æther

! !

ĂŚther!

for$open$score$for$spatialized$ensemble$ $

!

Jordan!Nobles!

$

!

Inspired$by,$and$dedicated$to,$Kelly$Nobles$ North!Vancouver,!September!2011!

æther!

open!score!for!spatialized!ensemble! !

Inspired$by,$and$dedicated$to,$Kelly$Nobles! !

About!the!Piece!

æther$was!completed!in!September!2011!in!North!Vancouver,!British!Columbia,!Canada.!

The!duration!of!the!piece!varies!and!can!be!as!short!or!as!long!as!desired.! !

Program!Note!

The!æther!(also!spelled!aether!or!ether)!was!once!believed!to!be!the!material!that!fills!the!region!of!the! universe!above!the!terrestrial!sphere,!where!the!stars!reside.!Instead!of!the!vacuum!we!know!is!there!today! previously!it!was!imagined!that!a!vaporous!element!surrounded!the!Earth,!filled!the!heavens!and!was!the!very! breath!of!the!Gods.! !

Performance!Notes!

INSTRUCTIONS!

In!æther,!the!performers!are!given!numerous!phrases!to!play.!There!is!no!synchronized!score.! æther$should!begin!and!end!with!a!quiet!G!drone!and!last!for!whatever!duration!is!desired!

• what!phrases!to!play,!and!when!to!play!them,!should!be!decided!by!each!performer!on!their!own!in!the! spur!of!the!moment.!Musicians!proceed!independently!performing!any!phrase!in!any!order.!

• one!does!not!need!play!every!single!phrase.!In!fact!one!could!decide!just!to!play!the!G!drone!for!the!whole! piece!if!desired.!

• all!phrases!should!be!soft!and!quiet!throughout!the!piece!!

• some!phrases!can!be!performed!in!a!different!octave!if!desired!as!long!as!they!are!still!performed!quietly!

• players!can!pause!between!phrases!to!breathe!and!to!listen!or!proceed!directly!to!another!phrase!

• the!tempo!is!variable!but!each!phrase!should!only!last!as!long!as!a!single!breath!or!bow!

• each!performer!plays!in!his/her!own!time!but!conscious!of,!and!responsive!to,!the!other!players!!

• players!should!decide!ahead!of!time!how!long!to!perform!the!piece!and!how!to!end;!whether!stopping!all! together!or!dropping!out!one!at!a!time!

• Performers!can!change!octaves!whenever!they!wish!to!as!long!as!they!only!do!so!after!each!phrase.!

Phrases!should!stay!in!the!same!octave.!

• Accidental!markings!apply!to!all!subsequent!incidences!of!the!note!in!the!same!phrase.!

• Only!play!cells!suitable!for!your!instrument!!

• Musicians!in!smaller!ensembles!can!play!more!often!but!in!larger!ensembles!musicians!should!play!less! often!to!give!space!throughout!the!performance.!

• Long!tones!may!be!played!straight!or!as!a!very!quiet!tremolo!X!not!flutterXtongue,!however.! !

INSTRUMENT!SPECIFIC!NOTES!

Percussion!–!use!mallets!instruments!(vibes,!marimba,!etc.)!switching!instruments!occasionally!for!colour.!!

Piano!&!Harp!–!please!use!lots!of!sustain!and!change!octaves!frequently.!

Harp!X!due!to!the!chromatic!nature!of!the!lead!line!only!an!accompaniment!role!is!recommended!for!harpists!

Guitars!–!use!a!clean!warm!tone!with!maybe!a!little!reverb.!A!volume!pedal!can!be!useful!but!is!not!obligatory.!

Please!choose!fingerings!that!allow!strings!to!ring!as!much!as!possible.!

Winds!–!use!your!main!instrument!mostly,!but!feel!free!to!double!on!an!alternative!for!colour!if!desired.!!

Strings!–!vibrato!can!be!used!tastefully!and!please!vary!the!bow!position!occasionally!!

Voice!–!Feel!free!to!improvise!vowels!and!consonants!either!melismatically!or!syllabically!within!the!cells.! ! æther$©!Jordan!Nobles,!North!Vancouver,!September!2011!!!!www.jordannobles.com!

!

SPATIALIZATION!

æther$is!written!for!the!musicians!to!be!spatially!spread!about!the!performance!space,!preferably!surrounding! the!audience.!Balconies,!lofts,!etc.!can!also!be!utilized!as!well.!

While! it! is! not! vital! for! the! piece! to! be! performed! this! way,! a! spatial! distribution! of! musicians! will! greatly! enhance!the!effect!of!the!piece.!

The!exact!layout!will!vary!depending!on!the!venue!and!is!not!important!as!long!as!they!are!evenly!distributed! throughout!the!space.!Also,!if!possible,!the!sections!should!not!be!together!as!would!be!the!norm!but!instead! should! be! separated! so! each! member! of! a! section! (violins,! etc)! is! in! a! different! area! of! the! space! from! the! others.!!

Note:$It$may$be$beneficial$to$rehearse$the$piece,$at$least$at$first,$in$the$standard$layout$with$all$of$the$musicians$ together.$Then,$once$the$piece$is$learned,$it$can$be$spread$out$and$rehearsed$in$a$spatial$configuration.$ !

OPTIONAL!ACCOMPANIMENT!

æther$is!composed!to!be!performed!with!an!optional!accompanying!piano,!harp,!!glockenspiel!or! guitar.!The!attack/decay!sound!of!those!instruments!is!to!represent!the!‘stars’!in!the!æther.!

• the!following!notes!can!be!played!in!any!order!but!conscious!of,!and!responsive!to,!the!musicians! playing!the!legato!phrases!

• play!very!sparsely,!only!1!or!2!notes!at!a!time,!and!avoid!any!recognizable!pulse!

• all!notes!should!ring!until!they!decay!naturally!

• all!notes!should!be!very!soft!and!quiet!throughout!the!piece!

• the!accompaniment!should!begin!after,!and!end!before,!the!other!musicians! ! !

“”

Pitches!for!the!piano,!harp,!guitar!or!glockenspiel:!

nœ #œ œ b œ n œ œ œ b œ œ œ # # œ œ œ œ b b œ œ œ œ & œ œ bœ œ œ bœ # œ œ œ bœ

!

NOTE:!If!no!accompanying!instrument!is!available!but!‘stars’!are!still!desired;!fingers!cymbals!and/or!triangles! can!be!substituted,!performed!by!the!musicians,!as!long!as!there!are!at!least!8!triangles!and/or!finger!cymbals! spread!throughout!the!space.!! ! !

ALTERNATIVE!PERFORMANCE!IDEAS! • A!performance!can!start!with!the!musicians!together!on!stage!and!as!soon!as!the!piece!has!begun!they!can! slowly!spread!throughout!the!venue.!Or!alternatively!they!can!come!physically!together!by!the!end.!

• or,!musicians!can!enter!the!stage!one!at!a!time!and!begin!playing.!Also!they!can!end!the!piece!this!way!in! reverse!with!each!player!gracefully!exiting!the!stage!after!finishing!

• the! piece! could! instead! begin! with! the! piano,! or! other! instrument,! noodling! absentmindedly! with! the! above!pitches!before!a!concert.!The!G!drone!could!be!present!before!the!audience!even!enters!and!sits.!

Gradually,! one! by! one! the! audience! will! figure! out! that! the! piece! has! already! started! and! once! they! are! quiet!the!musicians!could!then!enter,!already!playing.!

• a!large!public!facility!(with!good!acoustics),!such!as!an!atrium!can!be!taken!over!by!the!ensemble!and!the! piece!used!as!an!installation!of!sorts!with!the!musicians!playing!while!dispersed!throughout.! ! æther$©!Jordan!Nobles,!North!Vancouver,!September!2011!!!!www.jordannobles.com!

Score in C

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

Begin with quiet drone

U w™

U 2 1

U & w pp w

&

Anyone can play the G drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

U w™

3

4

U w™

5

U #w ™

bw™ p

3

6

& ˙ ™ #œ w

7

8

˙ b˙

9

w œ ˙ bœ œ w b˙™

Ϫ w

p

11

10

˙™ ˙ ™

12

& b˙ w

˙™ b ˙ ™

13

b˙ w

14

˙ w b˙

˙

p

3

15

& ˙ #œj ˙

œ w

16

17

j œ w

œ ˙

b˙ p

j œ bœ ™ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ w 3

3

18

19

&

bœ ™ w ˙™ p

#œ œ bœ œ #œ ˙™

20

œ bœ œ ™ w

21

œ bœ œ #œ bœ ˙ ™ 3

22

& ˙™

bœ ™ œ w

23

24

œ bœ œ œ b œ w

bϪ Ϫ w

p

25

29

& ˙ #œ ™ bœ w p & œ™ bœj œ œ w

26

bœ ˙ ™ bœ w

27

28

œbœ™ œ w 30

œ™ bœ œ™ œ ™ #œj w J

31

œ ™ œ b˙ w

j #œ b œ bœ w œ œ™

p

U End with quiet drone which slowly fades away...

& w o pp

æther in C © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in C (Alto Clef)

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

Begin with quiet drone

U w B w

Anyone can play the G drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

pp

1

U w™

U w™

U w™

U B bw ™

#U w™

2 3

4

5

p

b˙™

™ B ˙ #œ w

œ™ w œ ˙ bœ œ w

7

8

˙ b˙

9

6

w

p 3

b˙ w 10

B ˙™ b˙ ™

˙™ ˙ ™

11

12

13

b˙ w

˙ w b˙

˙ 14

p

˙ #œ ˙ 15 B J

œ ˙

b˙

œ w

œ w J

16

17

œ bœ ™ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ w J 3

p

bœ ™ w 18 B ˙™

œ bœ œ™ w

#œ œ b œ œ #œ ˙™ 19

œ bœ œ #œ bœ ˙ ™

20

21

3 3

p

bœ™ œ w B ˙™ 22

23

bœ ™ œ ™ w

24

œ bœ œ œ bœ w 3

p

bœ ˙™ bœ w ˙ #œ ™ bœ w 25 B

26

27

œ ™ œ b˙ w

œ bœ ™ œ w

28

p

œ™ bœJ œ œ w 29 B

30

œ™ b œ œ™ œ ™ #œ w J J

31

bœ #œ bœ w œ œ™ J

p

End with quiet drone

U B w pp

which slowly fades away...

o

æther in C (Alto Clef) © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in C (Bass Clef)

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

Begin with quiet drone

U ? w w

Anyone can play the G drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

pp

1

U w™

? bU w™

U w™

U w™

U #w ™

2 3

4

5

p

b˙ ™

Ϫ w

? ˙™ #œ w

˙ b˙

3

w œ ˙ bœ œ w 7

8

9

6 p

b˙ w ˙ ™ ˙™

? ˙ ™ b˙ ™

10

11

12

13

b˙ w

˙ w b˙

˙ 14

p

? ˙ #œ ˙ 15 J

œ ˙

b˙ œ w

œ w J

16

3

17

œ bœ ™ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ w J

p

œ bœ œ™ w

3

?

18

bœ ™ w ˙™

#œ œ bœ œ #œ ˙ ™ 19

3

œ bœ œ #œ bœ ˙™ 20

21

p

bœ ™ œ w

3

? ˙™ 22

23

bœ ™ œ™ w

24

œ bœ œ œ bœ w

p

? ˙ #œ ™ bœ w 25

b œ ˙™ bœ w 26

27

w œ bœ ™ œ

28

w œ™ œ b˙

p

? œ ™ bœ œ œ w 29 J

30

œ ™ bœJ œ ™ œ™ #œ w J

31

™ bœ #œ bœ w œ œ J

p

End with quiet drone

? U w pp

which slowly fades away...

o

æther in C (Bass Clef) © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in Bb

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

U & w w pp

Begin with quiet drone

1

U & ™ w

U w™

2

Anyone can play the drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

U w™

3

U w™ 4

5

U #w ™

p

3

6

˙

˙ & ˙™ #œ w

7

8

w

9

œ ˙ œœ w

˙™

Ϫ w

p

11

10

12

& ˙ w

˙™ ˙™

˙ ™ ˙™

13

˙ w ˙

˙ w

14

˙

p

3

15

j & ˙ #œ ˙

œ w

16

17

j œ w

œ ˙

˙

j œ œ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ w

p

3 3

18

19

&

œ™ w ™ ˙ p

œ œ œ™ w

#œ œ œ œ #œ ˙ ™

20

21

œ œ œ #œ œ ˙™ 3

œ™ œ w 22

23

& ˙™

24

œ œœœ œ w

œ ™ œ™ w

p

œ ˙™ 25

& ˙ #œ ™ œ w

œ w 26

27

28

œ œ™ œ w

œ™ œ ˙ w

p

29

j & œ™ œ œ œ w

30

œ ™ œJ œ ™ œ™ #œj w

j œ ™ œ #œ œ w

31

œ p

U End with quiet drone which slowly fades away...

& w pp

o

æther in Bb © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in Eb

æther open score for chamber ensmble Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Jordan Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

U w & w

Begin with quiet drone

Anyone can play the drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

pp

1

U w™

U & w™

U w™

2 3

4

U #w ™

U #w ™ 5

p

6

˙

#˙ ˙™ #œ w &

7

w œ ˙ œœ w

˙ ™ #œ ™ w

8

9

p 3

10

& ˙™ ˙™

˙ ™ ˙™

˙ w

11

˙ w

12

13

14

˙

˙ w ˙

p

15

˙ #œ ˙ #œ w & J

œ ˙ #œj w

16

˙

œ œ™ œ œ œ œ œ œ w J

17

p 3

œ™ w 18 & ˙™

#œ œ œ œ #œ ˙ ™ 19

20

œ œ œ #œ œ ˙™

#œ œ œ ™ w

21

3 3

p

œ™ œ #w ™ 22 & ˙

23

œ ™ œ™ #w

24

œ œœœ œ w 3

p

˙ #œ ™ œ w 25

œ ˙™ 26

&

27

œ #w

w œ œ™ œ

28

w œ™ œ ˙

p

™ œœ œ w 29 & œ J

30

#œ ™ œJ œ ™ œ™ #œ w J

31

™ œ #œ œ w œ œ J

p

End with quiet drone

U & w pp

which slowly fades away...

o

æther in Eb © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in F

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

U & w w

Begin with quiet drone

Anyone can play the drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

pp

1

U & w™

U w™

2

U™ w 3

4

U w™

U #w ™ 5

p

3

6

™ & ˙ #œ w

7

œ ˙ bœ œ w

8

9

Ϫ w

˙™

˙ ˙ w

p

11

10

& ˙™ ˙™

˙ w

˙™ ˙ ™

12

13

˙ w

˙ w ˙

14

˙

p 3

15

& ˙ # œj ˙

j œ w

16

œ ˙

˙

œ w

17

j œ bœ ™ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ w

p

3 3

bœ ™ w 18 & ˙™

19

20

#œ œ œ œ#œ ˙ ™

œ œ œ™ w

21

œ bœ œ #œ bœ ˙ ™

p 3

22

&

23

œ™ œ w

œ™ œ ™ w

24

œ bœ œ œ œ w

˙™ p

25

& ˙ #œ ™ bœ w

26

bœ ˙™

27

œ w

œ œ™ œ w

28

œ ™ œ b˙ w

p

29

& œ™ bœJ œ œ w p

30

j œ ™ œ œ ™ œ™ # œj w

End with quiet drone

U & w pp

31

œ™ bœ #œ bœ w œ J

which slowly fades away...

o

æther in F © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com

Score in G

æther open score for chamber ensmble Jordan Nobles Inspired by, and dedicated to, Kelly Nobles

Freely q = approx. 60-90 All phrases molto legato

Begin with quiet drone

U & w w

Anyone can play the drone at anytime during the piece as long as there are enough players keeping it going throughout and they perform it pianissimo

pp

U 1 & bw ™

U w™

2

U w™ 3

4

U w™

U w™ 5

p

3

7 6

& ˙™

œ w œ ˙ bœ œ w

8

b˙ ™

9

Ϫ w

˙ b˙ w

p

11

10

& ˙ ™ b˙ ™

˙ ™ ˙™

12

b˙ w

13

b˙ w

˙ w b˙

14

˙

p

3

15

j œ w

16

&˙

j œ˙

œ ˙

b˙ œ w

17

j œ bœ ™ œ bœ œ bœ œ œ w

p

3

18

& ˙ ™ bœ ™ w

œ œ bœ œ œ ˙ ™ 19

20

œ bœ œ ™ w

21

œ bœ œ œ bœ ˙™

3

p 3

bœ ™ œ ™ w

bœ ™ œ w 22

& ˙™

23

24

œ bœ œ œ bœ w

p

25

& ˙ œ ™ bœ w

26

bœ ˙ ™ bœ w

27

28

w œ bœ ™ œ

w œ™ œ b˙

p

29

j & œ ™ bœ œ œ w

30

œ ™ bœ œ ™ œ™ œ w J J

31

j ™ bœ œ bœ w œ œ

p

End with quiet drone

U & w pp

which slowly fades away...

o

æther in G © Jordan Nobles, North Vancouver, September 2011 (revised Feb 2012) www.jordannobles.com