Speak My Mind

for tenor recorder and interactive computer (max/msp)
composed 2003; duration 14 minutes
world premiere june 13 2004
Umeå International Chamber Music Festival
commissioned and premiered by Dan Laurin

The computer accompaniment is generated in real-time through analysis of performance data. The first section is quite free and with a character of improvisation, during which the performer explores his playing and the computer’s reaction to it. A succession of multiphonics separated by more ‘traditional’ playing is important to the later development of the piece as the computer analyses these striking sonorities and stores the data for later use. The musical intensity slowly develops until a section of regular pulse is reached. In this section the player is directed to make variations on a set of chords and rhythm fragments, and the notation is such that the overall development of the section is guided by the composer. This leaves the details of the playing to the player, who uses this to explore the musical possibilities of this ‘sonic space’. The section freezes into great intensities of multiphonics and musical fragments before the energy is dispersed to faint sounds of air and whispers.

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