Audio Sample
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Performance by Atticus String Quartet, Sam Dunscombe from the CD Selected Works by AMC Represented Artists, vol. 42. |
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Work Overview
Cruel and Usual is a work inspired by
an article by the Al Jazzera news service that discusses the use
of solitary confinement in US prisons as incarceration rates
explode in the USA. In some cases, prisoners have remained in
solitary for over 38 years, or may even be children, and the
reasons for going in there are not always clear or legitimate.
This kind of confinement is known as 'no touch torture' by
some.
In this work the string players are sampled at certain small
moments of the piece, and 'translated' into much lower ranges
instantaneously, which fade out or grow, and are sometimes
'distorted'. The use of drone - long notes that change very
little - acts as a descriptive metaphor for the lives of these
that may find themselves in these situations.
Work Details
Year: 2011
Instrumentation: String quartet, four bass amplifiers, 4 pickups running to Max MSP patch, sending to bass amplifiers. four networked computers to read score
Duration: 8 min.
Difficulty: Medium — graphic score
Dedication note: Dedicated to Judith Hamman.
Commission note: Commissioned by Atticus String Quartet.
First performance: by Atticus String Quartet at Atticus (Northcote Uniting Church) on 26 Sep 2011
DOI: 10.26180/5ceb3fbba477f
To perform this piece you will need the Decibel ScorePlayer, an iPad application that puts the score in motion and coordinates the performance.
Analysis
Resonate article: Insight: Drawing music by Cat Hope
Subjects
- In the form/style of: Graphic Notation
Performances of this work
20 Jul 12: Arts House, Melbourne. Featuring Atticus String Quartet, Sam Dunscombe.
19 Jul 2012: at Metapraxis - Jon Rose, Atticus & Guests (North Melbourne Town Hall (Arts House)). Featuring Atticus String Quartet.
26 Sep 2011: at Atticus (Northcote Uniting Church). Featuring Atticus String Quartet.
May 11: North Melbourne Town Hall. Featuring Atticus String Quartet, Sam Dunscombe.
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