Heterophony

CD Lithuanian Music in Context III. Experimental Ventures. - Vilnius, Lithuanian Music Information and Publishing Centre LMIPCCD071-072, 2013

In the beginning of the 1970s, cellist Iminas Kučinskas started experimenting with the sound of the acoustic cello by adding contact pickups and distortion effects. The new ‘electric’ cello sound became an instant attraction among the adventurous minded composers, such as Antanas Rekašius, Osvaldas Balakauskas, and some others in tow.

Balakauskas admitted that he was fascinated both by the amplified sonorities produced on this otherwise ‘lyric’ instrument, which could make it sound as brassy as the trombone, and the way this could intensify traditional playing techniques (such as strong pizzicato, col legno, diverse glissandi, etc.) and open up new possibilities to further modifications of sound. In the 1970s, he was also interested in creating an impression of large instrumental forces and rich textures by using but a small number of performers or solo instruments combined with the pre-recorded tracks (often featuring the same performers). Heterophony for solo cello and tape gives a perfect illustration of the composer’s interests and practices of the time.

Linas Paulauskis