Distorted Reality is a constant phenomenon in the microtonal world of Ensemble SCALA. The music in this programme varies enormously: from post-minimal (Bill Alves), through uncompromisingly Oriental (Giacinto Scelsi), to angular and precise (Joke Kegel). And, of course, not to be forgotten are the gliding spectral sounds in the new work Distorted Reality by Danny de Graan, after which the concert takes its title. What unites all these works is that they hover within microscopically small intervals, far removed from the familiar classical keys. Every melody and every harmony is transformed under the pressure of the prism of microtonality into a delicate rainbow of colour and sound that invites a new way of listening.
Ensemble SCALA was founded on the initiative of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, which also owns the 31-tone organ in the Kleine Zaal. This microtonal organ forms part of the ensemble’s instrumentation, which further includes flute, clarinet, viola, 31-tone guitar, percussion, and keyboards – including the Carrillo piano in its mysteriously resonant 96-tone tuning.