Output details

Escapade

Escapade was composed using tiny fragments of sound. At the start of the piece, the individual fragments are not perceived. Instead, they are so densely packed that they (perceptually) fuse into much larger structures; one hears the source recordings, which are largely, but not entirely, orchestral. As the piece progresses, the individual fragments become increasingly prominent; they no longer fuse into larger structures and are subsequently perceived as discrete units or entities. In this respect, Escapade was inspired by pointillistic painting – a technique in which small, distinct points of colour are used to form a larger image.

Escapade – a stereo acousmatic work – was composed using tiny fragments of sounds, known as microsounds. At the start of the piece, the various microsounds are not perceived. Instead, they are so densely packed that they fuse into much larger structures; one hears the source recordings, which are largely, but not entirely, orchestral. As the piece progresses, microsounds become increasingly prominent; they no longer fuse into large structures and are subsequently perceived as discrete units or entities. In this respect, Escapade was inspired by pointillistic painting – a technique in which small, distinct points of colour are used to form a larger image. The decision to use microsounds served the exploration of several ostensible polarities, namely: continuity and discontinuity, pitch and noise, spectral transparency to opacity, gesture and texture, amongst others. For example, the continuous, pitched orchestral gestures heard at the opening of the work clearly contrast the discontinuous, noise-based textures heard in the middle of the piece. However, the listener is not offered a clear point of transition from one state to the other; the latter emerges from the former through a seamless process of transformation, thus exploiting the acousmatic listening situation for which the work was composed. Escapade was composed in the studios at Musiques & Recherchés, Belgium and has been published on 3 Audio CDs. It received First Prize in the Third International Competition of Electroacoustic Composition and Visual Music, Destellos Foundation, Argentina, 2010 and was a Finalist in VIII International Competition for Composers “Città di Udine”, 2010. Escapade was also selected to represent Great Britain at the International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) and has received over 30 international performances and broadcasts. It was one of the “top rated” works at the ICMC (International Computer Music Conference) (10 works selected out of 870 pieces).