reflection 1-4 – upload

These are the selected snippets from the development periods 1,2 and 3:

comment: I tried, as much as I could to embrace the pluralism of our different voices. The piece starts with a modification of my first proposal (according to some overall noise based patterns that I notices in sketches of other composers). This noisy ‘leitmotiv’ is juxtaposed with unrelated material by other composers, but it keeps reoccuring. The anamorphosis/departing from a common point is present in both the twisted proportions of subsections, as well es in gradual modifications of the initial ‘leitmotivish’ sound. My goal was (but really in this short time we had impossible) to start with presenting at least one material from each composer, then shortening these bits up and slowly starting to fuse elements together. I am sorry to say that I have only managed to finish the ‘exposition’ part of my idea. What I have noticed in our sketches is the overall tendency of either writing very dark or very light sonorities, so I profited from that fact in constructing the overall dramaturgy of this excerpt.

comment: The way I see it is that the previously selected snippet’s first 4 bars are the common point that we are deviating from. As proposed by the selected comment, I tried to go away form the collage-like opening and develop more each individual material as well as tried to merge diverse compositional voices. As a next step, I could see converting the first violin into descending col legno battuto cloud and other strings following (as was proposed in ‘on the continuation of the breathy airy lines’) which would lead to a frenzy of jumping between various elements exposed so far up to a point where they are no more recognizable, and this jumping between extremes becomes a new anamorphic texture on its own (which could also be interpreted as an entry to our new section).

comment: Trying to respect the reflexion 4, I work extensively with the glissando as col legno battuto or arco, that was only hinted at in the previous sections. I tried to avoid having all the instruments play all the time, thus the violin got (a rather short, but nevertheless) a prologed spot light. Furthermore, I was working to get more unity from the previously exposed materials, that goes beyond simply exposing them. Also, I tried to work with the sentiment of frozen time, when all the descending wood-like sounding knocks keep falling like bits of ashes.

comment: In this snippet, I developed different materials from previous snippets by connecting them to each other. In this way, a pizzicato becomes the attack of a high undefined pitch, or an undefined high pitch with bow overpressure is connected with the granular bow material though the noisy quality of the bow pressure.  At the same time, the pitch material of the violin gets “dirty” through left-hand half pressure and harmonic pressure and bow pressure. In this way, the pitch line gets connected with glissandi and granular bow and its content get undefined. The instrumental density continues the tendency of becoming thinner of the previous snippet. Finally, the glissando is zoomed-in by slowing it down and by playing it together with a glissando of bow position. Possible continuations are 1) continue this development of connecting the different materials and make transformations. 2) go to a less busy texture.

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previously selected reflection: Meso-structure: Considering the select snippet from outside, as it were — as a general appraisal of any music —  I am glad that the selected snippet brought some variety (not contrast) to the texture, as well as some space, allowing for thiner textures and soloistic behavior. In regard to our original concept of devations/morphing, however, I fear we are getting each time more distant. The treatment of the material  in this last segment is basically motivic — which could itself be considered a form of divergence and morphing, but then we are only playing with words. I feel we need more gradual, long processes. Perhaps a way forward would be to treat the “thinning” to one line as a morphological aspect. We could now progress to a gradual administration of density of voices — work with two lines, then three, back to two, then suddenly make a metamorphosis back into tutti. All of this without any new material. The next score should somehow look like the ones we have already seen. Only then, I feel, would we be ready for some new contrast, which could very well be the “hardcore repetitive structures emerging out of nowhere”.

    Give a tentative description of how you imagine the selected snippets "the beginning" and "screams" develop. You can reflect on the meso-structure (1-2 minutes) or/and the macro-structure (8-9 minutes).

    You can upload a sketch that illustrates your idea graphically (optional)