Atlas Soloists: daegum and koushnai

The Atlas Ensemble's second residency at Oranjewoud Festival will take place from May 24 to June 2, 2024. This culminates in the premiere of the second of a series of new compositions Joël Bons is writing for Oranjewoud Festival. Leading up to this special performance on June 2, you can get acquainted with a number of instruments from Asia and the Middle East that make up the Atlas Ensemble. In this concert, top musicians will sound on the Korean daegum and the Uzbek koushnai.

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Daegum
The daegeum is a large bamboo flute that dates back to seventh-century Silla. It is one of three flutes, the large daegeum, the medium-sized junggeum and the small sogeum. The daegeum has one blowhole, six finger holes and an additional opening covered by a thin membrane. The instrument produces a distinctive buzzing sound that is both refined and gentle.

Koushnai
The koushnai is a reed wind instrument made of two coupled bamboo pipes twenty centimeters long. The koushnai has a very distinct sound: due to the use of two bamboo stems, there is a microtonal vibration between the two notes. The range is d1-c3 (d3). The koushnai is not a virtuoso instrument like the flute. The technique is akin to that of the duduk.