• vn, vc, pf
  • 11 min 30 s

Programme Note

Composer note:
Bulb was commissioned by the Fidelio Trio with funds provided by the Arts Council of Ireland. It takes as its basis the overtone series built on a very low G, and it grows outwards from a small band of these overtones by means of pulsing glissandi (in the violin and cello). Well in fact these pulsing glissandi are for the most part made of two notes (one moving, the other providing a reference drone by its repetitions). By the end, the violin and piano have swapped registral places. It’s an artificial vandalism of a natural phenomenon (the overtone series), like the way electric lighting is of the visual spectrum, or the paintings of Bridget Riley are of various natural perceptions.

— Donnacha Dennehy

Media

Performed by pianist Vicky Chow, cellist Ashley Bathgate and violinist Todd Reynolds.

Scores

Reviews

The pianist Eric Huebner was arresting…pulsing away with the machine-like rhythms of “Bulb,” a piano trio by Donnacha Dennehy.
Seth Colter Walls, The New York Times
31st January 2019
In Bulb minimalist rhythmic patterns pull wavelike movements, which are repeated over and over. But it is not monotonous. The repetitions come alive as only single notes sound, which then unfold in incredibly complex ways, brilliant in its various overtones.
Isabelle Wiltgen , Reutlinger General-Anzeiger
16th August 2016

Discography

Bulb

Bulb
  • Label
    NMC Records
  • Catalogue Number
    NMC D147
  • Ensemble
    Fidelio Trio
  • Released
    4th February 2008