Watch: Dutch Harpist Gwyneth Wentink at UnBox Festival in Delhi This Week

Gwneth Wentink (center) during a performance of Canto Ostinato Audio Visual

Technology and music have never been a more exciting playground for artists. British artist Imogen Heap’s musical gloves wielding magic on stage is just one example. Internationally acclaimed harpist Gwyneth Wentink, who will perform at Unbox festival in Delhi, is another artist who has always been keen to experiment, often collaborating with scientists and architects in Netherland. Wentink has come up with a performance where her heartbeats trigger sound and visuals.  Titled Piece of Heart and Vibration (PoHV), the production has Wentink hooked up to a heart rate sensor. Says Wentik of PoHV, “It’s a great piece that builds up with minimal music direction.”

Two years ago, she began working with electronica composer Wouter Snoei and video artist Arnout Hulskamp.  Says Wentik, “Snoei and Hulskamp already had ideas and they both wrote their own software.” She will also perform her own version of contemporary classical Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt’s “Canto Ostinato,” at UnBox Festival, where she will combine arrangements on the harp, Snoei’s beats and Hulskamp’s visuals. The harpist, who has won several awards including the Dutch Music Award and the Israel Harp Competition, says of Holt’s composition, “The basic structure, the note that original composer wrote is already there, but he already wrote a lot of freedom in it. You can use a part and mix it with another. Then when you combine it with electronic music, you add another layer. You can play the notes in order, and it could take an hour, but there’s a lot of freedom so you could also play it for three days.”

Watch the stunning PoHV performance below:

Heart & Vibrations from Beer van Geer on Vimeo.

Watch a preview of Gwyneth Wentink’s rendition of “Canto Ostinato”

Gwyneth Wentink will perform at Lodi – the Garden Restaurant in New Delhi on December 13 as part of the Unbox Festival. Check here for full schedule. To register for the festival, click here.