Luminescent Trajectories

Duration: 6'23"
Instrumentation: Fixed 8 channel electronics
Composed: 2013
Details: An 8 channel fixed media work in 2 movements exploring variations on a theme. The theme is exposed most explicitly as a series of short transient sounds in the closing twenty seconds. The variations explore different layers of the theme by extending and processing the material, moving among the different components and laying them, a counterpoint of color and texture is developed. The movement of the different streams of material through the 8 channel space is controlled on different meso and micro time scales. The different strategies of moving sound through and presenting it within this space are meant to reinforce the sound objects as they unfold. The aesthetic and spatial trajectories of sound sources is varied and paired with different processing techniques to create the variations of the material.

The aesthetic impulse for the work is the result of the view of the studio in which it was created. Studio E at CCRMA on the Stanford campus is on the top floor and affords a view south by south west. Mixing the various components of the piece at night, an occasional glance out the window into the sky revealed that one of the main approaches to the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) was in clear view. The airplanes begin their final approach at the base of the bay and head north to SFO. The different angles of approach implied by all of the planes collecting in this one area suggested trajectories, which seemed to coincide with the movement of the sounds through space. Hence the title Luminescent Trajectories refers to the lights in the various weather conditions tracing space as airplanes begin their final approach. Again and again, night after night, with slightly different angles as a result of wind, point of departure, the well worn airspace provided a backdrop to my thoughts around and about movement in space.

(To receive the 8 mono stems, please contact the composer)

A stereo Mix