ELPIA IIA for piano and computer (1994)
Duration: appr. 12 min
All the sounds used in Elpia IIa have basically been produced
with the piano.
There are "normal" piano sounds and sounds from inside the piano,
treating the
strings with a plectrum, muting the strings when hitting a key
etc. As "normal"
piano sounds recordings of a Steinway grand piano have been used.
Sometimes they
appear just like that, but they have also been treated and transformed
in many
ways: there are different systems of tuning (micro tuning), different
attack
times and filter settings; sounds have been transformed by time
stretching, bit
conversion etc. The sounds from inside the piano have sometimes
also been
transformed in various ways.
For Elpia IIa, either a midi grand piano or a grand piano with
a midi sensor
strip installed inside the piano is required. The midi data produced
by the
playing of the pianist are processed by a computer program written
by the
composer for the Macintosh computer, allowing up to four independent
layers of
processing. The computer then controls a sampler containing the
sound material.
Elpia IIa is in a certain way an interactive piece in which the
performer reacts
to the electronics. The score is a graphic notation, defining
certain actions
and "characters" to be carried out by the pianist in a free manner
(improvisation). Nevertheless, the overall form of the piece is
fixed. There are
four "regions" (Region A - Region D) and several parts within
each region which
are defined by certain characteristic midi procedures and sound
material.
Region A features mainly procedures producing random groups applied
to Steinway
sounds (also Steinway sounds in micro tuning) and some sustained
sounds (derived
from piano sounds by time stretching).
Region B mainly focusses on several kinds of repetitions, using
Steinway sounds,
sounds derived from Steinway sounds and - towards the end of this
region -
percussive sounds from inside the piano.
Region C almost exclusively concentrates on sounds from inside
the piano: there
are all sorts of metal sounds, glissandos along or across the
strings with a
plectrum, resonant sounds etc. The basic midi procedures are synchronized
notes.
Region D returns to Steinway sounds and various percussive sounds
from inside
the piano, applying fast scales in both directions to these sounds.
Each region features one of the basic categories of midi operations
(random
groups, repetitions, synchronized notes, scales), but there also
appear
operations from the other categories. Since the processing of
the midi data can
be done simultaneously on 4 independent layers, great complexities
of musical
textures can be achieved. The actions of the pianist are integrated
into the
electroacoustic environment, so sometimes it is impossible to
tell what comes
from the live piano and what from the electronics.
Elpia IIa was premiered by Rainer Bürck at the Pfleghofsaal in
Tübingen on
November 3rd, 1994.