Blooming (2025) - Live Performance

Blooming (2025) is a work for solo double bass and electronics. It imagines a photosynthesis cycle based upon a composer photograph of Norwegian flowers in summer. The work is structured around a video score featuring an animated version of the photograph and abstracted floral images, unfolding over three distinct photosynthetic cycles. In this work, the double bass is positioned as a flower, absorbing light, water and carbon dioxide, then releasing oxygen through sound. The performance incorporates live electronics and tactile transducers. The music is largely improvised, anchored by a series of recurring pre-determined motivic fragments that evolve throughout the work. These fragments are then expanded and transformed in response to the visual score, suggesting organic processes of growth, light, and transformation. Video: Angus KirbyPhotography: Helen SvobodaPerformance and Composition: Helen SvobodaFilmed and recorded live at APAX Warehouse (Melbourne), June 19th 2025