Musician Esther Lamneck (clarinet and tárogató) and Composer Mara Helmuth enjoyed a collaborative residency at Wassard Elea in the Spring of 2025, in the two apartments The Philosopher and The Poet. Here they worked on a new music project. One work resulting from this residency was Wind Blown Rain for computer and tárogató. The video part of the work was created by Alfonso Belfiore. A recording of Wind Blown Rain can be experienced online.
Image above from video copyright 2025 Alfonso Belfiore, used by permission.
Wind Blown Rain was inspired by natural processes and forces involving water. Water metamorphoses between many opposing states: from a gentle drizzle to a stormy downpour, from a tiny droplet to a crashing ocean. Life on earth is dependent on water, and also at its mercy. This piece focuses mainly on the transformed sounds of rain and Tárogató interactions. Source samples were recorded in Venice and Ascea, Italy. The music was composed in Italy in the summer of 2025 at Wassard Elea Artist’s residency in Ascea by Mara Helmuth and Esther Lamneck. While most of our previous collaborations have relied solely on the sound of the performer’s instrument for the computer part, in this piece the instrumentalist interacts primarily with music created from natural recordings and their processed transformations.
Lamneck, Helmuth and Belfiore
Alfonso Belfiore created the video part in response to the music from his own water-related video recordings. The video component of Wind Blown Rain is a visual meditation on the natural landscape, filtered through the inner rhythm of rainfall. Created with images generated and modified using artificial intelligence, the editing alternates slow-motion sequences, crossfades, and subtle variations to evoke a dilated sense of time. The environment, immersed in rain, transforms gradually, suggesting a fragile balance between presence and dissolution. The visual work accompanies the music as a mental landscape—fluid and contemplative.
Upcoming live performances in festivals of this collaborative work include:
The International Computer Music Festival in Hamburg, Germany. May 9-17, 2026.
SEAMUS Festival, University of Texas, San Antonio, Tx. May 20-25, 2026.
NYC Electronic Music Festival, New York City, June 19-25, 2026.
Images from video copyright 2025 Alfonso Belfiore, used by permission.
It was one of the most productive times we have ever shared.
Esther Lamneck about the residency at Wassard elea
Esther Lamneck (clarinet and tárogató) is also featured on releases from the Wassard Elea RM Electro label Simultaneous Variations (with Rob Tomaro) and Small Parts of a Garden (with René Mogensen, Edoardo Ricci and Eugenio Sanna), and future releases are being planned.
Images from video copyright 2025 Alfonso Belfiore, used by permission.