Untitled 10
For two trumpets & two violas

Performed June 24, 2023

Nigel Deane & Alejandra Moreno, violas
Ethan Marks & Nev Wendell, trumpets

Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WtmgsmMZWw6vNZTl89IZfQ9SNqETYm7C/view?usp=sharing

Untitled 10

"Neither and Both Rooms Are" (2014-2015)

Hannah Kim, Jeremy Kreutz, Aaron Wolff -  cello
Justin Gunter, Dan King, Ben Rempel - percussion

"There are two trios in two rooms: the cello trio is in Warner Main Space and the percussion trio is in the dance studio. Please walk freely between the rooms, staying as long as you like in each and sitting, standing, or walking wherever you like. There is no right or wrong way to portion your time between the rooms. I would, however, strongly encourage you to stay for the entire hour, since I composed the piece with that experience in mind. Please respect the listening of those around you and refrain from talking while you are in either or neither or both of the rooms."

In this recording, you hear the sound of the lives cellos and the playback from three cassette tape players, each controlled by a cellist. On the tapes, the sound of the percussionists in the other room were previously recorded.

Score and video available by request.

Neither and Both Rooms are - Cello Room

"Neither and Both Rooms Are" (2014-2015)

Hannah Kim, Jeremy Kreutz, Aaron Wolff - cello
Justin Gunter, Dan King, Ben Rempel - percussion

"There are two trios in two rooms: the cello trio is in Warner Main Space and the percussion trio is in the dance studio. Please walk freely between the rooms, staying as long as you like in each and sitting, standing, or walking wherever you like. There is no right or wrong way to portion your time between the rooms. I would, however, strongly encourage you to stay for the entire hour, since I composed the piece with that experience in mind. Please respect the listening of those around you and refrain from talking while you are in either or neither or both of the rooms."

In this recording, you hear the sound of the lives percussion and the playback from three cassette tape players, each controlled by a percussionist. On the tapes, the sound of the cellists in the other room were previously recorded.

Score and video available by request.

Neither and Both Rooms are - Percussion Room

Against a drone, the ensemble attempts to work their way through a map which guides the process of precisely tuning intervals of simple frequency ratios. In this recording you are hearing two takes, edited and layered. For both takes, the ensemble used map 2 out of 10, containing the intervals 3/2, 4/3, 8/3, 9/8, and 5/4.

Performed by Trio Kobayashi
Allen Fogle, horn
Matt Barbier, trombone
Luke Storm, tuba
with Tal Katz, cello

Recorded January 29, 2018 in Valencia, CA.

Score available by request.

Untitled 4

The studio recording of this piece is now available on Edition Wandelweiser Records: https://www.wandelweiser.de/_e-w-records/_ewr-catalogue/ewr1920.html

A quintet of strings retuned in just intonation navigates various charts, overlaying tones in imitation or opposition, creating a kind of contrapuntal event that slowly unfolds itself over the course of the hour.

Performed January 29, 2019 through the wulf. at Coaxial Arts in Los Angeles
Nigel Deane, violin
Patrick Behnke, viola
Tanner Pfeiffer, viola
Tal Katz, cello
Julius Tedaldi, cello

Untitled 6 (live, January 2019)

Untitled 7 was a sound installation consisting of 3 speakers mounted on the ceilings from which came this 22-minute loop of audio. The audio is a collage of 15-second samples of 74 different viola tones, each recorded by re-tuning the viola’s open strings, creating a contrapuntal texture of suspended chords in just intonation. The “core” chord is a 27/22/18 triad that, through steps of less than a semitone, travels in and out of harmonic intelligibility towards or away from 3-, 5-, and 7-limit minor and major thirds.

Untitled 7 was installed at the CalArts WaveCave in Valencia, CA, October 2-8, 2018.

Untitled 7

I make experimental music through notated composition, performed song, and installation. Just intonation, information aesthetics, duration, cyclicality, and counterpoint are all things I often think about when making music.

I was born in 1993 and was raised in Columbus, Ohio. I stayed in my home state to receive a Bachelor of Music in composition from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. I received an MFA at the California Institute of the Arts, studying under Michael Pisaro and Wolfgang von Schweinitz. My music has been released by Edition Wandelwesier and presented by HyperCube, Dog Star Orchestra, and the wulf. I live in Los Angeles.

Sivan Silver-Swartz

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