Description
"Heart Solo is the first composition I ever made and is probably the most personal a piece can get since it contains my literal heartbeat. My live heartbeat is combined with a melancholic melody played on top of it. The melody is inspired by music pieces that I was touched by throughout my life.
It is not that difficult, with the right equipment, to amplify a heartbeat, but toamplify a heartbeat while playing proved to be a challenge. After years of trial and error I have developed a way to play the bassoon while my heartbeat can be heard live. During this process I found out that while playing the bassoon the heart rate is influenced by the pressure that is being put on the body while blowing into the instrument. The change in pressure results in an interesting effect when after an increase in heartrate it is almost as if the heart skips a beat, which is very audible in the piece. This is a phenomenon that can also be found when performing a so called “Valsalva manoeuvre” which is used to assess heart function or treat certain heart arrythmias."
— Thomas Dulfer
