Tape and Double

Have you ever tried to transfer a noise or a sound to a classical instrument? To imitate the sound of a grater on a violoncello or the swoosh of sandpaper on a piano? Try it! It is not about finding an exact match, but rather using the musical “gap” between the instruments as a creative potential. This little improvisation works best with two people, so that you can move from mere imitation into a kind of dialogue.
 
In the first minute of his piece Tape and Double, Ernst Krenek imitated the sound of a synthesizer on the piano, to then go on to a dialogue between the instruments. In 1967 he had Donald Buchla, one of the pioneers in the field of electronic sound production, build this synthesizer in order to delve into a new world of sound.
Buchla’s modular synthesizer is further proof that even the sixty-seven-year-old Krenek continued to conquer new musical areas. Krenek’s synthesizer today is located in the Ernst Krenek Forum and is played by numerous composers.