Ambiguous News (2016)
(a.k.a. Include Children When Baking Cookies)
by Ben Williams, Ludwig Schubert, Nathan Tindall

Stanford LaptopOrchestra (SLOrk)
SLOrktastic Chamber Music 2016 and SLOrk in the Bing 2016
Stanford University, 2016


[ score | code (ChucK) ]


Program Notes
Inspired by newspaper headlines that have been shortened to a degree where they become ambiguous, this piece presents a careful exploration of a single 10 second Sitar sample.

The three players control granular synthesis in pitch, time and volume-space, interpreting and re-interpreting the sample to generate a wide, evolving range of sonic situations. It focuses on a delicate interplay arising at the border of the intentional and the unintentional.

Set on a free-time score, "Ambiguous News" develops through gestures between the players, from the introduction of the instrument through various expressions to a calm, 7 octave spanning glide: when all uncertainty has been resolved into a single, unambiguous pitch.



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