FRANK STEMPER, COMPOSER
Riding the Wind (1994)
for Computer, synthesizers, samplers, processors and jazz musician (29.5 mins.)
Commissioned by the Carbondale Bureau of Tourism
Commissioned by the Carbondale Bureau of Tourism for "Balloonfest", September, 1994
World Premiere 10 September 1994 by the composer for Balloon Fest, 94 — Cascade of Colors
Among all the hot air balloons at Southern Illinois Airport.
Opus 33 —A.S.C.A.P. work I.D
SCORE
Commissioned by the Carbondale Bureau of Tourism for "Balloonfest", September, 1994
World Premiere 10 September 1994 by the composer for Balloon Fest, 94 — Cascade of Colors
Among all the hot air balloons at Southern Illinois Airport.
Opus 33 —A.S.C.A.P. work I.D
SCORE
NOTES
Composer Paul Hindemith spoke of Gebrauchsmusik, or utility music, functional music, music that exists for a particular reason or occasion, music intended, by virtue of its simplicity of technique and style, primarily for performance by the talented amateur rather than the virtuoso.
NOT for artistic reasons, i.e. to express the individual esthetic of the composer.
I really tried to compose something that would be universally “up-lifting” for the spectators who came to watch all the hot air balloons rise into the early morning mist. I was commissioned to do so by the Carbondale Bureau of Tourism for "Balloonfest", September, 1994. My music basically accompanied the multiple ascent of scores of hot air balloons just after sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. I had my quadraphonic sound hooked into the multi-speakered rock band setup by Robco Music – so enough SOUND was not a problem, to say the least. (When my digital wind opened the piece, many spectators were looking for the approaching storm!) My setup was also adorned with several synthesizers, processors, samplers, and my computer pumping out the 30-minute Digital Performer sequence that automated all the machinery that I (as the amateur jazz musician) would accompany, live, on my K2500S. It started out pretty, pretty much like Gebrauchsmusik…….my initial tune soared…….the balloons ascended…….the reddish tint of the early morning sky gradually made way to reveal the blue sky with several fluffy white cumulus clouds…….
However, the discovery of using digital processing as a thematic device (rather than just a decoration) ruined everything. Simply, this is just a nice tune – in D minor, I think – that got out of hand.
I love getting out of hand.
Everything was fine until about 12 minutes in, when a new character reared its ugly head.
at 12:00 – a villain appears for a moment, and then
at 17:30 – the nice jazzy improvisation is trumped by arhythmic atonality, and then
at 18:25 – the sound of several digital processors create a linear exposé from hell, then
at 19:40 – sampled whispers, gutters, and other sounds also mis-shaped by processing encroach on the supernatural
at 21:10 – a strange train conductor tells us we’ve just landed in the Twilight Zone, but then
at 22:00 the happy ending of tonal closure, rhythmic stability, and thematic resolution make it all OK.
But I think my attempt at Gebrauchsmusik failed.
But then really, Hindemith didn't do such a hot job either!
Composer Paul Hindemith spoke of Gebrauchsmusik, or utility music, functional music, music that exists for a particular reason or occasion, music intended, by virtue of its simplicity of technique and style, primarily for performance by the talented amateur rather than the virtuoso.
NOT for artistic reasons, i.e. to express the individual esthetic of the composer.
I really tried to compose something that would be universally “up-lifting” for the spectators who came to watch all the hot air balloons rise into the early morning mist. I was commissioned to do so by the Carbondale Bureau of Tourism for "Balloonfest", September, 1994. My music basically accompanied the multiple ascent of scores of hot air balloons just after sunrise. It was a beautiful sight. I had my quadraphonic sound hooked into the multi-speakered rock band setup by Robco Music – so enough SOUND was not a problem, to say the least. (When my digital wind opened the piece, many spectators were looking for the approaching storm!) My setup was also adorned with several synthesizers, processors, samplers, and my computer pumping out the 30-minute Digital Performer sequence that automated all the machinery that I (as the amateur jazz musician) would accompany, live, on my K2500S. It started out pretty, pretty much like Gebrauchsmusik…….my initial tune soared…….the balloons ascended…….the reddish tint of the early morning sky gradually made way to reveal the blue sky with several fluffy white cumulus clouds…….
However, the discovery of using digital processing as a thematic device (rather than just a decoration) ruined everything. Simply, this is just a nice tune – in D minor, I think – that got out of hand.
I love getting out of hand.
Everything was fine until about 12 minutes in, when a new character reared its ugly head.
at 12:00 – a villain appears for a moment, and then
at 17:30 – the nice jazzy improvisation is trumped by arhythmic atonality, and then
at 18:25 – the sound of several digital processors create a linear exposé from hell, then
at 19:40 – sampled whispers, gutters, and other sounds also mis-shaped by processing encroach on the supernatural
at 21:10 – a strange train conductor tells us we’ve just landed in the Twilight Zone, but then
at 22:00 the happy ending of tonal closure, rhythmic stability, and thematic resolution make it all OK.
But I think my attempt at Gebrauchsmusik failed.
But then really, Hindemith didn't do such a hot job either!