Fissure, for solo cello

FISSURE for solo cello

Lefteris Papadimitriou

FISSURE for solo cello

Program note: Fissure is a short musical narrative realised mainly through the (spectro)morphological properties of physical gesture. The instrument is treated to an extent as a sound producing physical object instead of a musical instrument. The piece can also be played together with the electroacoustic piece Waterfall. It is also part of the larger modular piece Magical Theatre for ensemble and electronics.

Performance notes: General: - Non vibrato.

- Always let the strings ring, especially open strings.

- The piece uses a combination of metric and spatial notation and tablature and ordinary five staff notation. Headless stems are for synchronization purposes only. Bow gestures, and to a certain extend left hand gestures should feel free and not forced.

- JetĂŠ indicates a free bow bouncing on the strings controlled only in its duration.

- The score should be understood as a map of gestures and shapes in time rather than a detailed, rigid score. Shapes and gestures may be slightly expanded or contracted if that feels natural for the performer or if it is the result of interaction with the electronic part in the case of Fissure b.

-Trills should be a semitone higher.

Notation: - In the case of the tablature notation a four line staff indicates the four strings of the instrument (lower line indicates the bass string).

- The lower two line staff indicates left hand motion on the fingerboard. Top line indicates approximately the bottom of the fingerboard of the ž of the fingerboard (approximately an octave and a fifth higher from the open string). Lower line indicates open string.

-Numbers inside squares below the fingerboard staff indicate fingers opening when multiple stops are employed. Number 1 indicates very close fingers (more or less ), number 2 indicates comfortably open fingers, and number 3 extremely open fingers. Multiple stops are used only when two or more strings are played together or when a fingerboard line extends to multiple strings. The performer decides on which finger to use for each string and on the fingers

direction taking in account that a rich and varied sound is desired. Performer don't need to use quadruple stops when not needed.

- The three line upper staff first presented in section 4 indicates motion of the bow along the strings.

Upper line indicates sul ponticello position, middle line normal position and lower line sul tasto position.

- A two line upper staff indicates bow pressure. Upper line indicates normal pressure while lower line high pressure (extreme pressure which generates a noise sound). High pressure should be extreme in all cases.

- Two states of speed for vertical bow movement are used: normal bow speed and still bow (in this case bow should create sound only by parallel motion along the strings (ponticello - tasto)).

- Diamond shaped noteheads below the fingerboard staff indicate light left hand pressure as in creating harmonics while normal black notehead indicates normal pressure.

Fissure B -Fissure can be performed together with the stereo electroacoustic piece Waterfall. In that case, the name Fissure B is used.

-A Max/MSP patch is controlled by the cellist. The Max/MSP patch is used for triggering 3 stereo audio files routed to 2 loudspeakers. Each audio file name is preceded by the number 001-003, which corresponds to the three sections of the piece. Thus 001 is triggered first and 003 last. All audio files are named in the form 001name and put in the appropriate samples folder in the Max/MSP patch folder.

-The cellist (or violinist in the case of Magical Theatre) triggers the audio files with a MIDI pedal and decides the entrance of the three Waterfall sections. Capital W inside square indicates triggering of a Waterfall section, while lower case w indicates receiving a trigger from Waterfall. In that case a capital F in Waterfall score indicates the Fissure triggering.

-Cello should be amplified with contact or DPA microphone and mixed with the audio. Alternatively, the cello may be projected through a third loudspeaker, placed between the two loudspeakers projecting the Waterfall audio files.

Magical Theatre Fissure and Waterfall are also part of the larger piece for ensemble and electronics Magical Theatre.

See the performance notes of Magical Theatre for specific synchronization and triggering directions.

FISSURE l.g.3

(Triggered by section 3 of Liquid Glass when part of Magical Theatre)

1 8. Interference (Jupiter in Gemini) q = 60

Use a clear cyclic gesture on the bow (imitate, if possible, cymbal sound on Liquid Glass) 3:2

3:2

4:3 5:4

5:4

normal pessure

3:2

high poressure

5:4

sul ponticello sul tasto

4 ‰ 4

Cello

bottom

œ

F

œ.

œ . œœ .. œ

œ œ

œ 3 œ 4

œ œ œ œ .. œ œ œ ≈œ

Fingerboard

œ

O

open string

1

œ œ ‰ f

œ . œ. œ‰ 4 ≈ 4

(open string)

œ

2

œ œ.

≈

~~

‰

œ œ.

O

œ œ œ

Jeté

œ

œœ œ ‰ œœ≈œ ≈ ≈ œ

1

O

3 4

œ

W.1 (Trigger section 1 of Waterfall) (wait for Waterfall to begin and then play next figure) Use a cyclic bow gesture 5:4

4:3

5

4:3 3:2

3:2

3:2

Vc.

3 œ 4

œ œ œ œœ œ . œœ Ÿ~~~

2

œœ

normal still 4 ≈ œœ œ œ œ œ œœ œ 4 œ œ œ œ œ ..

O 1

œ O

œ

U

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œ

Jeté

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5:4

3:2

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4 œœ œ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ œœœ O

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2

OœO œ

4 4

2

w.1

9. Cruelty (Mars in Gemini) 5:4 3:2

9

Vc.

œ

œ

‰

œ

œ

œœ

≈

œ.

5:4

3:2

13

œ œœ œ œ œ œ< < œœ œ . ≈ œ . œ œ.

Vc.

œœ œ œœ œ œœ œœ

W.2 5:4

17

Vc.

œ

O

1

4:3

2

‰ ‰

~~~~~

œ ≈œ

œ

4 4

œ

œ

arco

œœ œ

œœ

still

normal

œ

4:3

3:2

43

3

œ

normal bow speed

œ

œ

2

œ

œ œ

œ

still

O

c.l.b.

œ

≈ ‰ œ œ

œ

œœ ≈

pizz.

œœ

arco

œ œ œ

1

(trigger section 2 of Waterfall somewhere between that space)

œ ≈ œ œ ≈ ≈ œ œœ ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ

œ

3:2

œœ

‰

Ÿ~~~~~~~~ œ

O

3:2

c.l.b.

Jeté

Jeté

œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ ® 43

œ.

œ

2

3

5:4

œœ

c.l.b.

still bow

j

4:3

3:2

‰ œœ œ ≈ ‰ œ œœ œ œ œ œ œ

‰

Jeté

3:2

~~~~

4 ≈ 4

Jeté

3:2

~~~~

2

(Triggered between 0.13 - 0.23 of section 1 of Waterfall)

4 4

œ

œ œ

still

œ

pizz.

œ

œ

3:2

arco Jeté

œ

œœ ≈œœ œ

c.l.b.

3

O

œœ œ ≈ ≈ ≈ œ œ œ œ pizz.

œ

c.l.b.

œœ ≈ arco Jeté

2

œ

pizz. œ

œ p œ

≈

3

w.2

(Triggered between 0.20 - 0.33 of section 2 of Waterfall)

3 10. Ruin (Sun in Gemini)

Vc.

21

c.l.b.

Jeté

arco

œ œ œ œ œ œ œœ pizz.

Jeté arco

still

œœ œœ

œ

Vc.

Vc.

Jeté c.l.b.

œ œ 1

œ

œ

œ

arco Jeté

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Jeté c.l.b.

œ

1

arco

normal Jeté arco

Ó

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3

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norm.

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pizz.

3

Jeté c.l.b.

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œ œ œ

still

œ

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norm.

still

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œ

pizz.

2

1

c.l.b. pizz. œ pizz. œ œœ œ œ

2

3

Jeté

œ arco œ œ œ œ œ . œ œ pizz.

W.3

U

œ

œ œœ

still

œ

pizz.

still

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pizz.

œ

pizz.

œ

arco

œ œ

œ

29

(If section 2 of Waterfall is still playing wait here for its ending and then trigger Waterfall 3)

2

œ

pizz.

œ

arco still

œ

pizz.

3

25

Jeté

œ

pizz. œœ c.l.b. œpizz. œ œ œ

still

2

œ

3

œ œ œ