1982 (open)
Electroinstrumental music

For harp solo, Tölzer gabel, scale, glass percussion, electronics and 8 magnetic fields

My composition “Glasharfe” is about strings. I not only introduce the primary acoustic characteristics of the string, e.g. overtone series, amplitude ratios, but also make use of various playing techniques. The use of the instrumentarium in “Glasharfe” presents three cultural idioms. The scale and “Tölzer Gabel”, which were built by the visual artist Thomas Rother, are natural instruments, built without mechanical materials. A return to the natural tone, to the origin of music is obvious. The harp, a rococo instrument, embodies the world of the court, the aristocracy. This instrument is established in the conventional orchestra apparatus.
The computer, the machine symbolizes our present technical age, the age of automatic processes and logical thinking. In my composition I have tried to interpret these three worlds, both in terms of notation and content. In “Glasharfe” they are not mutually exclusive or fighting each other. They stand opposite each other in the field of tension of sound.