Programme notes and information for performer. [B] contained. for clarinet and digitally-processed sound. confined -> enclosed -> implied -> revealed

Transcription

1 Programme notes and inormation or erormer [B] contained or clarinet and digitally-rocessed sound conined -> enclosed -> ilied -> revealed All the digital sound material in this iece was created rom an initial recording o the note 'b', layed on clarinet. This recorded note, less than a second long, is looed and layed continuously throughout, though sometimes the original is almost inaudible, masked by its various incarnations and develoments. The live erormer doesn't actually get to lay a 'b' until the inal section o the iece. Instead, the live clarinet gradually incororates itches to either side o this elusive goal, which it surrounds or 'contains' and - at the same time - strives to reach, and escae. I wrote this iece or an exhibition o sculture and crat ieces, on the theme o 'Containers'. It was irst erormed by Paul Roe, at Galway Arts Festival, in Katharine Norman i

2 Notes or the erormer The iece is coosed in our sections (erormed as a single movement), each o which has a dierent asect o 'containment' in mind and each o which eloys dierent techniques in the clarinet art. You should try to convey a dierent mood in each section. The irst, CONFINED, is restricted to small luctuations within a small grou o itches. The live clarinet is almost hidden within the recorded sound texture and should not 'emerge' as audibly distinct until age 2, where the tension should increase and the line should move on more until the end o the section where (rom around 2:00) the clarinet should become 'submerged' within the texture building on the recorded art. The second section, ENCLOSED, is intended as ragmentary, the oening gestures are quite distinct, and should be searated by clear breaks (indicated by commas). The section gradually becomes more 'continuous' until (rom about 3:43) there is a sense o the beginnings o an ongoing line o movement in the clarinet art. Throughout, the laying should be somewhat quixotic, making abrut changes o dynamic and timbre, as indicated. The third section, IMPLIED, requires most direct co-ordination between clarinet and recorded art. The clarinettist should use cues (vertical dotted lines mark the signiicant notes in the recorded art), although there is still some leeway. There should be no sense o urgency, and the somewhat more restricted range o dynamics should be observed. The ourth section, REVEALED, is the only section in which the clarinet lays b-natural, and the b-natural at 5:25 is a momentous oint o 'arrival' (which should, however, not be hammed u to much!). In this section the return to the b-natural is a return to a oint o rest in a rather ractured world. Although the other material is ragmentary and varied, there should be a gradual sense o resolving into something more lyrical with a true 'melody' at 6:30. Co-ordination with the recorded art is iortant towards the end o the iece. Although the recorded art 'ades' at the end, the clarinet should not, but should sto abrutly and ause momentarily beore either a blackout, or the erormer's indication that the iece has inished. The intention is that the absence o the recorded art should be made aarent but this 'sudden' sto. These suggestions may be reely interreted by the erormer. ii

3 Perormance notes Presentation In concert erormance (and ossibly in an installation setting) the erormer should, ideally, be sotlit. The iece should start in colete blackout, lights gradually rising during the irst 30 seconds until the erormer is ully illuminated at their oening itched note (00:30). As a suggestion, the lights could cut abrutly to blackout a moment ater the clarinetist inishes the last note. Technical inormation The recorded art should be diused in stereo, rom Dat or CD, with a seaker setu suitable to the erorming sace. The clarinet should be miked to blend with the recorded sound, but aliication should be unobtrusive. The erormer will robably need a monitor a. Recorded art and clarinet are equal erormers, and the recorded sound should be o a suitable volume to achieve a blend (ie the recorded sound is not a 'backing' or the erormer). Score The recorded sound starts in silence, with a b-natural becoming audible at about 6seconds, the clarinet should start laying (blowing, no itch) beore this itch is audible, so the recorded art sounds as i it is a result o the live clarinet. Ideally, the live erormer should be able to kee with the recorded art by ollowing the score. However, a stowatch may be needed. The score contains timings (taking 0:00 as the beginning o the recorded art) to aid co-ordination. There is no need to kee coletely in synchronisation with events cued in the score. Where recorded events act as a cue to the next note in the clarinet art, a vertical dotted line is aended to the recorded event concerned. NB: the score is only a sketch giving signiicant oints o reerence. The layer and sound diuser are exected to become amiliar with the recorded art by listening. The notation is roortional, with breaks indicated by commas or, where length is signiicant, by rests and/or auses. Please interret the rhythm with some reedom, using the timings given as a guide. iii

4 Accidentals: generally, accidentals aly to the given itch at the given octave, and to any immediate reetitions o that itch or reetitions within an obvious attern (at the same octave). Where this might be ambiguous, accidentals are reeated to conirm. For instance, age 2, 3 rd system: all notes within the attern are e-lats. Page 3, bottom system, 'slintered, urgent' - all are A-shars, however the low A in the next grou o quavers is an a-natural. PERFORMANCE NOTE 1. The blown 'unvoiced' clarinet notes that start the iece should vary in length (rom about 4 secs duration uwards), with auses between them. The eect desired is a gradual building u o momentum until the irst voiced itch (at 00:30) which should seem a natural rogression. Reeat as many times as necessary. PERFORMANCE NOTE 2. It doesn't matter too much i these notes are harmonics or obtained through other means (see note above). The eect desired is an almost inaudible tone, thin and bell-like, that is 'static' and exressionless, in act less exressive than the coarable material haening in the recorded art at this time. PERFORMANCE NOTE 3. 'SCURRY' - whenever this aears the layer should imitate the scurrying squeaking timbre occuring intermittently on the recorded art (in terms o both rhythm and itch). ONLY the ollowing itches should be used: (actual itch) C, C-shar, B-lat, A. The eect should be extremely ast and disjointed, with the itches layed in random order, avoiding reetitions. Small breaks in continuity are ine, as are snatched breaths. Don't tongue all the notes, but aim or slurred grous o 5-8 itches ad lib. NB: These atterns should be layed EITHER at the octave notated OR at an octave above, but not using a mixture o both. I using the higher version the uward lourish (eg beore 2:47) should also be 8va. I've given the choice because the octave above version is very high, and may be diicult, or inaroriate or a small erormance sace. PERFORMANCE NOTE 4. Square noteheads indicate a multihonic (reerably ingered multihonics). Produce a multihonic containing the given itch as a rominent element, either as a harmonic or the undamental (no reerence). ALL multihonics should avoid B-natural as a rominent itch i at all ossible. Hold the multihonic until the next one, with as small a ga as ossible (although you can snatch a breath). The second multihonic should be a dierent one. Exaggerate the cresc/dim as much as you like, making the timbre raucous and (aarently!) uncontrolled. There should be no attet to roduce a 'leasing' or consistent timbre. iv

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6 [B] contained or Paul Roe 1 clarinet (in Blat ) recorded sound CONFINED tense, restrained recorded sound becomes audible c 00:06 blow SEE PERFORMANCE NOTE 1 niente cresc a c. 00:30 niente Katharine Norman niente 00:40 low murmers.. high 'links'... links continue... 00:50 links crescendo... a niente 1:00

7 2 moving on more 1:10 sub. 1:20 accel sz (do not tongue tenuto) 1:30 low murmers... sub. links...

8 1:40 3 sub 1:50 1:55 2:00 sz sz 2:10 dolce (tongue note) crescendo... 2:20 crescendo...oco...a...oco... * * Start to lay beore gliss starts, sto laying during the gliss, but remain 'rozen' as i still laying until next note. niente

9 ENCLOSED 4 blend with A shar on recorded art (2:32) 2:32 lutter c. 2:37 2:41 'harmonic', SEE PERFORMANCE NOTE 2 ('8va' - see er. note) 2:47 SCURRY, ad lib SEE PERFORMANCE NOTE 3 niente 2:56 3:02 lutter accel... 3:04 3:08 sz lutter 3:12 ('8va' - see er. note) accel... SCURRY ad lib, sim. 3:17 sz lutter

10 5 3:23 SCURRY sim. (very short) sz lutter 3:25 sub sz c 5" lutter squeaky... SCURRY ad lib, sim. 3:39 sz lutter 3:43 3:46 lutter SCURRY ad lib, sim. sub. 3:56 (loco) s metallic 4:07 (c.4:10 - or later) 4:15 TURN PAGE metallic 'whirr'

11 6 IMPLIED tentative, exloratory 4:16 c. 3" multihonic containing this itch SEE PERFORMANCE NOTE 4 4:19 breathy sz 4:22 lautando sot lutter tongue slow sim., longer notes 'wa wa' 4:26 lautando, sim. 4:34 wiry... 4:44 slow......ast....slow... dim... 4:53 5:00 sz 'WIRY'

12 7 5:10 5:16 (ord.) dim a niente... REVEALED 5:25 (b natural continues...+cshar/c) slintered, urgent s sim. 5:39 5:44

13 8 5:48 Multihonic containing this undamental 5:55 (v. ast, reeat/shorten ad lib, SCURRY) 6:00 s 6:04 lutter 6:08, lautando sub 6:21 6:30 esressivo, slow ad lib (scurrying squeaks, + low B continues)

14 6:40 6:45 6:49 6:52 GROAN :03 7:10 con moto marcato 7:30 rit... sere