Theme

American composer and contrabassist Arnold Dreyblatt developed a truly magical formula for his instrument. He replaced the gut strings of his contrabass with piano strings and created an entirely new instrument that way. Hitting or bowing the piano strings with the bow creates a wide range of overtones with acoustic feedback and harmonic surprises.

Dreyblatt, born in 1953, belongs to the second generation of American minimalists. He worked with Alvin Lucier and Pauline Oliveros, among others, and was the assistant of La Monte Young for a while. Since 1984, Dreyblatt lives and works in Berlin, where he founded his Orchestra of Excited Strings. In this ensemble, Dreyblatt combines his Excited String Bass with other pure-tuned instruments, such as an adapted pianoforte, violin and percussion.

Dreyblatt employs a direct, rock-related tonal language. His minimalist ensemble music swings and he consequently enjoys collaborating with musicians from the pop-rock scene. In addition, Dreyblatt composes music for ensembles, organs and string orchestras.

In this episode of Theme you will hear a concise overview of Dreyblatt’s work. Many pieces by The Orchestra of Excited Strings will be heard, as well as compositions for the Irish Crash Ensemble and the American psychedelic folk band Megafaun, among others.

Playlist

Arnold Dreyblatt

1. ‘Nodal Excitation (Solo)’ for Excited String Bass (1979), on Arnold Dreyblatt – The Sound of One String. Arnold Dreyblatt (excited string bass) Table of the Elements Ru 44 CD
2. ‘March of the Nodes in Formation’ (1981), for ensemble, on Arnold Dreyblatt – The Sound of One String. Arnold Dreyblatt and The Orchestra of Excited Strings Table of the Elements Ru 44 CD
3. + 4. ‘Harmonics’ + ‘Odd & Even’ (1986), for ensemble, on Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings – Propellers in Love. Arnold Dreyblatt and The Orchestra of Excited Strings. Hat Hut Records. Hat Art 6011 CD

5. ‘Group Velocity’ (1993), forensemble, on Arnold Dreyblatt & The Orchestra of Excited Strings – Animal Magnetism. Arnold Dreyblatt and The Orchestra of Excited Strings. Tzadik TZ 7004  CD
6. ‘Music for Small String Orchestra’ (1988), for string orchestra, on Arnold Dreyblatt – The Sound of One String. Adhoc ensemble conducted by Arnold Dreyblatt ( in collaboration with Stichting Prime Groningen)  Table of the Elements Ru 44 CD CD
7. + 8. ‘International Dateline’ + ‘Lapse’ (2001), for ensemble, on The Orchestra of Excited Strings (members Bang on a Can All-Stars) – The Adding Machine. Bang on a Can All-Stars. Canteloupe CA21006 CD

11. + 10. ‘Home Hat Placement’ + ‘Edge Observation’ (2012), for ensemble, on Arnold Dreyblatt & Megafaun – Appalachian Excitation. Northern Spy Records. NSCD044 CD
12. ‘Resonant Relations’ (2005), for ensemble, on Arnold Dreyblatt – Resonant Relations. Crash Ensemble. Cantaloupe CA21046 CD