Transcript
züchtung #6 Based on “La Inapetencia” (“die Appetitlosigkeit”), by Rafael Spregelburd (2000, Suhrkamp). “La Inapetencia” is the first part of the heptalogy “Los siete pecados capitales de Hieronimus Bosch” (2000, 2010)
from almost closed to slighty open.
Strings - Tapebow The strings (with the exception of the contrabass) have the function of the chorus. They are transformed into tape-machines with the help of the “tapebow”, a restructured tape-player.
Duration: 7'45''
Instrumentation
The bows of the strings are modified by attaching a magnetic tape with prerecorded material to the hair of the strings. In order to "play" this recording, the tapehead of a tape-player is attached to a practice mute and fixed to the instrument. The tape-player is always on, its output routed through a mixer to achieve a balanced amplification. The sound-engineer controls the general level for the amplification following the score (see “Sound Engineer”). If necessary, noise reduction is applied to this signal.
Soprano (+ sonovox) Baritone (+ sonovox) Flute (+ melodica) Oboe (+ melodica) Clarinet (+ melodica) Baritone Sax (+ melodica) Percussion (see "Percussion"):
Schematics
Glockenspiel Megaphone Drum ad lib. Superball Slinky + Resonator Hi-hat Reibestock Piano + Midi Keyboard + Computer 2 Violins + Tapebow (see "Tapebow") Viola + Tapebow Cello + Tapebow Contrabass (5 strings) Noise Reduction and Amplification for the tapebows
Voices - Sonovox The voices in this scene sing only sporadically. The most of the time they act as resonators of other instruments, superimposing their vocal qualities, their colours and formants to an instrumental sound. This is possible with the help of a device similar to the legendary sonovox, used in the early days of animated films. In this case the device consists of two contact speakers (for instance, the VISATON EX45-S) each contained in a muting enclosure. When these speakers are pressed against the laringe, they excite the air inside the laringe and resonate within the vocal tract in exactly the same way as the air coming from the lungs. This means that the sound injected in the singers throat is modified by the vocals and “sounding” consonants that the singer pronounces, even if he or she does this “mute”, without using any air. In fact, the singer is asked to whisper the texts without emitting any sound of his or her own. For this, all the wind instruments and the contrabass are microphoned, not with the objective of amplification, but in order to route, as it is indicated in the score, the sound of each instrument to the contact speakers of the singers. This results in a very faint sound, as if the singer was singing with the colour and the pitches of the instrument. Because of the very limited volume of the resulting resonance, the singers must be generously amplified. At some rare occasions the singers do, in fact, sing. Normal singing should not be amplified: the singers move away from the microphone during these actions. Normal noteheads are sung away from the microphone. White noteheads are whispered without air very close to the microphone while pressing the contact speakers against the throat. The indication above notates whose sound is being routed through the contact speakers. This information is not intended for the singer, but for the person triggering the routing changes. The indications above the notes notate the opening of the mouth. When pronouncing /u/, it is possible to change gradually the shape of the mouth from very closed (which would be all black here) to more open. Here the transition is
The most effective way of projecting the sound of the tapebow is with a contact speaker attached to the instrument itself. In that way, the sound comes effectively from the instrument and eventually brings the strings to resonate. The devices are provided in its entirety by the publisher together with the rest of the materials. Prior to a performance the singers involved in the project must record one text fragment each, as it is of great importance that there is a correspondence between the voices on stage and on the recording. With the tapebow, sound is only produced by movement. A fast movement produces a compressed sound, a slow movement a stretched sound. Down bow generates a forward sound, upbow a backward (rewind) sound. The absolute position of contact between the bow and the tapehead is also of great importance. The bow is divided in 3 sections: frog, middle, tip. Each section has an original duration of 7 seconds(in total 21 seconds). This recording of 21 seconds is transferred to tape with a speed-up of 168% resulting in a tape of 12.5 seconds. With normal cassettetape, this duration corresponds to a length of 60cm. •
Frog: Baritone recording. The Baritone records the fragment at the end of the notes (see “Texts”). The totality of the fragment must be recorded, resulting in an audio file of EXACTLY 7 seconds. To achieve this it is possible to first record the text and then manipulate the tape in a DAW, to compress it somewhat if the singer cannot say the text within the given time constraints. Any silence in the tape should be avoided, and must be filled with either breathing noise or any other kind of static noise.
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middle: each instrument is different. o
violin: signal sounds. This recording is given (see “Extra Files”)
o
viola: Soprano recording (similar to the baritone recording, see “Texts” for corresponding text)
o •
cello: a descending scale
In this example the notation indicates a sudden change of absolute position of contact, jumping between the frog to the tip section within a fraction of a second. If possible, the transition should not be audible if it is not indicated explicitly (this is not always possible).
tip: an excerpt of the song “bizarra”, part of the soundtrack of the play in its original form. This recording is given (see “Extra files”)
This list is here only for reference, the tapes themselves are provided by the publisher once the two recordings have been made. In correspondence with this division, the bow staff is divided in six regions (each section is divided in two for more accuracy in the notation): the two lower regions correspond to the frog section, the two middle regions to the middle section and the two upper regions to the tip section.
Here the ruler gives greater precission to the gesture while at the same time by its presence indicating that this precision is desired.
A general accuracy is necessary throughout the piece. In the places where it is specifically needed, a small ruler is attached to the note to make it easier to know where to put the bow in contact with the tapehead and as an indication that greater accuracy is needed here. (see the examples below) In order to have a sense for the speed of the movements, a "sonic" grid has been attached to the recordings, in the form of a constant amplitude modulation of 12Hz. This means that in order to play at "normal" speed (in order to replicate the original sound at its original pitch) then the player should attempt to hear a
& every 8th note.
Moreover, it gives a means of practice and control for the sections where the movements are confined to very small portions of the bow. It is in fact possible to move so slowly as to arrive at the "grain" of the recorded sound, where the appended grid becomes an audible rhythm. The bows are marked to reflect the six regions used in the notation.
The staff indicates the movements of the bow. only the movements of the bow are relevant -the left hand is not used. The bow clef indicates at each time which fraction of the bow is in contact with the tapehead. A line going up, like in this example, is translated in a downbow movement.
The angle of the movement indicates the speed of the movement. In the example above, the resulting speed is more than 30 times the "normal" speed of reproduction. In the case here, the resulting speed approx. 20 times slower than normal. An horizontal line is in normal conditions meaningless, since without movement there is no sound. Here an horizontal line is accompanied with a tremolo.
Dynamics within quotation marks are used to indicate width or shape of movement which would result from performing the given dynamic in a norma context. In this case, the crescendo at the end indicates an increased width of the tremolo.
When a great precision in terms of speed of bow is desired, a resulting rhythm may appear as in this example. In these cases the rhythm refers to the grid superimposed to the recorded sound, which is audible in the form of a "tremolo". In this case one should play at a speed in which the movement results in the written rhythm.
muted pizz., as high as possible on the lowest string. The result is a dry attack without any pitch.
Where the notation is not accurate enough to notate very slow speeds, the number of "grains" of the amplitude modulation are given as indication of the speed. In this case, the [3] stands for the number of "grains" that should be heard for each movement (3 grains downbow, 3 upbow). The slowest speed is [1].
Retake the bow for each gesture. It should sound as much as possible as a textual repetition.
The dashed line between the gestures indicates that the next gesture begins exactly at the place in the bow where the first one ended. As an interruption.
Only when the movement is so small that it cannot be notated in the score it makes sense to use the up-bow and down-bow signs.
Contrabass
Mallets
Its the only string instrument which plays normally. A 5-string instrument is needed. The lowest string is tuned down a 1/8 tone.
Mallets and mallet sets are never indicated. The player should be able to find the arrangement which fits him best.
Piano
Instruments
The piano is used only in its last octave. All notes should be muted with tape or similar, leaving the range F#7-A7 unmuted (C4 is the central C) The player also has a MIDI keyboard with at least a range of 61 keys, used in the range C2-C7. The keyboard is connected to a computer running the patch and its output goes to an amplifier in front of the keyboard. The part is notated in two staffs, where the lower staff is only for changing parameters of playback. The notes in the upper staff generate sound: each keyboard key plays a fragment of each of the three different bows, as if this sound was frozen. The notes in the lower staff do not generate any sound, they only change parameters in the granulation synthesis engine. With these control commands it is possible to variate the speed, the grain-rate and the grain-size as specified below. One important thing to notice is that since these changes only take effect with the next action of the upper staff, their execution in time does not need to be accurate. In fact, the given notation is just one suggestion. The control commands are divided in two: •
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normal commands: these are notes of the lowest octave (D2-H2), which control de grain-rate
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The glockenspiel is just a normal glockenspiel. A mallet (or any object) to play clusters is necessary near the end.
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A megaphone is used to rub the skin of a drum. One such megaphone is part of the materials of the piece and can be sent upon request. The megaphone should be always on and resting on a surface with a soft cloth beneath to prevent that it moves. It should be pointing away from the player and most important, away from the drum to be rubbed, in order to avoid any kind of feedback.
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The drum used in connection with the megaphone is ad libitum. It should have real skin in order for the friction to generate any sound. It should also sound quite different in the center as in the edge. In fact, in the edge it should be possible to generate quite high coloured noise. Good examples are bongos or tumbadoras. During an action the pitch can be emphasized by applying pressure to the surface with the free hand.
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A superball is used to rub on three surfaces ad libitum. These surfaces should have distinct forms of resonance, from high to low, and can be chosen from either other instruments used in the concert, tables, etc.
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Slinky + resonator (a.k.a. Star Wars gun). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slinky) Attach its upper part to a drum and fix the lower part to the floor. When hit it should produce a sound like that of a laser gun in a science fiction film.
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Hi-hat. Just a normal hi-hat. This little fact means that you will probably play seating, so the other instruments must be arranged accordingly.
prefixed commands: one of the lowest notes (C2 or C#2) together with any other note of the keyboard. In these commands, first the prefix note must be played and, while holding it down, the second key
Upper staff - The ranges of the three bow regions. Each bow region is divided in 16 steps.
Rub the microphone of the megaphone against the skin of a drum. The result is a noise band with changing color as the contact place changes.
Control – Bow Change. D = cello E = viola F = violin
Hi-hat. Black noteheads indicate actions which are *not* produced by hitting the hi-hat. In this case, "bow" the hi-hat with a reibestock while closing it. The last sound of the gesture is the sound of the cymbals against each other.
When pressed, they change the meaning of the upper staff actions *CORRECTION* This examples are in F clef.
and
the
following Hi-hat. White noteheads indicate hitting actions (with wooden sticks). The position indicates whether the hi-hat is totally closed, somewhat open or totally open.
Control – Prefix Commands Chords which have the lower note either C2 or C#2 are prefix commands. They must be played as in the example, the prefix key always before.
Hit the rim of the drum. Look for high, resonant sound. Control – Grainsize Via these six commands the grain-size changes from 5ms up to 500ms. Rub a superball against one of three surfaces chosen beforehand. These surfaces can be anything that gives a steady resonance.
Control – Grainspeed The grainspeed is controlled with C#2 plus a key between C3 and C5. C4 is a speed of 1x (normal playback speed).
Winds Control – Grain-rate The number of grains per second can be controlled via unprefixed notes or note combinations in the indicated range. Each note has a specific value. To achieve speeds greater than 11Hz any combination of these notes can be played as chord.
Each wind instrument uses also a melodica. Four melodicas are part of the materials of these piece and are sent together with the parts. These are 37-key melodicas. Each player holds the melodica on their lap and should be ready to switch instruments very fast.
Flute. Lip pizz. with some air
Percussion 3/6
Another way of notating a muted sound. At the end of the note, remove the fingers suddenly to produce a very clear cut (keep blowing)
Flute. Lip pizz, only tongue
Blow air from a distance across the mouthpiece. A pitched resonance should be heard. Shadow glissando. The glissando is not heard, it is audible only as a sort of bisbigliando.
Numbers in circles indicate different fingerings, the higher the number the greater distance to the original (normal) tone.
Bisbigliando with two alternate fingerings
Rhythmical changes of dynamic produced by adding and removing keys.
Romboid noteheads indicate a very pure sound, almost like a sinusoid, without air noise and with a very clear timbre.
Transition between a cluster to a chord
Flute. Trumpet sound WITH the embouchure on. The crossed-square note is the resulting pitch, which sounds a minor seventh lower than the fingering used (finger F4 in order to get G3). The round note should be sung. The dashed note above is a shadow pitch (a summation tone) resulting from the interference between these two frequencies. The voice should be quite faint in order to blend well with the flute sound.
Difference tones. The lower note notates the approximate pitch of the difference tone produced by the higher notes. It can vary according to how well tuned the melodica is. Also by overblowing the tuning is affected, which also affects the difference tone. They are notated only to make clear that what is actually important in these passages are in fact these tones.
Melodica. Bisbigliando can be produced by pressing up and down a key HIGHER than the written, at best one of the highest ones. Because the higher the note the more air is needed to start sounding, if the air pressure is kept constant, pressing a key means deviating air, which results in a change of dynamic.
Morse. The slashed note should be pressed only half way and short and irregularly (the notation is only a suggestion) to produce a morse like sound.
Press the lower key only half way to generate an unstable sound. The pressed key is very near to the difference tone and should produce beatings.
The same as above, but trilling with two notes (like a piano trill). At best the two highest notes (E6-F6)
Similar to the bisbigliando trill but using a cluster of notes to generate a very marked change of dynamic. When the rhythm is indicated, this means the down- and up- presses.
[tk]: double or tripple tonging
Sound Engineer The sound engineer has two main functions. One is to control the overall dynamic of the sound projection (strings, keyboard, singers). The second one is to route the different instruments to each singers contact-speaker as indicated in the score. To clarify the first (overall dynamic), the score has indications of dynamic for the amplification, in the form of [ pp ] or [ mf ]. The amplification of the singers is independent from this indication. For the live routing of signals to the contact-speakers an assistant should be appointed to perform these changes by following the conductor, possibly on stage via a midi controller.
Where the note used with smorz. is high itself, care must be taken to avoid that the notes used to produce the smorzato start sounding.
Texts Baritone – Text to be recorded with an exact duration of 7 seconds. Ich fühlte mich absolut lässig. Im Zirkus waren drei Typen. Ich hab mich ihnen hin, damit sie mir in den Arsch ficken. Sie erzählten phantastische Geschichten, Nummern von gezähmten Schweinen. Dann liess ich mich züchtigen.
Muted sound. The same technique used for smorzato, here made explicit in order to achieve a very controlled change in dynamic.
Soprano – Text to be recorded with an exact duration of 7 seconds. Wirst du hierbleiben? Ich hab Hunger. Ich rufe die Pizzeria an. Willst du Polenta? Ja, ich habe doch schon gesagt. Zweimal Polenta. Hast du gesagt, dass man sie schneiden soll, die Pizza? Die wird immer geschnitten. Mmm, lecker.
Extra Files
Some extra files are available for download at www.moguillansky.com/zuchtung6. These include: •
a patch to control the midi keyboard
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a video tutorial and demo of the contact-speakers
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audiofiles corresponding to the sections of the bow which do not need to be recorded.
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Complete text (original and translation)
Original Text of the scene MANN, FRAU PERROTA (his wife), LEILA (the daughter) FRAU PERROTTA zuhause. Ihr gegenüber LEILA, ein Mädchen von ungefähr zwanzig Jahren. IHR MANN sitzt am Tisch. Ein laufender Fernseher verschärft die Pausen mit klirrendem Elektrosmog. MANN: Habt ihr schon gegessen? Wir können ja Pizza bestellen. Pause MANN: Ich fühlte mich absolut lässig. Ich ging zum Zirkus (Roncalli): die Arena ist demontiert. Drei Typen waren da. Ich gab mich ihnen hin, damit sie mir in den Arsch ficken. Mein Kind: damit enden deine Erwartungen, mit uns eine Durchschnittsfamilie zu bilden. Pause MANN: Einer war der Verwaltungsdirektor. Sie hatten kein Glück hier und ziehen weg. Wir haben Kaffee getrunken. Ich kriege Sodbrennen vom Kaffee: ich habe nur zugehört. Die erzählen phantastische Geschichten, Nummern von gezähmten Schweinen. Wir sprachen von der Zukunft. Ich sag mir: es kann sein, daß ich mitreise. Dann sind wir zurückgelaufen: ich ließ mich nochmal züchtigen. FRAU PERROTTA: Wirst du hierbleiben? MANN: Sei still, bitte. FRAU PERROTTA: Ich habe Hunger. Ich rufe die Pizzeria an. (Wählt eine Nummer). (Zu ihrem MANN). Willst du Polenta? MANN: Ja, ich habe es dir doch schon gesagt. FRAU PERROTTA: Zweimal Polenta. MANN: Hast du ihm gesagt, daß er sie schneiden soll, die Pizza? FRAU PERROTTA: Na ja, die wird doch immer geschnitten. Pause FRAU PERROTTA: Ich habe noch zweimal Polenta bestellt. LEILA: Mmm, lecker. Papa, du blutest.
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