Talkback VI (2016)

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Instrumentation: trombone and real time digital signal processing

Duration: 9 minutes

World Premiere: April 17, 2016, William Lang (trombone), presented by the Eavesdropping concert series, Spectrum, NYC

Composer Note:
Talkback VI for trombone and computer is the sixth in a series of compositions for solo instruments and real-time digital signal processing.

With Talkback, I explore extended techniques, enhanced timbre, and other sonic features that are characteristic of the instrument by magnifying and amplifying otherwise subtle nuances and bringing them to the foreground. Moreover, the motivation for this specific piece to behave a certain way is deeply rooted in the physicality of the instrument. The movement of body and instrument intrinsic to playing the trombone informed how I organized and developed source materials.

Talkback, just like in online media, is a response to something more substantial: western tradition, the canon. It is smaller but often as significant as it is a sincere manifestation of the zeitgeist. Real-time interaction between the trombone and the computer is a form of dialog. Very similar to forms of communicating on the Internet—posting, tweeting, blogging, etc.—it is filtered, yet very real.