In the piece Beiklang (“Overtone”), I used an unusual instrument — a trumpet with two bells. This instrument allows the performer to quickly change the timbres, creating the effects of a smoothly changing sound (the morphing of sound). Again, I used various instrument preparations to achieve a “different” sound character.
The piece is based on sound synthesis in a completely acoustic performance structure (without electronics). Here there is no purpose to receiving a sound comparable to electronic synthesis; the idea, more likely, is a metaphor and attempt to recreate synthesis processes of a sound in convents of live concert hall acoustics.
In a composition following synthesis algorithms consistently work (vector idea from “clean” harmonics to noise supersaturated sound):
- Additive synthesis – simple harmonics addition; for example, ordinary a trumpet sound (the fundamental tone) + multiphonic an oboe (top odd overtones) – see the piece’s beginning.
- Synthesis by principle FM – «wrong» buzzing at brass, singing into the instrument of the note, distinct from played (ring modulation), the prepared instruments.
Subtractive synthesis – finishing material up to noise components with the subsequent synthesis of a sound by «suppression» of a spectrum of noise. - Discrete synthesis – reverse motion to the algorithm of additive synthesis.Depending on the acoustic features of a hall, a «Beiklang» performance is probably an application of the effect of artificial reverberation.
