Spiritscapes: for Chamber Ensemble and Live Electronics

Spiritscapes is a four-movement work for an acoustic chamber ensemble of flute/bass flute, clarinet/bass clarinet, piano, voice, cello, and laptop, with additional live electronics processing and transforming the acoustic sound. The work was initiated though a generative process of collaborative improvisation with the performers for whom the work is written, with the composer performing on piano, voice, and electronics. These sessions were recorded and inform the fundamental musical material of the piece. The material moves fluidly between fully notated moments and fully improvisatory moments, exposing different methods for maximizing performer choice while retaining a coherent and intentional compositional frame. Performers, in collaboration with the score and the ensemble, intuitively choose aspects of timing and self-expression. The electronics feature an original Max for Live patch in Ableton that transforms the laptop into a gesture-sensitive synthesizer through feedback generated between the device’s left speaker and adjacent microphone. Thematically, the work intuitively explores the ecological metaphor of inner states as biomes. Musically, the work explores texture, gesture, and the spectrum between harmony and noise, creating atmospheres that are in turn mysterious, bracing, and ecstatic. The movements of the work are as follows: I. Ocean, II. Tundra, III. Rainforest, IV. Plains

Author dc:creator

• Payne-Passmore, Cerulean

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sorey, Tyshawn

• Music

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://repository.upenn.edu/handle/20.500.14332/61385

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:repository.upenn.edu:20.500.14332/61385