Basilisk

For expanded violin

Duration: c. 5'

Conceived June 2023

World Premiere: Performed on 1 July 2023 by Nattakon Lertwattanaruk at the Princess Galyani Vadhana Institute of Music

For performance inquiries please contact lertwatt.pun@gmail.com

Basilisk is an open and improvised performance and must be worked through with the composer before any programming.

Program note:

In this performance, I explore sibilance and other sounds inspired by snakes through the expansion of the violin. The violin is treated as an organism that breathes, rattles, hisses, and weaves through different surfaces, resulting in friction. As the player breathes through the straw connected to the violin's F-hole, the hissing is produced without much conscious action. Thin strips of paper are attached to the strings and bow, allowing the player to mimic the movement of a snake by creating friction between the two.