Output details

Point of Departure

The formal character of Point of Departure was largely predetermined, being based upon a single (sonic) shape that has simple geometric features, such as points, lines, planes, curves, and so on. The shape emerges gradually – at the start of the piece disparate micro-sounds slowly gather, eventually fusing to establish a unified spectral mass. Later on, the apparent dimensions of the mass start to fluctuate; defined pitch-centres emerge and spatial boundaries are articulated by shifting spectral contours. Ultimately, I wanted to transcend these boundaries and I spend a considerable time searching for an appropriate point of departure...

Point of Departure – a stereo acousmatic work – explores Stéphane Roy’s notion of ‘process functions’ – events that follow a directed temporal process, each with an opposite corresponding to its temporal reversal. All of Roy’s seven process functions (Acceleration, Deceleration, Accumulation, Dispersion, Intensification, Attenuation, Spatial Progression) may be found within the work. For example, an accumulation process (a gradual increase in density within a unit whose constituents, specifically numerous tiny impulses, are fused by the listener to form a coherent state or unit) may be heard during the first six minutes of the work. In this case, the process is two-fold, involving both a spectral root, which gradually builds in terms of density and amplitude, and a collection of tiny granular impulses, which slowly fuse into a dense spectral mass. As the accumulation develops, the spectral root and the granular impulses appear to merge, reaching a point of spectral saturation until, as the gradual process of accumulation concludes, the spectral mass is gradually filtered into a coherent, unified whole. Although the piece explores process functions, the title of the work refers to the point at which such functions are discarded and the spectral root (which is present for some sixteen minutes) is left behind. Point of Departure was composed in Studio Circé at the Institut International de Musique Electroacoustic de Bourges (IMEB), France. It has been published on the Sargasso label. It has received seven international performances, including a performance at the Bourges Festival, France, Undae! Concert Series, Spain, and the MANTIS Spring Festival, Manchester.