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Fractions

Fractions explores Denis Smalley’s notion of space-form – an approach to musical form which privileges space as the primary carrier of structural coherence (Smalley 2007). The piece opens with various (frontal) perspectival spaces. These gradually develop outwards, move around the listener, expand into circumspace, and ultimately egocentric space. As with previous works, the various gestural materials become increasingly active as the piece develops before fusing into a dense textural mass. In this case, gestural space transforms into textural space and, although temporality remains significant, this spatial transformation is central to the structure of the finished piece.

Fractions – a 7-channel acousmatic work – explores Denis Smalley’s notion of space-form – an approach to musical form which privileges space as the primary carrier of structural coherence. The piece opens with various frontal, perspectival spaces, which are established through the presence of third-order and remote surrogate gestures. At this stage, the various spaces are distal – a term used by Smalley to describe the area of perspectival space farthest from the listener’s vantage point. As the various gestural materials become more active, the perspectival space broadens and, although the various materials remain distally located, they begin to surround the listener, moving increasingly away from the frontal position towards an exploration of circumspace. At the piece develops, the various distal spaces begin to encroach upon proximate space – the area of perspectival space closest to the listener’s vantage point. This encroachment becomes much more apparent from the middle of the work; a large gesture-carried texture presents manifold (sequential and simultaneous) spatial images which envelop the listener, appearing to occupy both distal and proximate space. Accordingly, the form of the piece is defined by a gradual progression from distal perspectival space to proximate perspectival space and from a situated (frontal) space into circumspace, and ultimately egocentric space. Fractions was composed in 2011 at Leeds College of Music (LCM), UK, and Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), Sweden. It has since received seven international performances, including the International Computer Music Conference 2012 (ICMC), FEASt Fest, Miami and at Flykingen, Sweden. A stereo version has been published by Elektramusic, France.