Written for the brilliant players of the Ensemble Sillages and for my partner, improvising cellist, Danielle DeGruttola. In Le Sillage I try to create the experience of both frozen time and time in motion. The experience is not specific in nature, tells no story, but is rather immersive and perhaps feels like an alternate universe. I imagine a person walking who suddenly stops, immobile, to watch for a very long time the patterns of a flock of birds. The piece is in three large sections around five minutes each. The opening section is playful, the middle section descends and is darker, the final section is very bleak and obscure. The electronics are synthesized in real time based on pitch analysis of the improvising cellist.
My special thanks to the improvising cellist, Danielle Degruttola for her invaluable support in composing the important cello part. The cello is especially tuned and provides the complex invariant sound made to go with the accordion. The ensemble produces a continually descending complex continuant of sound. The cello and accordion along with the live electronics form a continuous backdrop for the other ensemble players. The keyboardist is managing the evolution of the electronics and provides the glue that holds the design together. What does it mean? Different things for different people, including the performers, the listeners, and the composer. For me, it is an invitation for you to enter my world of sound for a few minutes, to have an experience of another space. The electronics for Le Sillage were created by the composer in close collaboration with Jon Kulpa and Jeremy Wagner at CNMAT.Jon implemented the "shimmer" synthesis that is based in part on an algorithm from Carmine Cella. Jeremy Wagner implemented the "Bollinger Bands" that constrain the live pitch analysis being fed to the synthesizer. The pitch analysis is a version of Fiddle~ by Miller Puckette.
The musicians of the Ensemble Sillages who premiered the piece include: Jean-Marc Fessart, Clarinets; Hélène Colmbotti, percussion; Aida Aragoneses, harp; Vincent Leterme, midi keyboard; Céline Rivoal, accordion; Danielle DeGruttola, guest improvising cellist; David Milnes, Conductor, Edmund Campion, electronics.
View More
