André O. Möller & Hans Eberhard Maldfeld - In Memory of James Tenney (2015)

i never met james tenney personally.

in 2004, the year of his 70th birthday, tenney was invited to cologne by WDR to honor him. the man held a charming speech and showed an excerpt of his early electronic piece Collage #1 "blue suede", based upon elvis presley's version of carl perkins' song blue suede shoes.
afterwards we heard a beautiful performance of forms I - IV, four pieces for amplified ensemble, each of them dedicated to one of his teachers.

before and since then i listened to a lot of tenney's music, met and worked with quite a few students and colleagues of his.
therefore, it almost felt like a personal loss, when tenney died in 2006.
the man's spirit, though, is still around!


2006 i met double bass player hans eberhard maldfeld, when he was invited by antoine beuger to introduce the tromba marina to me and some other composers.
the tromba marina is a single stringed instrument played with a bow.
in addition to the open string one can play harmonics up to the 20th partial and maybe even higher.
the unusual construction of the bridge makes it possible to create sounds reminiscent of the sound of the trumpet or other brass instruments.

since 2003 hans eberhard maldfeld is committed to a renaissance of the instrument.
his explorative drive and his sheer dedication to sound and performance allow the instrument to reveal hitherto unknown qualities.
this dedication, which also led us to collaborate on a double bass piece, i find so compelling and inspiring.