Bellows Exploration

What if the bellows were more than a means of producing sound, but the sound itself?

The bandoneon breathes through its bellows: long, flexible, sometimes unpredictable. Stretching up to, sometimes, a meter, they hold tension, resistance, and infinite shades of air. Depending on how much air is inside, the sound shifts: sharp, dense, whispering, trembling.

The bellows are a container of air and a means of articulation. A slight movement can create micro-rhythms, sudden bursts, or undulating pulses. A shake, a vibrato, a slow expansion, each motion sculpts the energy of the sound.

The Coreography of Air

In Pandora’s Box by Mauricio Kagel, the bellows take on a role beyond sound production. Kagel’s notation assigns precise gestures to bellows movements, transforming them into a performative language. Opening and closing, trembling, pulsing, each movement is inscribed with meaning, shaping both the sonic and visual expression of the piece.

This approach expands the idea of articulation: bellows as rhythm, as breath, as interruption. It challenges the performer to think beyond notes and towards movement, space, and resistance.

How can bellows movements be read as a score in themselves? What happens when the motion of the instrument becomes as important as the sound it produces? What if the bellows were not just an extension of the sound, but a theatrical act in themselves?