Nocturnes (2018) - in progress



Nocturnes

is a work in progress: a triptych written for two improvising electronics.

Nuages

is the first movement of the piece.



Nocturnes

is an experiment in composing a traditionally notated score for multiple performers playing live improvised electronics, with no acoustic instruments. The structure of the piece, in which two performers play through the piece once and repeat after switching parts, highlights the unique characteristics of the performers, their chosen systems, and their improvisatory methods. Unique to electronics is its vast control over timbre;

Nocturnes

allows flexibility in the performers' choice over timbre, yet requires them to pay attention to the density, dynamics, pitch, and noise content of their sonic choices. Constraints posed by having to follow a traditionally notated score, less common in electronic improvisation, require that performers adapt a different way of contextualizing the capabilities of their systems, especially as they play with one another. Moreover, performers are asked to play through a monitor or a localized sound source of their own, preferably placed near or on tables that they have their setup on, which aims for a conceptualization of electronics as instruments in their own right rather than as an add-on to acoustic instruments or as fixed media.

Score

Music, Version 1: electronics
performed by Dylan Burchett & Nathan Corder

Music, Version 2: adapted for percussion
performed by Brendan Glasson & Tony Gennaro