissimo col legno (bouncing the wooden part of the bow on the strings) and some vocalizations that organically flowed into the overall sound. Over the course of the piece she began to open up into some louder, more aggressive territory that gave the listening experience a nice formal shape as the contrasting parts allowed several details to emerge with striking clarity.

For the second half of her set she performed some improvised duos with Audrey Chen on cello/electronics/voice. Chen's playing and vocalizations were well matched as the two filled the air with some rich drone textures. Chen even did a little de-tuning on the fly as well as she twisted the peg of the lowest string while bowing it - allowing the lowest tones to sink a little lower. And bringing even more contrast to the sonic qualities of the evening, Gunda Gottschalk even began playing some straight melodic lines over the top of this thick, droning texture. These were well placed and provided a welcome focal point.