Domestica
Duration: 10' Year composed: 2014
Origin: Commissioned by Sioned Williams
Instrumentation: Solo harp plus audio playback and optional film
Programme Notes:
The immediacy of modern communication has become a turgid burden as the ability to work constantly intrudes upon the most mundane aspects of modern life. This piece uses a simple additive structure to reflect these stresses by tracing a journey from agitation to introspection: made up of 26 fragments, fragment A is just over half a second long with the following fragments increasing in duration to fragment Z which is 40 seconds in length. The structure is A AB ABC ABCD etc. ending with fragment Z played one time only.The written material for each fragment is almost the same each time it is heard, but it looks different on the page as the overall tempo starts at 120bpm and gradually slows down to 60pbm. The tempo is kept by a ticking clock, so the harpist has the challenge of keeping time with a slowing clock while playing irrational, percussive phrases against it, and making those phrases fit rhythmically and emotionally to the recordings.
The film was shot by director Magali Charrier
Technical Notes: Film and audio playback
To obtain score and parts: Contact here