Like a Window Pane (Wie ein Glasfenster, 1924) for Indeterminate Ensemble, Pre-Recorded Electronics, and Soloist(s) No. 155 from Paul Klee : Painted Songs Jonathan Posthuma
Like a Window Pane (Wie ein Glasfenster, 1924) No. 155 from Paul Klee : Painted Songs Jonathan Posthuma (b. 1989)
Percussion Step 1:
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A soloist (or group of soloists) should organize an indeterminate group of players to create or improvise gestures, textures, or musical ideas for each of the color layers, using the following suggestions as prompts. These fragments should be pre-recorded, pre-determined, or assigned in secret before the performance. Black -- nearly imperceptible, from silence back into silence
like the night
wie die Nacht
Grey -- in the background, from silence to quiet static
like smoke
wie Rauch
Brown -- in the background, quiet drone or sustained texture
like coals
wie Kohlen
Red -- in the middle, interwoven rising and falling phrases, with quiet passion like embers
wie Glut
Orange -- in the foreground, aggressive outburst but shortlived
like flames
wie Flammen
Yellow -- in the foreground, ecstatic and energetic
like sparks
wie Funken
Green - in the foreground, a florid cadence or trill
like tendrils
wie Ranken
Dark Red, Orange, Yellow, Green -- same ideas as above, but a faint echo
like echoes
wie Echos
like a window pane
wie ein Glasfenster
Narrators or singers can use the English or German phrases (like smoke wie Rauch, etc.) if performed with text, but this is completely optional. Step 2: Assemble the fragments in time, so that they are distributed throughout the duration. Fragments can overlap with each other. The background layers should blend together and the middle and foreground layers stand out. The distribution can be done randomly, or with planning, but the frequency and distribution should follow this general hierarchy. Most Frequent --> <-- Least Frequent Brown, Grey, Black, Red/Dark Red, Green/Dark Green, Orange/Dark Orange, Yellow/Dark Yellow It may be helpful for players to record or plan multiple Brown, Grey, Black, and Red gestures but fewer, or only a single, Green, Orange, or Yellow gesture depending on the size of the ensemble. Fragments can be repeated or edited, but this process should be obscured from the soloist(s). Alternatively, the soloist can have a role in shaping the frequency and distribution of the fragments, so that they know the general form, pacing, and duration of the performance, but they should not hear the actual sound of each fragment in any way. Step 3: A soloist, or a any number of soloists, respond to this pre-determined landscape with their own improvisation. Ideally, the soloist(s) have never heard the landscape and react live to the pre-determined events and layers. The piece may last any duration.
Copyright ©2020, Jonathan Posthuma Demodocus Music Publishing / www.jonathanposthuma.com
December 7, 2020 Newport, MN