Digital Score for two instruments
This composition is inspired by my personal experience of sitting on a balcony in Antarctica, overlooking the frozen George VI sound which lies in-between Alexander Island and Palmer Land. This was an extraordinary place, and seemed to hold onto time as a constant, rather than linear concept as the century-old glacial meltwater would trickle into the sound – itself frozen for several centuries – bordered by two land masses, each of which were separated from their respective continents (S. Africa and S. America) during Gondwana (200 million years ago). It was here, at ‘Bluebell cottage’ that I spent Christmas 2003, surrounded by the artifacts and memories of decades of Antarctica exploration, where an extraordinary sense of all those who had ever spent time there, immersed those in the present. Sitting on the balcony, at this time, was not a quiet experience, the wind generator gently hummed in polyphony with a flag flapping, while the hourly meteorological observations on the short wave radio punctuated time; nearby the moraine meltwater trickled, and the ice quietly clicked as its surface melted, exposing the decade old bubbles of air underneath; in the distance, only once and perhaps 40 miles away, could you hear the explosion of a large chunk of ice separating from a berg. This place also inspired one of my Five Antarctic Solitudes (2004) (2. 71˚S 68˚W).
On a Balcony (2015) is the third movement of a collection of works entitled the Sea Quartet.
NOTE: These scores are based in software. Although they share many similar properties to that of paper based/traditional scoring methods, they also benefit from the usability and functionality of dynamic software environments. The visual information will be familiar to the musician and welcomed by a curious spirit of adventure. Above all, these scores are responsive, evolving as the performance progresses – giving the feeling of being alive – and should be considered as co-operative creative partners.
IMPORTANT -
This score is based in Max/MSP. This must be downloaded and installed prior to operation.
Some of the folders contain a document called 'get_files'. These provide a link to media files stored on Dropbox that are required to operate the score. These must be downloaded first and placed in each of the correspondng folders.
Instrumentation: Two instruments (electric guitar and cello) Duration: 8 minutes 25 seconds
This composition is inspired by my personal experience of sitting on a balcony in Antarctica, overlooking the frozen George VI sound which lies in-between Alexander Island and Palmer Land. This was an extraordinary place, and seemed to hold onto time as a constant, rather than linear concept as the century-old glacial meltwater would trickle into the sound – itself frozen for several centuries – bordered by two land masses, each of which were separated from their respective continents (S. Africa and S. America) during Gondwana (200 million years ago). It was here, at “Bluebell cottage” that I spent Christmas 2003, surrounded by the artifacts and memories of decades of Antarctica exploration, where an extraordinary sense of all those who had ever spent time there, immersed those in the present. Sitting on the balcony, at this time, was not a quiet experience, the wind generator gently hummed in polyphony with a flag flapping, while the hourly meteorological observations on the short wave radio punctuated time; nearby the moraine meltwater trickled, and the ice quietly clicked as its surface melted, exposing the decade old bubbles of air underneath; in the distance, only once and perhaps 40 miles away, could you hear the explosion of a large chunk of ice separating from a berg. This place also inspired one of my Five Antarctic Solitudes (2004) (2. 71 ̊S 68 ̊W). On a Balcony (2015) is the third movement of a collection of works entitled the Sea Quartet. Dedicated to Morton Feldman
On a Balcony is a composition for two instruments, specifically electric guitar and cello, although any combination of contrasting instrumentation is acceptable. The laptop generates a score for each performer, and, although this may appear a passive process, it is nevertheless part of a co-operative collaboration between human and thinking machine. Both instruments play each event together. Durations are chosen by the individual. Tempo is very slow. Dynamics are very quiet.
Press the START button: the computer will begin to generate the visual score and fill each screen; the composition has begun. After 8 minutes 25 seconds, the screen will reduce to a small size and remain black; this is the end of the composition. Quit and load the software again to repeat performance. Technical Setup
This composition requires a single laptop and an additional screen connected via VGA, HDMI or similar. One instrumental part per screen. Load the app on the desktop, and open. Press START to begin the composition.