![](\"\/helen\/blog\/images\/daily_4\/3553_concert.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
I have an extra concert series this year, very much as an experiment – “Ny fredag”, Fridays with new music. I am cautiously intrigued. One of the four concerts in the series promised didgeridoos. Today’s concert was not that one, but KammarensembleN playing “Schnee (10 canons)” by Hans Abrahamsen.<\/p>\n
It was… interesting. I can’t honestly say that I liked it, and I will not be listening to it at home, or seeking out more concerts of this composer. But it never felt boring while I was listening.<\/p>\n
The musicians got sounds out of their instruments that I never would have imagined. The first part starts with the violins playing a note so high that it sounds like just the bow against the string, a soft whisper that was probably inaudible past the very frontmost rows of seats. Later, the cello makes long wailing sounds, and the piccolo flute likewise sounds barely like music. <\/p>\n
The percussionist’s main instruments were two sheets of paper, one in each hand, that he rhythmically pushed around on a flat table, with great focus. While the violinists were preparing by tuning their instruments, he prepared by donning gloves with rubberized fingertips. He had two sets of paper, even, and I suspect the other pair may have been sandpaper, because during the latter part of the piece, his movements were sending up little puffs of dust. <\/p>\n
The gong behind the percussionist was hit exactly once.<\/p>\n