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PROGRAM NOTE back to Program Notes Last modified 20 April 2024 ...from behind the unreasoning mask (1974-75) Successions are often not what they appear to be : the “predictable”, subtly deviant, the “arbitrary”, cloaking an underlying structure of unsuspected rigor. …from behind the unreasoning mark is framed by six simultaneous series of forceful transient events in the computer’s part. Although each series unfolds logarithmically, particular transient events repeat, changing spatial position while generating a sonic tapestry of considerable timbral and harmonic complexity. The electroacoustic events comprise the mask from behind which the live players make their statement. The transients function as cues, but the response they elicit varies from automated repetition to indifference. There is a constant interplay of changing attitudes: between the performers and the computer, between the performers themselves, between different aspects of the actions performed simultaneously by one player (e.g., the percussionist is asked to maintain three different patterns of acceleration and ritard simultaneously). The tactics used by the live players in their efforts to rise above the electroacoustic transients change in what could be seen as an allegorical fashion. Though the work is carefully notated, there are improvisatory elements. – Roger Reynolds |
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