four strings quartet (detail)

photo Mattie van der Worm

four strings quartet is a project in which a hand-made string quartet plays the leading role. The quartet is made out of four blocks of solid wood, all from the same tree. The sizes correspond to the sound bodies (klankkasten) of a traditional string quartet - a cello, a viola and two violins. The first step of modelling, carving the wood is recorded on 16mm film (prelude). In fact that is the first time that the instruments are being played.

The four resonating bodies are carved from tulip wood, and each instrument is carrying one string. The four instruments each make an autonomous sound. They are not interactive, they are active; fine-tuned in such a way that (with the right frequency generating the vibration of the string) they start to present themselves, making their own specific sound heard.