DeutschIncense of Music 62
A multisensory concert – Friday, 4. April 2025, 20 Uhr
Pedro Alcàcer Doria: theorbo, lute
Chris Dahlgren, viola da gamba
Fabio Dondero (Incense burning): Labdanum
Join us for a unique multisensory concert, where sound and scent intertwine to transport you to another time. Two masterful musicians will weave an intimate tapestry of sound, filling the space with the warmth of historical strings and the lingering fragrance of ancient resins.
“A Different Shape of Viol’ is a set of original compositions for solo bass Viola da Gamba that break away from the Baroque sound and style mostly associated with the instrument. The listener is offered a new and fresh approach to this instrument’s enchanting sound that brings the past, present and future together.
PANDA Platforma in der Kulturbrauerei, Knaackstr. 97, 10435 Berlin
Chris Dahlgren (*1961 in New York City) is an American jazz bassist and polyinstrumentalist. Dahlgren, who grew up in Denver, played the cello as a child before switching to the bass. He studied jazz at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music until 1986 and composition and experimental music at Wesleyan University until 2003, studying with Anthony Braxton, Alvin Lucier, and Christian Wolff. He also took composition lessons with La Monte Young and double bass lessons with Dave Holland, Barry Green, and François Rabbath. He then performed as a sideman with musicians such as Joe Lovano, Charles Tolliver, Red Rodney, Tricia Woods, and Herb Ellis and toured with the folk-rock group Over the Rhine. In 1996, he released his debut album Slow Commotion. Since 1998, he has been a member of the Jazz Mandolin Project. In his group Lexicon, he played with Gebhard Ullmann, Antonis Anissegos, and Eric Schaefer. Since 2003, he has been teaching ensemble playing at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin.
Born in 1982 in Mexico City, Pedro Alcàcer Doria began his musical education at an early age under the influence of his father, the Catalan jazz musician Francesc Alcàcer, and was born into a creative family. He studied jazz guitar with Francisco Lelo de la Rea and immediately began learning classical guitar and composition with Hector Ramos. He completed his studies in classical guitar at the renowned “Escuela Nacional de Música-UNAM” and continued his studies with renowned teachers such as Isabelle Villei, Eloy Cruz, and Antonio Corona, specializing in Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. In 2006, he moved to Barcelona, Spain, where he obtained the “Berufstitel” for Renaissance and Baroque plucked instruments at the Conservatory of Girona under the renowned teacher Xavier Diaz-Latorre. He then continued his studies at the University of the Arts in Bremen, where he studied lute with Joachim Held and Lee Santana and earned his degree. As a passionate musician, he continued his instrumental improvement with Evangelina Mascardi in Italy while working intensively as a soloist and continuo player. He has worked with important conductors such as Gabriel Garrido, Alessandro di Marchi, Marco Mencoboni, Paolo Faldi, Riccardo Doni, Horacio Franco, Cristoph Hammer, Carlos Aranzay, Gerhard Oppel, Burak Özdemir, and others, and has performed at prestigious festivals and forums in Italy, Germany, Spain, France, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Brazil, and Mexico. He currently lives in Berlin and collaborates with various realities of early music in Europe. The artist is known for his profound experience and artistic sensitivity, which he has acquired through collaborations with outstanding musicians and teachers from all over the world. His international experience and high qualifications make him an outstanding artist in his field.
Labdanum is a fragrant resin derived from the leaves and twigs of Cistus ladanifer and Cistus creticus, two rockrose species native to the Mediterranean. It has been prized for centuries in perfumery, medicine, and incense due to its rich and complex aroma. Its scent is deep and amber-like, with warm, balsamic, and slightly sweet undertones. Notes of earth, leather, honey, dried fruits, smoky vanilla, and musk give it a distinctive character. This complexity makes labdanum an essential ingredient in oriental, chypre, and amber perfumes, where it adds depth, warmth, and longevity. Beyond perfumery, labdanum has long been used in incense and spiritual rituals for its calming and grounding properties. In ancient times, it was even collected by combing the resin from the beards of goats that grazed on Cistus shrubs. It also had medicinal applications, valued for its antiseptic and expectorant qualities. With its deep, enveloping scent, labdanum evokes mystery, warmth, and timeless elegance, remaining a treasured element in both modern fragrance creation and historical aromatic traditions.
