SAUNDERS
The Mouth for Soprano solo and Electronics
Score
ISSUU Version
For perusal only
REBECCA SAUNDERS
For perusal only
The Mouth
for Soprano solo and Electronics
Score
With my grateful thanks to Juliet Fraser and Alexis Baskind
Commissioned by Annie Clair for Manifeste Festival Paris, September 2020
First performed by Juliet Fraser (soprano) and Alexis Baskind (IRCAM computer music design) on 5 September 2020
POD PETERS on demand
ISSUU Version
For perusal only
The
Mouth
(2018-20)
for Soprano solo and Electronics
ISSUU Version For perusal only
The mouth is the threshold between two worlds, the interior and exterior
There is the inner voice which each of us carries within - an internal monologue, our voice-over, an incessant narraAve, suppressed and hidden beneath the surface.
And then there is the voice we send into the world - momentary arAculaAons, an eloquent discourse or a stumbling incoherent murmur.
This sounding voice is vulnerable, of utmost fragility - a part of us exposed and projected out of us and into the abyss.
And there is the chasm between inside and outside: a dichotomy between the inner and outer voice, between our secret internal monologue and the voice sent into the world and that is heard.
And the mouth is at this threshold, embodying a kind of purgatory.
This piece asks: what s this inner voice, what is there suppressed, held within, flowing beneath the surface? And what can actually then be said, if anything at all?
The text is my own - streams of recitaAons, with occassional moments of clarity.
The work explores the extensive range of colours and sounds naturally produced within the mouth cavity.
The electronic part is made enArely from live recordings of Juliet Fraser's recorded voice, and a liMle of my own.
WriMen with my grateful thanks to Juliet Fraser and Alexis Baskind for this wonderful collaboraAon.
RS, July 2020
ISSUU Version
For perusal only
formants imply central pitch as clearly as possible inhaling. pitches.
General
Birds
I��
The “Birds” is fragile, unpredictable and delicate. Produced in the whistle register, the sound is tiny and not projected. Employ high pressure and a tiny amount of air,almost none.
Find this sound by taking the fry up into the whistle register.The pitch is too high for a true fry, which first flips into noise split tones (s. above) and then eventually into a mixture of pre-dominantly very high, pure but unstable.
ISSUU Version For perusal only
Embrace the sound's instability and try to sit at the point where it oscillates. This sound combines a quasi-electronicquality with the sound of multiple distant seagull calls
Always take the time you need to establish and follow the sound, changing durations as necessary.
The work is in four sections: Inside, Melody, Noise and Fry. Each section has timings throughout in seconds. Sections 1, 2 and 3 (Inside, Melody and Noise) begin at 0ʹ00ʺ.
Ideal timings for the start of Melody and Noise are provided, although additional electronic playback is provided. In this case, the singer can cue the sound engineer when she is ready for the timer to be re-set to 0ʹ00ʺ at Melody and Noise, or alternatively to operate herself with a foot-pedal or on a touchscreen interface.
All rests and fermatas are given in seconds, even if the tempo is other than crotchet (1/4) = 60. Generally,adapt sounds, consonants/vowels and other timbral techniques where necessary to make your interpretation natural to your voice at all times. Duration: 20 minutes.
Electronics
The electronics consist of pre-recorded material on 5 channels (left,right,center, left back and right back) and direct amplification of the voice with 2 microphones.
A reduced version of the electronics on stereo+sub is possible by sending the Lback channel to L, Rback to R,and C to L+R with 6dB reduction.
The aesthetic principlebehind the electronics of The Mouth is to create a small “box” of electronics around the singer The point here is not to produce a transparent dialogue between live voice and surrounding electronics,but rather to create an almost claustrophobic fusion between both, the live voice being as embedded as possible in the space created by electronics. In technical terms, this means that the speakers should be either physically close to each other and to the singer or,if it's technically not suitable,e.g. if L/R speakers are already pre-installed on both sides of the stage, to virtually reduce the distance between the speakers though panning The speakers should also not be too high, ideally not more than 4m above the floor of the stage stage floor If this is technically not feasible, it may be worth considering adding an extra front-fill below each speaker in order to virtually lower them.
The live voice is amplified through three different microphones:
• Microphone 1 (Ml) in front of the singer (small-diaphram hypercardioid) and Microphone 2 (M2) at her side (KMSl0S or simi ar). These are the main microphones. Ml is primarily intended for ordinary sung and spoken voice, and M2 for close-up recitation,air tenutos e.g. “eh” etc. – but please note there are exceptions to this,as shown in the score The score shows whereM2 is used and needs to be amplified,and it assumes otherwise that Ml is used.
• The sound engineer in charge of the P. A. must be able to read a contemporary music score.
• A third headset microphone (M3) should be used for soft sounds requiring proximity and strong amplification (whispering and percussive recitations for instance),whereas the Ml + M2 are intended for the dominant loud sections. Suggestion: compress the signal from the DPA strongly and mix t with Ml+M2 with an appropriate delay: the threshold for compression should then correspond to the transition between soft and loud sounds.
The singer's amplified voice should remain positioned as close as possible to the singer,using mainly the central cluster and/or wedge,and L and R as support, possibly with a small delay (Hass effect)
The microphones,monitors and computer screens should not disturb the visual image of the lone singer on the stage. Clear view of her face and upper body in particular are important.
A Technical Rider and detailed information regarding the pre-recorded electronics and the operating programme, « Saunders_The_Mouth_Player » can be obtained on request from Edition Peters.
RS, December 2020, post-premier version
The Mouth (2018-20)
Texts
ISSUU Version For perusal only
Solitude
Skin
Caught More lies. Caught mine. S:r, s:r. Caught. S:r lately. And saw. Low. Me, so, so. Roll.
Quiet, simple. S:r. Quite quietly. Trick steady shit. Quan::es oh skin. Bi:ng. Skin, melt, melt.
Thoughts remnants. Shielded some:mes like a secret. Disclosure s:ll. Saw me so, so, so.
Quite simple. Quite s:rring. Bi:ng melt melt. So s:ll, so, so. Stay so, stay. More skin. More skin. More said . Nor unsaid.
Quite never understood. Bi:ng of the skin. Melt, melt. Fabulous. Oh s:ll.
Rest star strange yes. Disclosure. More skin. Skin. Nor. Rest no more. Nor more. Said. Shadows. So, so, so. Stay so. Not unsaid. Some thing. Some moment. More dust. More said. More skin. More said.
Yes, no more no say. Oh so s:ll. Shit. Quite quietly. Trick, steady, shit. So s:ll, so. Quite, quite simple.
Neither
Implies two. Neither of which. Absence of. Absence of rela:on.
Without reference, -regard- to; in the abstract; a se.
Neither here nor there. Void vacuous desert devoid.
Exempt from, not having. Without, nowhere, nowther. Hiatus. Non est inventus. Pariah. Oasis. Except unless save barring beside without.
Absent equal true. Nor neither.
Neither one, no one of two, none, not any one, no thing. And not. Nor yet.
Dust
A fine dry powder of :ny par:cles of waste maZer or earth.
A film of dust like a membrane, covering or layering the body or thing, on the ground, on surfaces or carried in the air.
The dust of the earth, a place of burial.
Dust within a room, mostly of dead skin: a powder of mortal remains.
Absent, silent, sole, Naught beside.
Solitaire, Santon, pariah, Cenobite.
Either, neither, solus, Unified.
A state or quality of being alone, solitary, or remote
Implies the absence of all others: inaccessibility, withdramal, seclusion, isola:on.
A state of separa:on.
A lonely or secluded place: wilderness, waste, desert, emp:ness, wasteland.
Insilence, vacuous and devoid.
Unbreathed
Inside, withheld, unbreathed, Nether, undisclosed.
Souffle, vapour, ghost, hauch and dust.
Absent, silent, void, Naught beside.
Either, neither, sole, Unified
ISSUU Version For perusal only
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Rebecca Saunders
ISSUU Version
For perusal only
Rebecca Saunders (b. 1967) studied with Wolfgang Rihm at the Musikhochschule in Karlsruhe, Germany, and for a doctorate in composition with Nigel Osborne at Edinburgh University. She lives in Berlin. Saunders’ numerous composition prizes include three Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, two BASCA British Composer Awards and the 2019 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. Her works have been performed at festivals including the Huddersfeld Festival, the Berlin Biennale and the Darmstadt International Summer Course. In 2009 she became a member of the Berlin Academy of Arts. Saunders’ works include chroma, for chamber groups distributed throughout the performance space; void, a concerto for percussion duo and orchestra; and Yes, a spatial performance for soprano, 19 soloists and conductor.
Rebecca Saunders (*1967) studierte Komposition bei Wolfgang Rihm an der Musikhochschule Karlsruhe und promovierte an der Edinburgh University bei Nigel Osborne. Sie lebt in Berlin. Saunders wurde für ihr Schaffen vielfach ausgezeichnet, u. a. mit drei Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards, zwei BASCA British Composer Awards sowie mit dem Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis 2019. Ihre Werke erklangen bei zahlreichen Festivals, wie dem Huddersfeld Festival, der Berliner Biennale und den Darmstädter Ferienkursen für Neue Musik. 2009 wurde sie zum Mitglied der Berliner Akademie der Künste ernannt. Zu ihren Werken zählen chroma für räumlich verteilte Kammergruppen, ein Konzert für Schlagzeugduo und Orchester mit dem Titel void sowie die Raumperformance Yes für Sopran, 19 Solisten und Dirigent.