In 1781, C.P.E. Bach sold his Silbermann clavichord to Dietrich Ewald von Grotthuss. To mark the sale, Bach wrote a ‘farewell’ rondo, Abschied von meinem Silbermannischen Claviere. Bach’s rondo makes extensive use of bebung, an expressive feature of the clavichord that allows the player to vary the pitch of a note by varying the pressure of a finger on a key.
Vanishing Points (2017) is based on an analysis of Bach’s Abschied, in particular, the notes accorded a bebung marking in Bach’s score. Electronic sounds are distributed live through the mobile devices of audience members, using the web audio technology, CoSiMa Nü Soundworks, developed at IRCAM.
This transition from the domain of fixed loudspeakers to mobile devices enacts another kind of bebung, which is marked by a change in frequency response and accordingly, by the modulation of electronic sound as it is distributed to individual listening spaces.
Vanishing Points was first performed by Nicholas Brown (clavichord) at the Orpheus Institute, Ghent as part of the inaugural Open Circuit event of live sound art in September 2017. The work was subsequently performed at Sonorities Festival, Belfast in April 2018.
Technical Requirements for Performance:
This piece uses web audio technology (IRCAM/CoSiMa software, Nü Soundworks) to distribute and spatialize audio sounds via the mobile phones of the audience. Audience members access a page with their mobile devices.
- Five octave, unfretted clavichord
- MIDI pedal
- Pickup or small-diaphragm condenser microphone (e.g. AKG C411PP or P170)
- Max 8 software with Bach package & Nü soundworks installed
- Quadraphonic audio with subwoofer
- WiFi connection
- Mobile devices (audience)
