the unquiet grave: a dialogue for solo halldorophone

the unquiet grave: a dialogue is a reimagining of a traditional English folk song that takes advantage of the positive feedback loop created by the halldorophone.

The halldorophone is a cello-like electronic instrument with a loudspeaker built into the body and pick-up microphones affixed to each string:

‘A series of feedback loops are created by detecting the vibrations of each string via a dedicated pick-up and then sending the amplified signal, which is individually trimmable, to a speaker cone embedded in the back of the soundbox of the instrument.’ [from the BELA blog]

The Unquiet Grave (or Cold Blows the Wind) tells the story of a young woman bemoaning the death of her lover. After a year of mourning at his grave, he speaks to her, saying that she has disturbed his sleep. I instantly thought of this song when I was given the opportunity to write for the halldorophone due to its ability to “answer itself”, like a voice pushing through from an unseen, unreachable space.