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Espresso Machine II (1995)

Fernando Lopez-Lezcano

For PadMaster / Radio Drum (Fernando Lopez-Lezcano) and Celleto (Chris Chafe)

Espresso Machine II is the second incarnation of a piece that was composed for PadMaster, an improvisation / performance software environment that uses Max Mathew's Radio Drum as a three dimensional controller and was written by the composer. The Radio Drum interfaces with the NeXT through a custom MIDI protocol and is used to trigger and control isolated events and event sequences in real time. The piece was written for MIDI controlled synthesizers and a live electronic cello player. It is an evolving dialog between the acoustic / electronic sounds of the Celletto, played by Chris Chafe, and the contrasting timbres produced by two synthesizer modules controlled by the comnposer through the PadMaster program. PadMaster essentially provides several palettes or scenes of pre-built elements that are combined and controlled in real time to create an electronic soundscape for the Celletto performance.