Rolf Borch: Contrabass Clarinet and Houvenaghel´s Organ

Field of study: Artistic Research (Clarinet)

In his artistic research project Rolf Borch asks two questions that he considers as the project’s main themes:

• How can he contribute to expanding knowledge and interest, nationally and internationally, around the contrabass clarinet?
• How will his work with the contrabass clarinet influence and enhance his identity as a clarinetist?

The project is divided in two close connected parts. One part is about Borch learning to play the contrabass clarinet, exploring its possibilities and commissioning, and performing new music. The other part is about a new awareness of the role as a clarinetist who play all clarinet instruments. Borch wanted to become a whole clarinetist with only main instruments.

To investigate how he as a clarinetist changed as he changed between the clarinets, he recorded himself rehearsing and talking about the same music on the four clarinets. Borch listened to the recorded material and notated what he said. Further on, he used the same method in experiments with the clarinet students at the University of Tromsø.

Documentation

Full title: Contrabass Clarinet and Houvenaghel´s Organ. Integrating a new member into the clarinet family - the Contrabass Clarinet.

Artistic Result

An artistic presentation in Levinsalen at The Norwegian Academy of Music, 17 April 2015 with the followlng programme:

• Knut Vaage: Shimmer
• Jon Øivind Ness: Løen
• Helmut Oehring: KontraMeere
• Gerard Grisey: Anubis Nout

Two CD-recordlngs:

• Lene Grenager's Contrabass Concerto, Smilodon. Bodø Sinfonietta. Aurora, spring 2015.
• Houvenaghel's Organ, with music by Frescobaldi, Bach and Max Reger. LabLabel, spring 2015.

Written documentation

The critical reflection includes comments on the studies and interpretation experiments and observations made during the whole period

The text is available in NMH’s digital archive Brage.