|
The Uncello was created for the chamber
opera Plasm
over ocean in 1977, premiered by the Dashuki Music Theatre at
the World
Trade Center on June 19. It was featured in New Jersey Monthly
magazine and on New Jersey Public Television.
The instrument was
built of rock maple with standard cello strings and bridge, and
a glass bowl as a resonator. It was tuned with harpsichord pegs
at the top of its high arc, and the tailpiece was made of plexiglas.
The entire instrument, except for the arc, was bolted together and
could be taken apart for travel and storage. The Uncello was still
quiet, and for public performances of the opera, it was amplified
with a contact microphone on the bridge. The sound was very reedy,
more like a gamba than a cello, but the resonance was just plain
strange. |
