These are the five tentative comments that describe the development of the selected snippets. Review them carefully and assign them preference points by filling the form. Leave your own reflection the grade 0.

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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reflection 1

I feel like with the given section we have more or less exhausted the materials for the first part, at least in the form that they were presented – notably if we are intending to revisit at some later point, now would be the time to slowly shift to something more calm. This does not necessarily mean using completely new material. Maybe some of the more violent material could anamorphiclly present itself in its less wild form. Instead of intense pizz with sfffz, we have a rain of soft pizzicati with a rain stick OR instead of fff attacks on low string with a double bass, we could have some soft rhythmic growling in the low register, etc. If at any point in this new section we need contrast, the quiet ghosty glisses that we have been using can now become this unleashed evil screaming animals!!$°^#$!#$¥$%!$·!?!! In any case, I think that our piece could benefit if the next 3 or so assignments we really stick to the same idea that will keep on going for 2-3minutes, but then work more meticulously with the rhythm, form, time-proportions, dynamics (possibly also pitch), rather than having this collaged Frankenstein’s body all the way until the end.

reflection 2 (selected)

1. Meso-structure: “zooming…” is clearly an organic continuation of “falling ashes”, which I consider a success in our “togetherness”. In regard to the texture, however, it continues the former snippet’s pattern of “Solo violin, accompanied by ensemble” — although the accompaniment is now clearly anchored to the violin part, transforming (morphing) it, as has been pointed out in the snippet description (That is, relation has changed from mostly parallel to a tighter vertical counterpoint relationship).  Considering that the description of “zooming” offers as a possible continuation to “1) continue this development” I suggest that this continuation be done in the following manner: (a) changing which string instruments lead, and the texture of counterpoint (a duo of cello and bass, for example, could be the starting point of next snippet); (b) using as main material the defined pitch-class component that had appeared as an extraneous element (“Falling ashes” Vn:m.49,51; “Zooming…” Vn: m.54, 57, 62). As my old composition teacher used to say, half-joking, “If you make a mistake in your composition, do it again and again — until it becomes the new rule”.  It seems to me that transforming this “stranger” into the new main element (that had not appeared in the beginning)  may constitute a true “deviation” in the compositional process. 2. Macro-structure: If the whole piece is supposed to have 8-9 minutes, and we already have four snippets of 1-2 minutes, this means we pretty much only have to decide how we want to end. I would strongly recommend we end abandoning completely the initial material, or at least transform it beyond recognition. My own suggestion would be to (a) choose as a goal some material from INCUBATION PHASE that has not yet appeared, and is as different as possible from everything that has appeared unto now: this would be a goal for gradual convergence. And also (b) in another layer, start to include repeated measures, loops, which appeared in the initial fragment only once (“The beginning”, m.16) .  The piece ends simultaneously “going away” and “getting stuck”.

reflection 3

For the mesostructure, I suggest following the 1st continuation proposed by the selected snippet. That is, to continue the development of the material proposed in “beginning”, “screams”, and “falling ashes” in the way it was developed in “zooming in falling ashes”. That means to connect and transform the different materials, slow some of them down, focus or “zoom in” into their textures and densities, create timbrical and rhythmical transformations, also to thin the instrumental density. For the macrostructure, after this development, I may avoid going right the way to a quiet gesture. It would be maybe a little bit expected. Rather I would delay it with another busy gesture before going and staying for a while in a thin calm texture.

reflection 4

I think the segments shall be bit longer, the duration of each segment in order to develop needs time. I personally think next step should be bringing a material from what we already had and in a very minimal way. bringing new material each time, is like a collage system,. The art of composing is to re-use and re-invent and renew the materials that we already have. In the micro image, I think we should continue this glissandos, and transform them to something really slow and steady, using some material from the selected snippets (functions as a recollection for the audience) bring them in fragments and zoom on them.

reflection 5

I would suggest that it would be dramaturgically engaging to focus on the sonic dialogues depicted in the “zooming in falling ashes”. Having said that, it is valuable time-wise and dramaturgically wise to invest in expanding or contracting the pitch and noisy entities in such a way that we generate temporary micro-structures with a more organic character. In other words, lets really dive into each block of idea and just compose it further and go into its properties and give it some further structural and sonic meaning. On a macrostructural level, YES, I would like to see this alternation of “falling-noises” in relationship with “melodic” material, but in the micro-level, it would worth expanding and investing in a more organic unfolding, short-term.