Jennifer Allum, Ute Kanngiesser

Bell Tower Recordings is a set of three duos by violinist Jennifer Allum and cellist Ute Kanngiesser, two players from the London improvisation workshop run by Eddie Prévost. They recorded in St Augustine's Bell Tower in Hackney, in a different room of the tower for each piece. The building takes part: the bells chime in, a clock seems to tick and the street comes in from outside.

The session took place on 29 May 2012. Pendulum Case, about 15 minutes, has high, almost whistling tones circling a tonal centre in a slow, rhythmless dance, vibrating notes left floating until they thin into wisps supported by silence. Clock Room is shorter and weightier, the bows attacking with more force while staying fragile. The half-hour Bell Room is the core of the record, where traffic and a passing ambulance siren enter the music and are absorbed into it. When silence takes over, deep cello tones and very high violin notes settle into a mirrored, drone-like repetition full of unease. Both players work well beyond conventional technique. The Free Jazz Collective (2014) warned that the music may take time to get into, and judged the effort worth it.

Published by Matchless Recordings in 2013 as MRCD 90 (CD), recorded by Emanuele Costantini, mixed and edited by Sebastian Lexer, with a booklet note by Luke Pagarani.