Output details

Geometria Situs

Commissioned by Sudwestrundfunk for the 2010 Donaueschingen Musiktage. Performed by SWR Sinfonieorchester, conductor James Saunders, Donaueschingen (17.10.10). Broadcast live on SWR2 and online. Geometria Situs makes an analogy with topology, the field of mathematics which deals with the spatial properties of an object that remain constant when undergoing deformations. In Geometria Situs, all orchestral players operate independently of each other. They each have a series of pages, each of which contains a single sustained sound that undergoes gradual changes of timbre and dynamic. The conductor cues these changes at irregularly spaced intervals. Players choose when to start each page, so the material is stretched and compressed depending on its placement in the piece, such that the same material might be differently structured (or deformed) on each hearing. The piece develops Saunders’ interest in modular and open forms, exploring ways to incorporate localised independent decisions made by the performers as a means of creating global sonic variety. It is also partly a response to the orchestral music of Christian Wolff, outlined in a concurrently written book chapter (Saunders, J. (2010) ‘Mutual Effects: Organization and Interaction in the Orchestral Music of Christian Wolff’. In: Chase, S. and Thomas, P. eds. Changing the System: The Music of Christian Wolff. Aldershot: Ashgate: pp. 93-124.). The piece also requires that players source a range of prescribed household objects to supplement the available sonic resources, an approach explained in a conference paper and subsequent journal article (Saunders, J. (2013) ‘Specific Objects? Distributed approaches to sourcing sonic materials in open form compositions’. Contemporary Music Review, 32/5: 473-484 ). The supporting research was also presented in a 60-minute German radio documentary profile of Saunders’ work (Horizonte, Bayerischer Rundfunk, 22.11.10) and follow-up article (Nyfeller, M. (2011) ‘James Saunders’, MusikTexte, 132 (June 2011): pp. 53-57.), both of which contain interview excerpts.