Diverging Lines

Symphony for Chamber Orchestra & Electronics

Composed in August 2008 as part of a portfolio for an Mmus in Composition at Royal Holloway

c20 minutes

Movement I

Movement II

The following commentary is taken from the dissertation submitted as part of the degree.

As part of my pre-composition I listened to and analysed a number of pieces that I was interested in including: Inside Out II (Tansy Davies); Gra Agus Bas, Elastic Harmonic, Glamour Sleeper I, Pat (Donnacha Dennehy), Chamber Concerto and In the Still Hours, (Philip Cashian). I was particularly interested in how contrasting material can be layered. This is particularly evident in Inside Out II in which fragments of Bach are combined and layered. I decided that the focus of the symphony would be how pathways can diverge from a single starting point and how resultant material can be layered. The starting point was to be a pitch row taken from a chord sequence and number row created from dates. The found chord sequence was taken from my Wedding March (2003) (Example 1). These were made into a line:

Example 1

The two dates ‘5/8/2003’ and ‘29/10/82’ were reduced to the number ‘5 8 2 3 2 9’ and form the first half of the row. The second half is a reflection of the consecutively paired numbers in the first half: ‘2 9 2 3 5 8’ When composing the two movements of the symphony the idea of different vantage points became important.  I wanted the first movement to give the listener the impression that they are experiencing a sound world as if from inside a box, therefore the music feels very contained and becomes increasingly claustrophobic. For the second movement the listener experiences the world from outside the box where ‘man and machine’ confront each other.  With this concept in mind and the original focus of diverging lines from a central starting point, it seemed inevitable that the piece would be cyclic in its themes and references.  The clearest example is in the saxophone solo which appears in both movements.  In the first movement the saxophone is perceived ‘outside’ the box and is therefore distant and muffled.  By contrast the second movement fragments the solo and the listener experiences it up close and ‘live’.  The chorale-like figure of movement 1 (bb45-52) similarly becomes increasingly significant in movement 2.  

Movement I

In order to create a claustrophobic atmosphere, samples were used that sounded like chains to give the feeling of being constricted and knocking to give the feeling of being trapped.  In order to tie in with the theme from the second movement (man and machine) all the main samples were created from manipulated sounds made from tape recorders (spooling, splicing etc.).  The manipulations were made in order to make the original identity obscure.  The music needed to feel static to create a sense of expectation and tension and I was also interested in including influences from chill out music with my usual systematic methods.  To this end a matrix of chord pads was created.  I decided to use a technique found in Luigi Nono's Il canto sospeso which I had previously used in Aphelion – Concerto for Piano, Orchestra & Computer.

The number row created from the dates (5 8 2 3 2 9 / 2 9 2 3 5 8) was reordered into a prime row by counting through it in 5s noting each 5th number: 2 3 2 9 5 9 5 3 2 8 2 8.  To expand this into 11 rows the positioning of each number within the prime row was considered. For example, the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, and 12th (the even positioned numbers) are 3 9 9 3 8 8. These were noted followed by the numbers that fell in the odd positions (1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, & 11th): 2 2 5 5 2.  Thus the second row became 3 9 9 3 8 8 2 2 5 5 2 2 which was written below the first (Example 2) This method was repeated creating new rows resulting in a matrix of 12 time rows in total:

Example 2

The note row of Example 2 was reordered by counting through the sequence and noting every 5th note, and this new pitch row (Example 3) was written against the matrix:

Example 3

To create a harmonic cycle, each pitch was written out in a bar starting with D in the 1st bar (as its positioning suggests), E in the 2nd, Eb in the 3rd etc. These are illustrated by the diamond-headed notes in Example 4 and should be thought of as the original positions of the pitches.

Example 4

The number rows of the matrix written beside the pitches were employed to set the distance between each reoccurrence of a given note. For example, the time row for the 1st note (D) is 2 3 2 9 5 9 5 3 2 8 2 8.  Therefore D first occurs in its original position (bar 1 diamond-headed) then after 2 spaces (bar 4 – round note) then after 3 spaces (bar 8) etc.  The second pitch (E) has the number row 3 9 9 3 8 8 2 2 5 5 2 2 and so first occurs in its original position (bar 2 – diamond-headed) then after 3 spaces (bar 6), then after 9 spaces (bar 16) etc.  This method was used for all pitches and resulted in a harmonic matrix of 82 units/bars.

The harmonic matrix was used as the backbone for the movement.  Bars 1-24 clearly show this as each new pitch introduced corresponds with the matrix.

Large chords in the harmonic matrix were often used as an impetus for mood changes or orchestral hits.  The harmonic pace (i.e. the speed at which the matrix was used) was totally free with a unit sometimes taking many seconds before the next was introduced (as in the opening bb1-24) or sometimes instantly moving on (as in the chorale of bb45-52). The harmonic matrix was also used to create lines for melodies such as the saxophone solo (b98).

As the movement progresses the claustrophobic atmosphere increases concluding with the saxophone solo which appears to be outside the world of ‘the box.’  Both the chorale of bb45-52 and the saxophone solo were to become significant ‘lines’ of divergence for the second movement.

Movement II

In movement 2 the prime pitch row of Example 15 was rotated by its intervals creating a new matrix of 12X12 upon which all pitches of the movement are based.  In addition, the two dates (5/8/2003 & 29/10/82) were used to create a semi quaver rhythm (Example 6): 

Example 6

This rhythm features throughout the movement: sometimes in canon or with canonic layers combined to create a composite rhythm (see piano part bb430-432).  The opening section of the movement consist of this rhythm in altered canon (after the dux, the comes begins in a different place of the rhythm).  At bar 64 a secondary idea is introduced using a new rhythm.  As in Wounded Dart this rhythm (played initially by the vibraphone) is based on rhythmic cells (Example 7):

Example 7

The table in Example 19 was used to create rhythms from the cells.  The numbers in bold represent the two dates (one of the points from which lines diverge) and the numbers below show the numbers obtained from counting through the 6 cells (the 5th number is 5, 8 numbers later is 1, 2 numbers later is 3 and so on).  The vibraphone part at bar 63 (Example 8) shows this in practice:

                                                                               
          Cell:    5         1          3         6        2       5       1        4
Example 8

This system was employed for all subsequent versions of this theme.  As the movement progresses new ideas are introduced (such as the secondary theme at 63) and previous ideas return.  Layers are taken in and out and sometimes appear as links to cover the seams.  The third main motif is the ‘chorale’ which first appears in the electronics of bb17-54 and reappears throughout the rest of the movement (b109, b155 etc.).  This chorale is modeled on bb45-52 of the first movement but appears significantly modified as another diverging line. 

Example 9

The slower section (b348) develops the chorale and prepares the way for the performance of the saxophone solo from the first movement – this time on stage and without the oppressive filters.  Throughout the movement the electronics provide timbres such as reverse sounds and electricity sparks that the acoustic instruments try to imitate.  This and the rhythmic nature of the music attempts to create the external ‘man and machine’ atmosphere.

As the movement continues the changes between sections and material become more regular as themes contract.  The ‘chaos’ or ‘seed of destruction’ becomes more strident until, in the final moments of the movement, the changes of idea are almost as frequent as every bar.  It is at this point that the pseudo-block form, caused by the continuous variation (or diverging from a line) and upon which the movement is constructed, is most obvious.