Please note: this event has been postponed – a new date will be announced at the appropriate time.

Robert Bentall’s Reimagining The Nyckelharpa is be the first UK project seeking to show how contemporary performance techniques can be applied to this beautiful, ancient instrument.

Extended techniques, rooted in 20th century avant-garde music theory and practice, have not to date been applied to nyckelharpa performance. This is necessary, as despite its archaic nature, the instrument possesses great potential for sound production through these methods due to its percussive key rows, low string tension, idiosyncratic tuning system and profound resonance.

Rob Bentall is a composer/performer working with electronic sound and live instruments. His work, which has been presented worldwide from Jakarta to Doncaster, hybridise ambient, folk, dance, and experimental styles. New works for nyckelharpa and electronics are very novel, and are only preceded by his existing work Telian (2016) for this combination.