A piece in two movements by Giacinto Scelsi for flute & clarinet Bb.
The instruments blend into a single, flowing, ecstatic ribbon of red noise. The articulations cause brief ripples in the surface illusion, but the perceived unity of the sounds is so strong that it’s easier to believe that the sound is flowing from a single instrument than from a duo. It’s those decorative, poetic nuancings of the sound that are the true life of the piece, the focus of the listener’s interest, guided by Scelsi’s intuitive inner rhythm. Quarter-tone glissandi, quarter-tones, stunning multiphonics on the clarinet, and detailed demands on the specifics of technique, such as the width of the vibrato and subtle, dynamic cross-hatchings, obsessively turn the timbres over and over in constant change as objects of contemplation.

Giacinto Scelsi – Ko-Lho, for flute & clarinet Bb (1966)