Dialogue Redux 2004.10.12 c. 00:31-00:44 UTC is music which can be described as specific-electro-acoustic- algorithmic-soundscape-improvisation, or, as I have labeled it "moment music": music composed in and existing for a specific moment. This is literally new music because all music will be composed as it happens, either by computer or by live performer. This music is not necessarily intended to be saved, replayed or reproduced. It is what it is when it is, and is never to be experienced again in another point in time in the same way or manner. The title, although somewhat cryptic in nature is actually a simple explanation of the content and structure of the music as well as a time stamp for the moment in which it was realized. "Dialogue" refers to the interplay between live musicians and the electronic sounds. "Redux" has multiple references. The first reference is to the texturally thematic material (thematic texture) found in the first section which returns in the third section and the coda. The second reference is to musical quotes from composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (b. 1928) which are used as material for thematic texture. Excerpts from two of Stockhausen's classic works, Kontakte (1959/60) and Mixtur (1964) and from his more recent opera Elufa (1991) are brought back or returned to in various permutations throughout the work. "Redux" also because this is a return for me as a composer to work in the electronic medium in which I began. The rest of the title "2004.10.12 c. 00:31-00:44" UTC is the Coordinated Universal Time for the time period in which the music was realized and existed. This
music also contains another classic element, an extended arch or ABA
form. Best labeled as compound ternary in form, thematic texture
material from the A section is contrasted, transformed and developed
in the B section before and returning to the A material. A B A' [ a b a' ] transition [ c d c' ] re-transition [ a' b a ] coda Each
main section contains a unique thematic texture consisting of four electronic
sound sources: Stockhausen quotes, other found sounds and completely
new sounds which I have created. These sounds are manipulated via an
algorithmic soundscape generator that creates an ever-changing and never-repeating
soundscape in real time. Within each main section, the soundscape
is interpreted and commented on by the live musicians according to a
predetermined entrance/exit order for the primary instruments or by
"comment weight" for accompanying instruments.
The transition, re-transition and coda material are generated via a
different algorithmic process that superimposes
new musical structures onto existing music by turning special mathematical
integer sequences into new musical forms. Peak discourse
occurs in the "d" section where the thematic textures from
both the A and B sections is transformed and developed by deconstructing
the material and recomposing it via yet another set of real-time composing
algorithms. The live musicians continue to comment on this process,
adding more depth to an already rich texture. In the return of the A
material, the clarinet, guitar and percussion are electronically processed
and added to the electronic matrix. The organ remains acoustically pure. A special thank you goes to the live musicians Christy Banks, Rusty Banks, Willa Foster Jones and Sean Jones. Without their expertise and creativity this music would not be possible.
R.
Kent Jones |
