WERKE
4 Stücke für POLYTHEISTIC STRING TRIO EP (2021)
1. Warteschleifen#1
2. Warteschleifen#3.5
3. Westwärts
4. Ultramarin
E-Gitarre / Akustikgitarre
Violine
Violoncello
27’
Violine
Violoncello
27’
This EP features the String Section of the Polytheistic Ensemble with four new compositions by Matthias Ockert.
For an orchestral sound the trio's instruments were multiplied and recorded by overdubbing.
"Warteschleifen#1" [holding patterns] is based on musical material of the composition for Electric Guitar, Launchpad X and Electronics by Matthias Ockert, released on YouTube 2020.
"Warteschleifen#1" loops rhythmic patterns in a steady eighth note pulse. The loops are varied by permutations of tone sequences within the E minor pentatonic scale and by shifting accentuations and tone durations. I then developed the form and instrumentation for the Polytheistic String Trio based on the blues-based improvisations of the electric guitar and through rhythmic and harmonic reinterpretations of the monochrome loops.
"Warteschleifen#3.5" [holding patterns] is based on musical material of the composition for Electric Guitar, Launchpad X and Electronics by Matthias Ockert, released on YouTube 2021.
"Warteschleifen#3.5" refers to the passacaglia variation form of the baroque, but here in 5/8 time, created as two loops layered on top of each other. The first loop is a slow stepping basso ostinato. The second is a layer of pointillistically clouds of sound, five times faster, in the tonality of a melancholic minor. Melodies in unison, guitar improvisations, harmonization in step chords and instrumentation of the strings with percussive playing techniques stretch across the loop variations.
"Westwärts" [westward] was created based on the metallic sound of the western guitar. The harmony was derived from the fundamentals and overtones of long decaying open strings. I also composed complementary harmonies for the strings, which change the timbre of the acoustic guitar and amplify its physical sensory perception. The rhythms come from the fast strumming patterns that run throughout the composition and constantly revitalize it and push it forward with their explosive attack energies. The mostly improvised, distorted electric guitar part alternates with notated string parts.
"ultramarin" is based on a guitar picking pattern that I wrote as part of a jazz and literature project for the poem "Durchwachte Nacht" [sleeples night/vigil] by Anette von Droste-Hülshoff. Played here on nylon-string classical guitar, it forms a continuous ligament for an opening two-part melody by violin and cello, electric guitar improvisations over jazz rooted harmonies and diatonic linear ascending and descending bridge sections.
Matthias Ockert 2022
For an orchestral sound the trio's instruments were multiplied and recorded by overdubbing.
"Warteschleifen#1" [holding patterns] is based on musical material of the composition for Electric Guitar, Launchpad X and Electronics by Matthias Ockert, released on YouTube 2020.
"Warteschleifen#1" loops rhythmic patterns in a steady eighth note pulse. The loops are varied by permutations of tone sequences within the E minor pentatonic scale and by shifting accentuations and tone durations. I then developed the form and instrumentation for the Polytheistic String Trio based on the blues-based improvisations of the electric guitar and through rhythmic and harmonic reinterpretations of the monochrome loops.
"Warteschleifen#3.5" [holding patterns] is based on musical material of the composition for Electric Guitar, Launchpad X and Electronics by Matthias Ockert, released on YouTube 2021.
"Warteschleifen#3.5" refers to the passacaglia variation form of the baroque, but here in 5/8 time, created as two loops layered on top of each other. The first loop is a slow stepping basso ostinato. The second is a layer of pointillistically clouds of sound, five times faster, in the tonality of a melancholic minor. Melodies in unison, guitar improvisations, harmonization in step chords and instrumentation of the strings with percussive playing techniques stretch across the loop variations.
"Westwärts" [westward] was created based on the metallic sound of the western guitar. The harmony was derived from the fundamentals and overtones of long decaying open strings. I also composed complementary harmonies for the strings, which change the timbre of the acoustic guitar and amplify its physical sensory perception. The rhythms come from the fast strumming patterns that run throughout the composition and constantly revitalize it and push it forward with their explosive attack energies. The mostly improvised, distorted electric guitar part alternates with notated string parts.
"ultramarin" is based on a guitar picking pattern that I wrote as part of a jazz and literature project for the poem "Durchwachte Nacht" [sleeples night/vigil] by Anette von Droste-Hülshoff. Played here on nylon-string classical guitar, it forms a continuous ligament for an opening two-part melody by violin and cello, electric guitar improvisations over jazz rooted harmonies and diatonic linear ascending and descending bridge sections.
Matthias Ockert 2022
This project is funded by a grant of Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg, Germany