Three Meditations on the Philosophy of Boethius. Performance Instructions. Gil Dori

Transcription

1 Three Meditations on the Philosohy of Boethius Performance Instructions by Gil Dori A Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Music Aroved Aril 201 by the Graduate Suervisory Committee: Glenn Hackbarth, Chair James DeMars Sabine Feisst ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY May 201

2 ABSTRACT Three Meditations on the Philosohy of Boethius is a musical iece for guitar, iano interior, and couter. Each of the three movements, or meditations, reflects one level of music according to the medieval hilosoher Boethius: Musica Mundana, Musica Humana, and Musica Instrumentalis. From satial asects, through the human element, to letting sound evolve freely, different movements revolve around different sounds and sound roducing techniques. i

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES... iii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION COMPUTER... 5 Movement I... 5 Movement II... 8 Movement III... 9 GUITAR Movement I Movement II Movement III PIANO INTERIOR... 1 Movement I Movement II Movement III APPENDIX A MUSIC SCORE ii

4 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1. Time Bracket Stage Setu.... Play With Hand Play With Pick Piano Diagram Soft Bass Drum Beater Hard Rubber Beater Soft Tiani Mallet Play With Hand iii

5 Introduction In his work De Institutione Musica the Medieval hilosoher Boethius introduced three levels of music: Musica Mundana- music of the sheres and the world, Musica Humana- music of the human body, Musica Instrumentalis- instrumental music. This iece, for guitar, iano interior, and couter, meditates on this idea. Each of the three movements corresonds to one of these levels, and ehasizes a different asect in the music and sounds. Movement I is a meditation on musica mundana. It revolves around satial asects, from synthesizing frequencies of the erforming sace to roducing sounds from different laces in the instruments. Movement II is a meditation on musica humana. It ehasizes the human asect in music, such as touch, attentiveness, and virtuosity. Also, the teo is set by the ulses of the erformer s heartbeat. Movement III is a meditation on musica instrumentalis. As oosed to the second movement, this movement takes away some of the erformers' control over the sounds. This is done by using a variety of objects to roduce sound, alying indeterminate rocedures, and letting sounds evolve freely. 1

6 In addition, all of the movements are set in the ratios of the erfect intervals- the octave (1:2), the erfect fifth (2:), and the erfect fourth (:4). This occurs in the large level of the whole movement, but also in sub-divisions, and overlaing roortions of different instruments. Movement I is dominated by the 1:2 ratio, movement II is 2:, and movement III is :4. These ratios are reflected in all of the timed sections in the iece. Large numbers in the format of minutes' and seconds'' indicate these timed sections, and show the general rogress in time. These time frames must be followed as written. The total duration of the iece is 20'0'': Movement I- 10'15'', Movement II- 5'00'', Movement III- 5'15''. Brackets with a number of seconds, sometimes couled with an estimated teo, indicate duration of the event. Figure 1. Time bracket. As oosed to the main sections, these inner duration can vary from erformance to erformance. For the erformer's convenience, instead of a sile stowatch an otional Max atch designed to track time for the secific art can be used. 2

7 Stage setu: Figure 2. Stage Setu. The iano is to be alified with at least two microhones (reresented on the diagram by those closest to the iano.) The iano microhones are connected directly to the house alification system, and are routed to seakers 1 and 2 only. The electronic setu

8 should also include several other condenser microhones which are routed to the couter via an audio interface. These are reresented in the diagram by the three other microhones distributed around the stage. The overall level should be balanced equally. In other words, instrument should be heard equally when layed in a similar dynamic level. The recise osition of the erformers on stage is only a suggestion. 4

9 Couter The boxed instructions in the score are for the oerator. However, all the rocedures regarding to generating and rocessing audio are automated. The couter art consists of four functions: Producing sounds by synthesizing incoming random frequencies, Real-time rocessing of sounds coming from the guitar and iano, Recording sounds coming from the guitar and iano, Playback recorded sounds, with or without rocessing. Randomization is a key element in the couter art. The couter is caable of contributing to the iece differently each time, being a main driver to the iece's indeterminacy. Movement I In the first movement the couter has three different activities. The first one, starting at the beginning of the iece, creates a slowly evolving texture by synthesizing incoming frequencies. This texture lasts for about six minutes, with a general dynamic shae of an arch characterized by a slow crescendo and thickening of the texture, followed by a slow decrescendo and thinning of the texture. The texture has five layers, each functioning differently with regard to the shaing of the sounds being roduced, the time frame of its activity, and rate of its activity. 5

10 The incoming frequencies are frequencies that are found naturally in the sace of the erformance. They could be anything from air vibrations caused by an air conditioner, the rustle from the audience, static noise from the alification, or even the sound of the moving arts of the couter itself. The urose of this is to use sounds that are found in the sace. The second activity is to record the two other instruments, and to store this recording on the hard disk. This recording will be used in the second movement. The third activity is to rocess sounds coming from the iano and the guitar in real-time. This rocessing involves itch shifting and time shifting using granular synthesis. The main synthesizer that is used to create the texture mentioned above is constructed of five different synthesizers, each corresonds to a different layer of the texture. Synthesizer 1 is the fundamental drone. It oerates from 0'00'' to 6'08'', and it is shaed to crescendo very slowly from 0'00'' to 4'00''. Then, from 4'09'' it begins to decrescendo, until it reaches a colete silence at 6'08''. The sounds it makes will start like a murmur, but will get more colex and interesting very slowly, as the activity gets more colex and more elements are added to the drone. Synthesizer 2 begins at 0'41''. It adds a rhythmic element to the texture, by shaing the sounds to ulse with a fast attack and an immediate decay. It also doubles the incoming frequencies, which makes them an octave higher, and adds harmonics- one a little less than an octave above, and one a little more than an octave above the doubled frequency. 6

11 It is also designed to send the ulsing sounds randomly in the stereo field, but only to seakers 1 and 2. The rate of the ulses is random as well. However, the time between attacks will decrease gradually, and the volume will increase. In other words, attacks will get louder and faster until the texture reaches its eak at 4'06''. From there it will rogress back in the oosite direction, until it comes to a final sto at 6'00''. Using a frequency modulator (FM), it creates synthesized bell sounds, which vibrates slightly as it decays. The index and ratio of the FM will be randomly selected out of re-determined values. Synthesizer begins at 1'22'' and corresonds to synthesizer 1, as a drone with a dynamic shae of an arch, but with a difference of the colexity in the synthesis. Synthesizer starts with a square wave, which is richer in harmonic content, and involves triling the incoming frequencies, which makes them an octave and fifth higher. It also involves frequency modulator. The index and the ratio of the FM increase as the dynamic level climbs. At 4'06'' the decrescendo begins, but these values stay the same throughout the course of the decrescendo. It stos coletely at 6'08''. Since synthesizer oerates in a different time san than synthesizer 1, its overall rogress of crescendo to decrescendo is faster. Throughout this time, the sound coming out of synthesizer ans around the stereo field (seakers 1 and 2 only), from the leftmost osition, then slowly to the rightmost, and back. Synthesizer 4 lays from 2'0'' to 6'0''. It has the reverse enveloe of synthesizer 2. The volume, the FM values, and the lacing in the stereo field are coletely random, with two excetions. The first is that the range of FM values will be confined in order to maintain the bell-like sounds (but not re-determined as in synthesizer 2.) 7

12 The second is that until 4'57'' anning is limited to seakers 1 and 2. Only from that oint sounds are sent to all four seakers. Synthesizer 4 is five and a third times the incoming frequency, making it sound two octaves and a fourth above. Synthesizer 5 starts at 4'06''. Its rogression is more colex, and lasts until 6'08''. It takes the incoming frequencies to a sawtooth wave shaed in a way that follows the inverted contour of the guitar art in this articular section. It revolves around the stereo field, beginning with seaker 4, and slowly move to, then 2, to finish with 1. At 6'09'' the oerator begins to record sounds coming from the other instruments, using the recording module in the atch. These recorded sounds will be used in the third movement. At 7'1'' the oerator begins the real-time sound rocessing. This involves granular itch shifting and time shifting modules. Both of them oerate randomly, so audio is rocessed in way that could make the sounds either very short or very long, transosed higher or lower. The outcome could sound either relatively natural and close to the incoming audio, or far from it and very artificial, with a metallic timbre to it. The audio is send randomly to different seakers at random dynamic levels. Movement II Since the second movement ehasizes the human element in music, the only function of the couter here is to record audio coming from the iano and the guitar and store it for its use in movement III. 8

13 Movement III This movement starts with recording the guitar. Immediately after 45 seconds of recording, the recorded sound will be layed back with granular rocessing of itch and time. At 2'27'' the oerator lays the audio files that were recorder in movements I and II, by a layback module that selects random excerts of seconds. Audio is sent randomly to different seakers, but no other maniulation is alied. The dynamic contour for this section is shaed in the same manner as the beginning, with an arch of a slow crescendo (2'27" to 4'0") and a decrescendo (4'0" to 5'15"). When the fade out begins at 4'0'', the randomization of stereo is stoed. The fade out begins with audio being sent to seaker 4. Then, similarly to movement I, it moves to seaker, then 2, to finish with 1 as the ieces comes to an end. 9

14 Guitar The guitar art calls for a volume edal, an e-bow, a slider, and a ick. The e-bow and the slider are to be used only in movement III Generally, sound should be clean. However, adding a light reverb and/or overdrive is otional, deending on the erforming sace and its acoustics. Verbal instruction and additional information marked with an asterisk will indicate how to lay certain sections or segments. Other instructions: Play with hand Figure. Play with Hand Play with a ick Figure 4. Play with ick. Movement I 4'06'' Right hand glissando (RH gliss.): Hold down the indicated note with the left hand regularly. Then, with the fingernails of the right hand scrae the string slowly from that oint to the bridge. 10

15 4'57'' Pinch: Hold down the indicated note with the left hand regularly. Then, using and I, inch the string 12 frets higher from that oint, roducing a rather hollow sound. Movement II In Movement II the teo is set by the heartbeat of the erformer who lays the iano, One ulse equals one quarter note. Unlike the other movements, there are no indications for durations. Instead, the erformer should lay the movement ad. lib. with regard to the general time marks. The erformer may or may not irovise during the movement. If the erformer decides to irovise, the irovisation is to be based on the boxed material, Generally, the rogress in this movement is linear. However the erformer is free to go back to revious boxed material and to irovise in a way that combines material from different arts of the movement. 0'48'' Irovise in a way that follows the iano as closely as ossible. The sounds are limited to: Pluck muted strings, Pluck behind the nut, Scrae strings lengthwise with fingernails, Pinch string 12 frets higher than where the left hand fingers the note, Tambora. 11

16 Movement III In this movement sounds are roduced by using an e-bow, a slider, and a ick. Use e- bow only in fundamental mode. Do not use it in harmonic mode. 0'45'' Tambora with slider: hold the slider in your right hand. Then, drum it lightly in a fast tambora motion. Exlore the whole range of the guitar by moving your right hand back and forth from the bridge to the nut. 12

17 Piano Interior The to staff reresents the strings. Pitches are indefinite. The bottom art, under the middle line, reresents the wound bass strings. The lowest line is the bottom of the register. The to art, above the middle line, reresents the treble strings. The highest line is the to of the register. The bottom staff reresents ercussive sounds layed on different sots of the iano. Resectively to the lines of the staff: Wooden frame Cross bars Plate Pedals (as a ercussive element, as oose the regular edal marks) All the to three can be layed anywhere (in regard to the secific sound), to the convenience of the erformer. Their location can be seen in the iano diagram below: 1

18 Figure 5. Piano Diagram. The required beaters are: Soft bass drum beater Figure 6. Soft Bass Drum Beater. 14

19 Hard rubber beater Figure 7. Hard Rubber Beater. Soft tiani mallet Figure 8. Soft Tiani Mallet. Play with hands, additional verbal instruction will indicate which art of the hand. Figure 9. Play With Hand. Verbal instruction and additional information marked with an asterisk will indicate how to lay certain sections or segments. 15

20 Movement I '28'' 'Pedal sna' means to create a ercussive 'sna' sound by holding down the edal, then quickly removing the foot. At 4'14'' the erformer is asked to create a haunting sound by dragging a hard rubber beat on the strings in a circular motion. At 5'2'' the erformer is asked to irovised on given rhythmic figures, laying on the unwound art of the base strings (see figure 5.) This gives a high muted izzicato sound. According to the sounds in the texture that the couter roduces at this oint, the erformer can choose whether to irovise in a way that contrasts the texture or coliments its rhythmic elements. Movement II In Movement II the heartbeat of the erformer will set the teo. One ulse equals one quartet note. Unlike the other movements, there are no indications for durations. Instead. lay the movement ad. lib. with regard to the general time marks. The erformer may or may not irovise during the movement. If the erformer decides to irovise, the irovisation should be based on the boxed material. Generally, the rogress in this movement is linear. However the erformer is free to go back to revious boxed material and to irovise in a way that combines material from different arts of the movement. 16

21 Movement III 2'15'' Irovise in a way that follows the guitar as closely as ossible. The sounds are limited to: Pluck strings with guitar ick, Scrae string lengthwise with guitar ick, Drag a hard rubber beat on the strings in a circular motion, Tremolo with hard rubber beater. '27'' Glissando with a glass bottle/drinking glass: Here the erformer is instructed to slide a cylindrical glass object on the strings. Pressing the object firmly to the strings is recommended to revent buzzing. Pluck the strings, then slide the object. At 4'15'' the erformer is instructed to roll the glass cylindrical object freely on the strings, as well as to bounce a tennis ball (or similar sherical object) freely on the strings. It could be in any area of the iano, and the urose is to roduce random, uncontrollable sounds. 17

22 Gil Dori Three Meditations on the Philosohy of Boethius for couter, iano interior, and guitar

23 Three Meditations on the Philosohy of Boethius I Musica Mundana 0'00'' 0'41'' Gil Dori Couter begin synthesizers sequence Synth. 1 starts Synth 2 starts 1'22'' Co. Synth starts Pno. P. 1'22'' 8-10'' 8-10'' f mf 8-10'' 8-10'' 2'0'' Co. Synth 4 starts Pno. P. 2'0'' 8-10'' sere 8-10'' 6'' 6'' 8-10'' 201 Gil Dori All Rights Reserved

24 '25'' 4'00'' Co. synth 1 climax '28'' 10-12'' 10-12'' 10-12'' Pno. P. edal sna* sfz sfz f ord. ff mf ff f sna sfz '25'' tambora.; trem. with i and m 8-10'' f * Hold down the edal, then remove your feet quickly to make a snaing sound 8-10'' ff ff tamb. tamb. mf tamb.; trem. w/ i and a 8-10'' ff Co. 4'06'' Synth 5 start Synth decres. Synth 2 climax 4'09'' 4'51'' Synth 1 decres. Synth 2 decres. 4'06'' 4'14'' Pno. S. rest With hard rubber beater, drag around stings in a circular glissandi sere 4'06'' RH gliss.* mf * Hold down the indicated note; slide RH fingernails slowly from that oint to the bridge. Co. 4'57'' Synth 4 sends to seakers 4 + 5'00'' Pno. S. 4'57'' luck (q = ca. 66) inch* mf * Pinch string 12 frets higher than where the LH finger is held (q = ca. 96)

25 4 Co. 5'2'' 6'00'' 6'0'' synth 4 sto synth 2 sto 6'08'' synth 5 sto synth sto synth 1 sto Pluck the unwound art of the strings at the edge of the iano. Irovise in a way that corresonds to sounds roduced by latoeither following its ryhtmic activity or contrasting the general texture. Use these rhythmic atterns, teo ad. lib. 5 5'28'' RH gliss. f 6'09'' Co. begin recording buffer 1 buffer size= 6'21''; recording duration= 1'21'' 6'09'' 15'' (q = ca. 60) 15'' (q = ca. 60) Pno. S. scrae strings lengthwise with fingernail mf sere luck scrae luck scrae luck 6'09'' behind the nut 15'' (q = ca. 60) RH gliss. mf

26 5 Pno. S. 6'40'' (q = ca. 90) f mf 6'40'' behind the nut 10'' RH gliss. ff mf behind the nut f 5'' 5 7'0'' Co. sto recording buffer 1 1'21'' of recorded material out of a total size of 6'21'' Pno. S. Pno. P. 7'10'' 5'' (q = ca. 48) mf scrae strings lengthwise with fingernail f 7'10'' (q = ca. 40) 7'0'' f 7'1'' Co. begin real-time rocessing itch shift + time shift what iano lays sends to different seakers randomly Pno. P. 7'1'' 5'' as loudly as ossible 10'' f sere 8'' (q = ca. 84) 10'' f 8'10''

27 6 8'11'' Co. itch shift + time shift what guitar lays sends to different seakers randomly 8'11'' 10'' (q = ca. 100) tamb.; trem. w/ i and a 10-12''' f behind the nut as loudly as ossible RH gliss. ff mf tamb.; trem. w/ i and a 8-10'' ff 8'5'' Co. sto all sounds Pno. S. luck 8'5'' sere 8'5'' (q = ca. 80) inch* (q = ca. 80) 9'2'' With hard rubber beater, drag around stings in a circular glissandi Kee dynamic level at - sere 10'15'' 9'2'' mf 5'' tamb.; trem. w/ i and a 5'' 10'15''

28 II Musica Humana Couter 0'00'' continue recording buffer 1 recording continues from the oint the buffer (1'21''); buffer size= 6'21''; recording duration= 5'00''; record until buffer is full 5'00'' buffer is full; recording stos

29 II Musica Humana 0'00'' q= the rate of your heartbeat lay the given material ad lib. until 4'00'' You may or may not add irovisation. Base irovisation on the boxed material. Piano Strings fingertis * Piano Percussion * if necessary lay more quarter notes until you feel comfortable with the beat knuckels Pno. S. mf Pno. P. release slowly Pno. S. mf 5 5 luck fingertis mf Pno. P. fingertis 5

30 9 Pno. S. alm luck fingertis 5 f 9 mf 9 mf f Pno. P. alm fingertis Pno. S. knuckels 5 7 4'00'' alm 10-15'' A Teo lay the given material ad lib. until 5'00'' You may or may not add irovisation. Base irovisation on the boxed material. luck * Pno. P. knuckels '' release slowly 5'00'' Pno. S. fingertis 5 mf 5

31 II Musica Humana Teo is set by iano 0'48'' Electric Guitar Imitate iano as closely as ossible. Sounds are restricted to: - Pluck muted strings - Pluck behind the nut - Scrae strings lengthwise with fingernails - Pinch string 12 frets higher than where LH finger is - Tambora irovise until 1'52'' end irov. 1'52'' lay the given material ad lib. until 4'00'' You may or may not add irovisation. Base irovisation on the boxed material. mute strings by lacing LH gently over neck icku area * * if necessary lay more quarter notes until you feel comfortable with the beat mf

32 11 harm. 5 5 ord '00'' mf

33 III Musica Instrumentalis Couter 0'00'' begin recording buffer 2 buffer size= 0'44''; recording duration= 0'44; record until buffer is full 0'44'' buffer is full; recording stos Electric Guitar 0'00'' e-bow 10-12'' 10-12'' slowly slowly f 10-12'' slowly ff Co. 0'45'' layback buffer 2 adds random time shift+itch shift sends audio to different seakers randomly 0'45'' mf very slowly; use slider 10'' slowly behind the nut 8'' tambora with slider* 5'' behind the nut 8'' tambora; drum with i and m LH slider 8'' quickly tamb. sim. 10'' fff slowly *with the slider in your RH, go u and down the instrument drumming the strings lightly in a fast tambora motion Co. RH e-bow LH slider 8'' 6'' 2-4'' 5'' ta string with slider 5'' 6'' 4''

34 1 2'15'' 2'27'' Co. sto layback buffer 2 begin layback buffer 1 cres; sends audio to different seakers randomly 2'15'' Imitate guitar as closely as ossible; gradually divert to irovisation based on the sound you hear. Pno. Creat sounds using the following: - Pluck strings with a guitar ick - Scrae strings lengthwise with a guitar ick - With hard rubber beater, drag around in curcular glissandi - Tremolo with hard rubber beater irovise until '27'' 2'15'' tamb. w/ slider 8'' behind the nut (q = ca. 75) 8'' 5 f RH e-bow LH slider 2-4'' 2'' ta string with slider ff 6-8'' Co. end irov. (irovise) behind the nut 5 f 15'' (q = ca. 48) tamb. w/ slider 15''-20 slowly '26''

35 14 4'0'' Co. begins fade out; sends audio to seaker 4 and slowly move to 1 as the iece ends '27'' Pno. gliss. with a glass bottle/drinking glass* sere 48'' *luck the stings, then slide glass bottle/drinking glass; ress the object firmly to the strings to revent buzzing Co. 4'15'' 8'' 16'' 4'9'' Roll glass bottle/drinking galss freely over the string Continue rolling action, add bouncing a tennis ball (or similar) on the strings. Catch and release ball quickly 5'15'' Co.