Work
String Quartet No. 2 : The Distortion Mirror
by James Ledger (2018)
Also known as: The Distortion Mirror
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Work Overview
This is my second string quartet, and also the second commissioned by the Australian String Quartet. The first one, Processions, was written for them in 2011. This particular quartet differs from that (and most others) in that it adds electronic processing to the group.
In String Quartet No. 2, subtitled The Distortion Mirror, each instrument is individually miked up and the sound is sent to a computer and manipulated in some way. The possibilities for the use of live electronic processing are limitless, but one particular process I focussed on was looping. Here, sound can be recorded and instantly played back in a continuous, repeating loop. The recorded loop can then be pitch-stretched, time-stretched, reversed and so on. The length of the loop can also vary considerably - from a fraction of a second to several minutes.
The live quartet is accompanied by a heavily modified version of itself - as if looking into some kind of sonically distorting mirror. These types of mirrors are often found in side-shows at carnivals and fairs. They are curved in a particular way to make the viewer appear fat, thin, tall, short, wriggly, fish-eyed…you get the idea.
Work Details
Year: 2018
Instrumentation: 2 violins, viola, cello, live electronics (1 player).
Contents note: 1. Dusk to dawn -- 2. How to defy gravity -- 3. To fly then fall -- 4. Science and religion.
First performance: by Australian String Quartet at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (Government House Ballroom, Perth) on 26 Sep 2018
Performances of this work
7 Oct 2021: at ASQ at The Lab: Music + Moving Image – Adelaide (The Lab). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
9 Oct 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (Adelaide Town Hall). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
7 Oct 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (James O Fairfax Theatre). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
3 Oct 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (City Recital Hall). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
2 Oct 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (Melbourne Recital Centre, Elisabeth Murdoch Hall). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
1 Oct 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (Conservatorium Theatre, Brisbane). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
26 Sep 2018: at Schubert Ledger Shostakovich (Government House Ballroom, Perth). Featuring Australian String Quartet.
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