An Instrument in Dialogue with the Circumstances of its Construction (2023) is the first composition in an ongoing series for clavichord and electronics, BEBUNG. It was written for performance on a two-octave, electroacoustic clavichord designed and built in 2023.
The notated score and electronic material are both derived from an analysis of a sound recording of a 3D printer fabricating the twenty-five key levers of the new instrument. The frequent, musical shifts between affective performance states allude to the music style of C.P.E. Bach, particularly his trio sonata of 1749, ‘Dialogue between a Melancholicus and Sanguineus’. The dialogic character of the piece is extended further by live interaction with a machine learning agent (Dicy2, IRCAM) and its gestural range is extended by a Trill (Bela) touch sensor.
The composition also alludes to the 8-bit sounds of 1980s computing, from the chirpy loading noises of cassette-based software to the rattle of dot-matrix printing.
An Instrument in Dialogue with the Circumstances of its Construction received its first performance in a solo recital at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent, September 2023. For more information about the BEBUNG series, click here.
Technical Requirements for Performance:
- The work may be performed with either of two loudspeaker configurations: octophonic (eight speakers spaced on a circle by 45°, first speaker 22.5°) or quadraphonic (four speakers at the four corners of the listening space).
- Small table and piano stool in center of performance space for clavichordist
- Seating for audience ‘in the round’ preferred
- TRS cabling and 3 × 240VAC power outlets to table
The development of the BEBUNG project and composition of An Instrument in Dialogue with the Circumstances of its Construction was supported by a grant from Arts Council Ireland, 2022-23.
