Corroder
. . for harpsichord and computer

: : . : photos




A strange but redundant thing about nature is how an object in the environment, a piece of any material, can be altered and deformed (reformed) from simply being exposed to certain substances that it reacts to. Acidity, radiation, decomposition, digestion, these all take part in the transition and morphing of substances in order to adjust it to the environment for better or worst simply due to other substances it comes in contact with at appropriate times.

In many ways this also applies to sound and what can be done to it from simple exposure to altering materials. By capturing and imploding simple materials one can reshape the sound of instruments we once knew and transform (deform) them into other sounds, and in the same way that metals can rust and retain some previous character so can sounds be altered and still maintain remnants of its original nature. Decomposing sounds to bring out different spectrums can alter the character of the instrument into a symphonic solo instrument or a noisy machine. In the case of Corroder, the altering substance is the instruments sound itself.

Captured and reapplied as a corrosive sound, the computer selects specific gestures from throughout the composition to be folded on top of the instrument changing its sound to be sustained like strings or coarse and uneven like an engine. With this approach to computer music the full gamut of sound can be achieved and controlled with virtuosic tact creating an orchestra of sound and dynamics with locomotives incised with the chirping of birds.

This piece is dedicated to Anne Faulborn who commissioned the work and was composed during residencies at STEIM in Amsterdam.