ECM Records EBERHARD WEBER - PENDULUM CD

Solo pieces for single instruments are actually not my favorite music. I have always preferred orchestral sounds. Strangely enough, I came across the double bass, of all things, that awkward instrument which, according to conventional understanding, can produce only dark, low tones.

Obviously the first thing was to drag the instrument itself out of that murky cellar; to make it as easy to play as possible so it could serve as a solo instrument. What I had in mind could not be achieved with the double bass: an instrument had to be developed, a 'special bass', whose sound-palette (and playability) would make all kinds of new music possible. With the new instrument I developed a new compositional style; a process that was not always without its problems. The much touted emancipation of the bass frequently nullified the instrument's traditional subservient function in the ensemble.