hands, drum - three bones is a work for flute(s), clarinet(s), violin, cello, electric guitar, electronics, video and audience participation. The musicians and loudspeakers are positioned around the audience, who find themselves at the centre of an immersive sound space. On a video screen, visual instructions are projected inviting the audience to physically interact with the sound: turn one ear forward, the other back, cover one ear or alternate the two. Each spectator becomes the interpreter of his or her own version, actively modulating the sounds perceived. The work highlights the active musicality of the human body. The ear is not a simple receiver: it produces its own internal sounds through the bones and eardrum, which can be influenced by simple gestures. This 'plugging of the ears' becomes a structuring musical act. The textures and frequencies chosen for the composition are designed to interact with these gestures: some are particularly suited to listening through the hands. The instrumental rhythms themselves interact closely with the sometimes rhythmic sequences in the video. An intimate counterpoint is thus created in each head, between the spatialised music of the ensemble and that perceived in the individual auditory cavities. hands, drum - three bones is a work that exists only through the bodily engagement of those who listen to it.
