DeutschIncense of Music 60
The Clarinet Trio
A multisensory concert – Friday, 7 February 2025, 8 pm
Incense: Okoumé Resin, Siberian Pine Resin
PANDA Platforma in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin
We are thrilled to present the Clarinet Trio as part of the Incense of Music concert series. For over 25 years, this groundbreaking ensemble has captivated audiences worldwide with their unique instrumentation — three clarinets, pure and unadulterated. Let yourself be enchanted by the magical sounds of the Clarinet Trio as the air fills with the warm, balsamic aromas of okoumé resin and the spicy freshness of Siberian pine resin.
For guests who are particularly sensitive to smoke, this event is not recommended.
Probably the most striking aspect of the Clarinet Trio's music is the instrumentation: three clarinets, pure. No strings, no piano, no percussion. A trio in the classical sense, without concessions to entertainment knick-knacks. The three musicians create music of strong atmospheric density. Single, long-lasting tones appear from nowhere. The Clarinet Trio has for 25 years been considered one of the leading woodwind ensembles worldwide. In 2022, for its 25th anniversary, the Clarinet Trio released its sixth CD, "Transformations and Further Passages" — German jazz compositions from the 1950s and 60s, featuring music by Albert Mangelsdorff, Karl Berger, and Rolf and Joachim Kühn, among others.
Photo by Barthelmes
Artists
Gebhard Ullmann — bass clarinet
Gebhard Ullmann (b. 2 November 1957 in Bad Godesberg) is a German jazz musician, multi-instrumentalist (bass clarinet, saxophones, flutes), and composer. He began with recorder as a child, studied flute and saxophone in Hamburg from 1976 alongside a degree in medicine, and moved to Berlin in 1983 to work as a professional musician. Since then he has released around 70 albums as bandleader, co-leader, or composer for labels including Soul Note, Leo Records, Between the Lines, and Clean Feed. He has toured across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas, and has split his time between Berlin and New York City. His many projects include Conference Call, Das Kondensat, the quartet mikroPULS, and The Clarinet Trio, which he co-founded with Jürgen Kupke and Michael Thieke in 1998.
Jürgen Kupke — clarinet
Jürgen Kupke (b. 1960 in the Vogtland region) is a German clarinetist. He studied clarinet at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin from 1977 to 1981, then served as solo clarinetist at the Theater der Stadt Brandenburg until 1987, followed by four years as saxophonist and clarinetist at the small stage "Das Ei" at Berlin's Friedrichstadtpalast. Since 1992 he has worked freelance as a studio and theatre musician, including for the Deutsches Theater Berlin, the Berliner Ensemble, and the Maxim Gorki Theater. Regarded as one of Berlin's most versatile clarinetists, he moves fluidly between classical music, jazz, and free improvisation. In 1998 he co-founded The Clarinet Trio with Gebhard Ullmann and Michael Thieke, and he also teaches at a Berlin music school.
Michael Thieke — clarinet, alto clarinet
Michael Thieke is a Berlin-based clarinetist, composer, and performer equally at home across a broad range of musical environments, such as experimental song forms, collectively composing projects, improvising collectives, and music on the fringes of jazz. He explores the minutiae of sound, timbre and noise, with a particular interest in microtonality and related sound phenomena. He has a preference for long-term collaborations and collective work, including The International Nothing, Voutchkova/Thieke Duo, The Pitch, Der lange Schatten, Splitter Orchester, and The Clarinet Trio.
Incense
Okoumé resin comes from the okoumé tree (Aucoumea klaineana), a tall tree native to the rainforests of West and Central Africa, particularly Gabon and Cameroon. One of its distinctive traits: the solid resin turns liquid again when heated — a property that sets it apart from many other tree resins.
Unlike classic incense resins such as frankincense or myrrh, okoumé resin's history is primarily an industrial one: it has traditionally been used to seal wood surfaces and in the production of paints and coatings, and the light, durable okoumé wood itself remains an important material in Central African boat- and aircraft-building to this day. Only more recently has the resin, thanks to its mild, balsamic scent, found its way into incense blends.
Burned, okoumé resin releases a gentle, warm, faintly balsamic scent — more understated and less intense than many other tropical resins, but pleasantly unobtrusive. It works well in blends with stronger resins, contributing a soft, rounded base note.
This resin comes from the Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica), a hardy conifer that grows across the frozen regions of Siberia, long valued there for its durable wood and fragrant resin.
In Siberian and Russian folk medicine, the resin has for generations been a staple of the home remedy cabinet — worked into salves and tinctures for respiratory complaints, coughs, and colds, and prized for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. Much like birch branches in the Russian banya, Siberian pine resin held a firm place in traditional Siberian cleansing and healing rituals.
As incense, Siberian pine resin releases a warm, resinous, faintly sweet pine scent believed to have a calming effect on the nervous system and to promote restful sleep. Its pleasant, forest-like character makes it a popular addition to incense blends and aromatherapy products for relaxation.