General
The Schreck - Ensemble was founded in 1989 - it will exist for 14 years in 2004 - and performed many compositions amongst there were many written especially for the ensemble.
The Schreck - Ensemble is mainly pre-occupied with the so-called "electro-acoustic music". Which one can describe as: music that is played with traditional (acoustic) instruments (voice also) in combination with electronic and computer equipment.
Through the years the ensemble has built a repertoire of electro-acoustic works made up with the compositions of a.o. Luigi Nono, Kaija Saariaho, John Cage, Jean-Claude Risset, Ton de Leeuw, Chiel Meyering and of course works by Arie van Schutterhoef and Hans van Eck, the founders of the ensemble.
Many of these works are examples of the traditional avant-garde. The foundation, of which the ensemble is part, has given many commisions to composers such as Arthur Sauer, Gene Carl, Gerda Geertens, Jeremy Arden, Michael Chocholak en Makoto Shinohara to write electro-acoustic music works.
Part of the repertoire is also "The Day". It is the result of a collaboration between the Schreck - Ensemble and the sound artist Hans van Koolwijk, featuring his instrument "Bambuso Sonore".
Besides this, the ensemble also performs multi-media works. Untill now these were "Aquae Supracoelestes" for tape and video-projection and "Nuctemeron" for ensemble, tape and video-projection.
Software
Many pieces on the repertoire of the Schreck - Ensemble can only be played if the required computer programs are available. Schreck is the only organisation in the Netherlands that is capable of writing these programs, when this might be necessary.
Schreck develops software for the realization of sound effects that composers have in their mind (for instance: a composer imagines all kinds of additions to the sound of traditional instruments, like a reverberation of a violin tone that changes rapidly of timbre. Such an effect does not exist, but Schreck can program this according to the wishes of the composer.) Sometimes new effects are demanded, at other times it requires the recreation of possibilities of equipment that does not exist anymore.
In this way the classical pieces of Nono 'La Lontananza Nostalgica Utopica Futura' en 'A Pierre dell' azurro silenzio, inquietum' were only performed in the Netherlands by the Schreck-Ensemble, because the Schreck -Ensemble has the ability to replace the old electronic equipment with its own written musical software (based on the these possibilities).
Also software is written to make the connection between the acoustic instruments and the computer and extent this relationship . A prime example of this kind of software is the development by Schreck of the score-follower ComParser. This program knows and recognizes the music. It ascertains which part of the music is being played and can send accordingly signals to computers of other equipment. These signals order all kind of actions (sounds, sound-processing) at the right moment. ComParser follows the tempo of the musician. Interest for ComParser has been shown by the French institute for music research IRCAM.
Momentarilly ComParser runs on different types of computers, using MacOS, Irix and Linux. For the insiders: ComParser is not a "pitch-follower", but a "spectrum-follower".
Other software developed by Schreck is intended to let the Schreck-Instruments work better. See also schreck workstations.
Instruments
Untill now three instruments have been designed by the Schreck-Ensemble: the Stratifier, the BasBox and the Pulsor. The Stratifier is a small instrument (10 x 30 x 40 cm), with 12 touch sensitive control-surfaces, that has to be played by a musician and sends control signals to all kinds of equipment. It was built according to the wishes of one of the members of the Schreck - Ensemble and used during many performances.
The BasBox is an acoustic instrument. The sound of this is instrument is based on the overblowing of two flutes, who get their air from a fast moving large bass-speaker. Having its own distinctive sound, with many (over)tones, it does not in any way resemble that of a flute, but rather that of a wooden percussion instrument. The advantage of this instrument is not only the unique sound, there is also the precision by which it can be controlled. This is done by means of sounds recorded on cd. The instrument is being used in the composition "The Day".
The Pulsor is still under development. With this instrument it is possible to play the BasBox live and one is able to control the cone of the bass-speaker much better than with the pre-recorded sounds. The Pulsor also enables the BasBox to be played with the Stratifier. A composition that uses the Pulsor is in progress.
Playlist
The Schreck - Ensemble performed for the first time in 1989 in the then renowned art-centre Apollohuis in Eindhoven, exclusively with works by Arie van Schutterhoef and Hans van Eck. Since then works by other composers have been performed. Several composers approached the Schreck Ensemble for its speciality and requested for the performance of their work, which was done regularly.
As such the Schreck - Ensemble has performed in major venues for contemporary music in the Netherlands and abroad.
Venues
Since 1989 it played in the already mentioned Apollohuis - Eindhoven, the Music Centre Vredenburg - Utrecht, the Grote Kerk - Groningen, Dodorama - Rotterdam, the Ruïne Kerk - Bergen-NH, Theater Frascati - Amsterdam, Music Centre Frits Philips - Eindhoven, Theater Kikker - Utrecht and Theatre Provadja - Alkmaar.
Regular Appearences
Specifically mentioning also of course deserves the performances by the Schreck - Ensemble of works by Jean-Claude Risset, Kaija Saariaho, Michael Chocholak, Hans van Eck, Ton de Leeuw and Jeremy Arden in Music Centre the IJsbreker, Amsterdam; another important place is the Stedelijk Museum for Modern Art, Amsterdam, where compositions by Van Eck, Michael Chocholak, Van Vught, Van Schutterhoef, Saariaho, Meyering, Risset, Karpen, Banasik, Steward, Dinescu, Pijnenburg and Frey were played; certainly not less significant is that of appearing in the Music Centre, 's Hertogenbosch, with music a.o. by Luigi Nono, Kaija Saariaho and Ton de Leeuw.
Institutes
The Schreck - Ensemble also collaborated with many institutes and organisation inside and outside the Netherlands: European Network (Foundation Gaudeamus/Associazone Nuove Sincronie-Milan, Italy); studio's for electronic music STEIM and CEM in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; tART (technology and art) -organisation of the University Twente, Enschede, the Netherlands;; Danish Institute for Electro-acoustic Music (DIEM) - Aarhus, Denmark and the Centro Ricerche Musicali - Roma, Italy.
Ascolta
The by the Fonds voor de Podiumkunsten subsidized project 'Ascolta', based around the electro-acoustic music of Luigi Nono, brought the ensemble to different locations in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Abroad
Other countries where the Schreck Ensemble appeared were: Germany, particulary in Essen (Kunsthaus Essen) and Lüneburg (Glockenhaus); Spain, Granada (Teatro Alhambra) and Sevilla (Teatro Central); Italy, Rome (Goethe-Institute) and Sassari (Teatro Il Ferroviario); Belgium, Gent (Logos' tetraeter-hall) and in Denmark, Aarhus (Musikhuset).
Festivals
The Schreck - Ensemble played at several festivals: November Music Festival in Den Bosch and Gent, Distronics Festival in Eindhoven, festival 'Sounds imagined, Images sonified' near Castle Eijsden, Limburg, Touch Festival Amsterdam, organised by STEIM.
Abroad the ensemble was invited to be the 'ensemble in residence' during the Studienwoche fr Neue Musik in Lneburg (Germany), to which it later returned to be in the Festival für Neue Musik that is connected to it; Schreck played at MIX01 Festival in Aarhus (Denmark); at the Festival 'Musica Scienza, Teatro dell' Ascolto' in Rome (Italy); on invitation of the cultural board of the regional government of Andaluca, Schreck participated in the Contemporary Music Concert Series in Theatro Central in Sevilla and during the XIV Contemporary Music Days in Teatro Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Radio
Radio broadcasts about and with the Schreck - Ensemble were transmitted by the Dutch broadcasting companies KRO, the VPRO and the Concertzender. Outside the Netherlands there were similar programs in Australia (Difficult Listening), Russia and Denmark.
Videoworks
The video-work made by Schreck was shown during the '7th International Festival of New Film', Split-Croatia in the new media section; at the Sas International Award 2003 festival in Catania, Italy - organised by the United Nations - in the category Digital Wave for experimental movies and video-art; and selected for the "Slowtime? .... Quicktime as an artistic medium", as example for streaming media. organised by Agricola de Cologne experimental platform for internet art.
Responses to the concerts
The performances of the Schreck - Ensemble have always been well received; by the audiences who were always being very interested and listened with great concentration; by the editors and programmers of concert-venues and makers of radio-programs, who were always inviting Schreck to appear again.
Also the press was very positive about Schreck; concerts never received any negative reviews. Quite the opposite, praise was given, for instance, by Emile Wennekes -now professor Musicology University of Utrecht- in NRC Handelsblad:
...When this composition was performed during the Holland Festival '92 in the Beurs van Berlage by Kremer himself, it made a huge impression. In a small intimate space like the Synagogue in Den Bosch nothing of the intense suspense is lost...
...The music of Nono demands the utmost concentration of the musicians and a good sense of timing in a slow dramatic rhythm. The members of the Schreck-ensemble are handling this very well...
...also because of the exemplary way the technicians of the Schreck -ensemble play along with the music behind their mixing desks...
Or reviewer and new music connaisseur Rene van Peer in Brabants Dagblad:
...an impressive concert by the Schreck Ensemble...dedicated to Nono...
The enthusiastic reaction Serge Tikhanoff, the editior and producer of Radio Penguin in Novosibirsk, Russia:
...We were glad and proud for such splendid, exceptional interesting works! For us and for our audience it was only one chance to discover creation of such bright artists as Schreck, touch such highest culture and mastery. Thank You for joy of dealings with Music and Creation! ...