Performed by Rafal Zolkos (flute), E.Garifzyanova (electronics) and David Poissonnier (sound engineer). 03.05.2013 - Grande Salle-HEM, Geneva, Switzerland. Live recording.
*) Honorary Mention at the International Electroacoustic Music Competition Musica Nova in Prague 2013 (Czech Republic). https://musicanova.seah.cz/vysl/MusicaNova_2013_PLAKAT.jpg
Text note:
The real-time sound processing serves with coloring the sound of the live flute and also with binding it to the sounds of pre-composed sound files. These sound files are thought of to a certain extent as orchestral, in as much as they present polyphonic and multi-timbric structures alongside the live flute line. The electronic part of the live flute is tightly bound to the musical material.

Aurora Borealis  for flute and electronics.

HUNGER: Part III, Sc. 1 (Clip 1) - August 14th & 15th, 2014
A new multimedia opera in four parts by composer Jason Thorpe Buchanan & librettist Darcie Dennigan

Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop with Ensemble Interface, soprano S.Aston, mezzo-soprano B.K.Majewska, baritone S.Storck. 
Musical director/conductor Stephan Schreiber, stage director L.Steier, Dramaturg P.Hahn, composer H.Thomalla, and vocal instructor D.Michel-Dansac.

Knut Hamsun’s novel "Sult" is a point of departure for a libretto by award-winning poet Darcie Dennigan, exploring themes of psychological decay, irrationality, and self-destruction. Oumenos is a starving and delusional young writer who is unwilling to compromise his work even as his intellect and body gradually deteriorate.  He is split in two; the baritone and soprano form a composite, each depicting aspects of his inner/outer selves and suppressed madness. His hunger and self-disgust lead him to consider stealing bread, and to thoughts of self-mutilation. He despises his baseness. He is a dog. He is drawn to Ylajali, a young girl who appears to him in various manifestations – her physical existence and a distortion/projection in his mind. At the bloodbank, Ylajali draws his blood. At the spermbank, she coaxes his orgasm. In a butchershop, Ylajali as countergirl displays the meat before him. He fights his coarseness and hungers to appear presentable, normal. He finds himself examining her on the counter as if she were meat. Humiliated by his inner self, and by Ylajali, he in turn humiliates her. He has again become, in his mind, a dog.

The first completed scene (Part III, Sc. 1) was selected for the Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop and premiered August, 2014 in an acoustic version for three singers, a.flute, b.clarinet, perc, pno, vln, and vc. This ensemble was later augmented by the inclusion of e-guitar, bari sax, electronics, and video projection. Scenes 1 & 2 were premiered in a concert version with electronics at The Industry’s FIRST TAKE in Los Angeles on February 21, 2015. LA Times critic Mark Swed called Hunger (Part III) “elliptical” – “Hunger is a kind of training session in mental disintegration… An ungodly opera needs ugly music, singers who produce primal sounds, an electric guitar that sounds scraped raw, a wailing orchestra effects, cuts the ear like a knife. Buchanan delivers.”  The first complete staged performance of "Hunger (Part III, Scenes 1 & 2)" with live video processing was premiered by the [Switch~ Ensemble] on May 15, 2016 as part of MATA’s Interval Series at the DiMenna Center in NYC.

Our vision is a multimedia opera whose musical and dramaturgical narrative is driven not by dialogue or action, but rather psychological and musical states seamlessly entwining electronics and real-time video capture of liver performance against pre-recorded film, with multiple projection surfaces and electronics. At its core, Hunger evokes the deeply “internal” quality of Hamsun’s Sult, while reason and semantic content are obfuscated through the fragmentation of both music and text. Oscillation between intelligibility and unintelligibility demand focus on phenomenological qualities and filmic subtlety, inviting participants to explore and engage with a multiplicity of potential narrative threads played out as contradictory physical and digital manifestations occurring simultaneously. Because its true subject is, as Hamsun described, “the delicate fluctuations of a sensitive soul, the strange, peculiar life of the mind,” "Hunger" invites participants to construct and engage with a multiplicity of scenarios and readings. Hunger breaks with operatic conventions by eschewing grandeur and dramaturgical coherence in order to explore the volatile city of one man’s psyche. The edge of comprehensibility itself becomes a means of structural integrity, reflecting the central themes of deterioration and fragility. 

More information and synopsis: www.hungeropera.com

HUNGER Part III, Scene 1 (m.1) - Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop

HUNGER: Part III, Sc. 1 (Clip 2) - August 14th & 15th, 2014
A new multimedia opera in four parts by composer Jason Thorpe Buchanan & librettist Darcie Dennigan

Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop with Ensemble Interface, soprano S.Aston, mezzo-soprano B.K.Majewska, baritone S.Storck. 
Musical director/conductor Stephan Schreiber, stage director L.Steier, Dramaturg P.Hahn, composer H.Thomalla, and vocal instructor D.Michel-Dansac.

Knut Hamsun’s novel "Sult" is a point of departure for a libretto by award-winning poet Darcie Dennigan, exploring themes of psychological decay, irrationality, and self-destruction. Oumenos is a starving and delusional young writer who is unwilling to compromise his work even as his intellect and body gradually deteriorate.  He is split in two; the baritone and soprano form a composite, each depicting aspects of his inner/outer selves and suppressed madness. His hunger and self-disgust lead him to consider stealing bread, and to thoughts of self-mutilation. He despises his baseness. He is a dog. He is drawn to Ylajali, a young girl who appears to him in various manifestations – her physical existence and a distortion/projection in his mind. At the bloodbank, Ylajali draws his blood. At the spermbank, she coaxes his orgasm. In a butchershop, Ylajali as countergirl displays the meat before him. He fights his coarseness and hungers to appear presentable, normal. He finds himself examining her on the counter as if she were meat. Humiliated by his inner self, and by Ylajali, he in turn humiliates her. He has again become, in his mind, a dog.

The first completed scene (Part III, Sc. 1) was selected for the Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop and premiered August, 2014 in an acoustic version for three singers, a.flute, b.clarinet, perc, pno, vln, and vc. This ensemble was later augmented by the inclusion of e-guitar, bari sax, electronics, and video projection. Scenes 1 & 2 were premiered in a concert version with electronics at The Industry’s FIRST TAKE in Los Angeles on February 21, 2015. LA Times critic Mark Swed called Hunger (Part III) “elliptical” – “Hunger is a kind of training session in mental disintegration… An ungodly opera needs ugly music, singers who produce primal sounds, an electric guitar that sounds scraped raw, a wailing orchestra effects, cuts the ear like a knife. Buchanan delivers.”  The first complete staged performance of "Hunger (Part III, Scenes 1 & 2)" with live video processing was premiered by the [Switch~ Ensemble] on May 15, 2016 as part of MATA’s Interval Series at the DiMenna Center in NYC.

Our vision is a multimedia opera whose musical and dramaturgical narrative is driven not by dialogue or action, but rather psychological and musical states seamlessly entwining electronics and real-time video capture of liver performance against pre-recorded film, with multiple projection surfaces and electronics. At its core, Hunger evokes the deeply “internal” quality of Hamsun’s Sult, while reason and semantic content are obfuscated through the fragmentation of both music and text. Oscillation between intelligibility and unintelligibility demand focus on phenomenological qualities and filmic subtlety, inviting participants to explore and engage with a multiplicity of potential narrative threads played out as contradictory physical and digital manifestations occurring simultaneously. Because its true subject is, as Hamsun described, “the delicate fluctuations of a sensitive soul, the strange, peculiar life of the mind,” "Hunger" invites participants to construct and engage with a multiplicity of scenarios and readings. Hunger breaks with operatic conventions by eschewing grandeur and dramaturgical coherence in order to explore the volatile city of one man’s psyche. The edge of comprehensibility itself becomes a means of structural integrity, reflecting the central themes of deterioration and fragility. 

More information and synopsis: www.hungeropera.com

HUNGER Part III, Scene 1 (m.23) - Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop

HUNGER: Part III, Sc. 1 (Clip 3) - August 14th & 15th, 2014
A new multimedia opera in four parts by composer Jason Thorpe Buchanan & librettist Darcie Dennigan

Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop with Ensemble Interface, soprano S.Aston, mezzo-soprano B.K.Majewska, baritone S.Storck. 
Musical director/conductor Stephan Schreiber, stage director L.Steier, Dramaturg P.Hahn, composer H.Thomalla, and vocal instructor D.Michel-Dansac.

Knut Hamsun’s novel "Sult" is a point of departure for a libretto by award-winning poet Darcie Dennigan, exploring themes of psychological decay, irrationality, and self-destruction. Oumenos is a starving and delusional young writer who is unwilling to compromise his work even as his intellect and body gradually deteriorate.  He is split in two; the baritone and soprano form a composite, each depicting aspects of his inner/outer selves and suppressed madness. His hunger and self-disgust lead him to consider stealing bread, and to thoughts of self-mutilation. He despises his baseness. He is a dog. He is drawn to Ylajali, a young girl who appears to him in various manifestations – her physical existence and a distortion/projection in his mind. At the bloodbank, Ylajali draws his blood. At the spermbank, she coaxes his orgasm. In a butchershop, Ylajali as countergirl displays the meat before him. He fights his coarseness and hungers to appear presentable, normal. He finds himself examining her on the counter as if she were meat. Humiliated by his inner self, and by Ylajali, he in turn humiliates her. He has again become, in his mind, a dog.

The first completed scene (Part III, Sc. 1) was selected for the Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop and premiered August, 2014 in an acoustic version for three singers, a.flute, b.clarinet, perc, pno, vln, and vc. This ensemble was later augmented by the inclusion of e-guitar, bari sax, electronics, and video projection. Scenes 1 & 2 were premiered in a concert version with electronics at The Industry’s FIRST TAKE in Los Angeles on February 21, 2015. LA Times critic Mark Swed called Hunger (Part III) “elliptical” – “Hunger is a kind of training session in mental disintegration… An ungodly opera needs ugly music, singers who produce primal sounds, an electric guitar that sounds scraped raw, a wailing orchestra effects, cuts the ear like a knife. Buchanan delivers.”  The first complete staged performance of "Hunger (Part III, Scenes 1 & 2)" with live video processing was premiered by the [Switch~ Ensemble] on May 15, 2016 as part of MATA’s Interval Series at the DiMenna Center in NYC.

Our vision is a multimedia opera whose musical and dramaturgical narrative is driven not by dialogue or action, but rather psychological and musical states seamlessly entwining electronics and real-time video capture of liver performance against pre-recorded film, with multiple projection surfaces and electronics. At its core, Hunger evokes the deeply “internal” quality of Hamsun’s Sult, while reason and semantic content are obfuscated through the fragmentation of both music and text. Oscillation between intelligibility and unintelligibility demand focus on phenomenological qualities and filmic subtlety, inviting participants to explore and engage with a multiplicity of potential narrative threads played out as contradictory physical and digital manifestations occurring simultaneously. Because its true subject is, as Hamsun described, “the delicate fluctuations of a sensitive soul, the strange, peculiar life of the mind,” "Hunger" invites participants to construct and engage with a multiplicity of scenarios and readings. Hunger breaks with operatic conventions by eschewing grandeur and dramaturgical coherence in order to explore the volatile city of one man’s psyche. The edge of comprehensibility itself becomes a means of structural integrity, reflecting the central themes of deterioration and fragility. 

More information and synopsis: www.hungeropera.com

HUNGER Part III, Scene 1 (m.28) - Darmstadt Contemporary Opera Workshop

Voi(rex) (2002)
Philippe Leroux
voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, percussion, and processing

the [Switch~ Ensemble]:
Sophie Burgos, soprano
Zach Sheets, flute
Madison Greenstone, clarinet
Lauren Cauley, violin
T.J. Borden, cello
Megan Arns, percussion
Wei-Han Wu, piano

Artistic Co-Directors:
Jason Thorpe Buchanan, composer/conductor
Christopher Chandler, composer/electronics

Nov. 20, 2013 - Eastman School of Music
For more information, visit http://www.switchensemble.com
_____________

The [Switch~ Ensemble] is an initiative dedicated to the creation and performance of new works for chamber ensemble and electronics, operating in residence at the Eastman School of Music's Computer Music Center.

Our focus is on projects that require a level of technological integration that is not ordinarily possible with new music ensembles. Our personnel consists of a flexible roster of instrumentalists and vocalists, with three composers that co-direct the ensemble and manage our various projects and the integration of technology.

We realize that the compositional and rehearsal processes for electroacoustic music must differ radically from acoustic music. We therefore approach this issue from the ground up by refining and experimenting with the integration of musicians and electronics throughout the compositional and rehearsal processes. In doing so, we hope to collaboratively develop new works as a cohesive unit to produce a fully sculpted sound world that is otherwise difficult to achieve.
_____________

Introduction
I. L’invisible debout 
II. Jusque 
III. De part […] En part 
IV. Devant tout autour 
V. L’inachevé à son faîte

Voi(Rex) was composed using poems by Lin Delpierre, taken from a collection entitled Le testament des fruits. The poems have been freely reordered, even mixed at times. The meaning of the text remains mostly understandable and contributes to the overall expression of the piece, but its structure also determines some of its features. The poems also serve as phonetic material and suggest several figuralisms scattered throughout the piece. The very calligraphy of the letters, as a cousin of the melody archetypes that are soundwaves, is used to generate rhythmic/melodic models and spatial trajectories. Finally, some scenographical movements borrow stylistic and punctuation traits from the poems.

The piece is in five movements preceded by a short introduction. Each movement is built over one or several unique features. The idea driving the piece is the confrontation between various model types. What could be called «the model’s model.» First of all, the singer recorded the poems upclose to gongs and a tomtom resonating to the sound of her voice. After analysis, this produced the harmonic elements that were used throughout the work. She also recorded an improvised sequence using specific vocal techniques. Recorded sounds were then selected, isolated and worked on using editing techniques only - no treatments were involved. These sounds were then presented to the singer as new models. She now had to imitate herself from a recording that had been stripped out of certain bits of sounds that were recorded the first time. Little by little, this process generated a set of vocal elements that could be used as a model for the instruments and the electronics. A number of technomorphic models were also used, shifting constantly back and forth between voice, instruments and electronics.

I would like to thank Frédéric Voisin, without whom this work would not have seen the light of day, Donatienne Michel-Dansac for her great talent and patience, and Gilles Leothaud for his precious advice in writing the vocal part.

Voi (Rex) was commissioned by the State and the Ircam-Centre Pompidou, and realized at Ircam with the help of Frédéric Voisin, musical assistant. It is dedicated to François Paris.

- Philippe Leroux

Voi(rex) by Philippe Leroux (Mvts. 1-2)

Music by Jason Thorpe Buchanan
Performed by Alarm Will Sound
Live at the Mizzou International Composers Festival, July 27, 2013


Asymptotic Flux - Second Study in Entropy

karst survey [2016]
for 7 instruments & electronics 
commissioned by the [Switch~ Ensemble] [www.switchensemble.com]
Live performance at VIPA Festival (Valencia, Spain)
Mixed/mastered by Jason Thorpe Buchanan

Studio recording available on my portrait disc released by Kairos: www.kairos-music.com/cds/0018003kai

An on-the-ground traversal through a weathered and disconnected terrain; a crawl way suddenly opening up into a cavern; a disappearing river; a compulsive urge for movement; a pushing forward, even if that leads straight down the dark maw of a sinkhole.

More info here: www.timothy-mccormack.com/karstsurvey

karst survey [2016] - the [Switch~ Ensemble]

WORLDEATER [2016]
for two trombonists
commissioned by RAGE Thormbones (Weston Olencki & Matt Barbier)

Recorded at the HUSEAC Studios at Harvard University
Performed by Weston Olencki & Matt Barbier
Recorded by Timothy McCormack
Mixed/mastered by Weston Olencki
Assistance given by Seth Torres

More info here: www.timothy-mccormack.com/worldeater

http://www.westonolencki.com/
https://soundcloud.com/wolencki
http://www.mattbarbier.com/
https://soundcloud.com/mattbarbier-1

WORLDEATER [2016]

**The complete score can be viewed at the following link: http://jasonthorpebuchanan.com/asymptoticflux/page1.html

Program Notes:

“Asymptotic Flux: First Study in Entropy” was written over a three month period while traveling and hitchhiking throughout Europe, surrounding time spent attending at the IRCAM Manifeste Festival in Paris and the Internationales Musikinstitut Darmstadt.  As one might imagine, composing with pencil and paper while constantly on the move can be rather cumbersome, having only short periods of time available to focus, and often taking place in awkward workspaces like cafes, restaurants, hostels, and the apartments of my various hosts. Most of these environments were quite busy and chaotic spaces.  This situation presented a challenge after having spent most of my compositional activity to date in an academic setting with a piano or other musical equipment readily available.

My original intent when I set out was to explore the timbral possibilities of the bass clarinet, utilizing a variety of techniques to produce complex soundscapes and microtonal sonorities that would provide germinal material for the work while unifying the ensemble.  In addition to the sonorities that are worked out through sampling and spectral analysis of multiphonics, additional pitch content is generated through an acoustic analogue to a process known in electronic music as “single-sideband modulation,” resulting in a series of combination tones made by adding two frequencies (for instance, a bass clarinet tone and an open scordatura string of the cello), to one another, producing a series that grows exponentially (i.e. 100Hz+200Hz=300Hz, 200Hz+300Hz=500Hz, etc.).

The title comes from an arguably conceptual device: the low E-flat that simultaneously pervades the work and is non-existent.  I imagine that the ensemble is always reaching towards this E-flat as a point of centricity, but never quite arrive; analogous to an asymptote, as it approaches infinity.  Entropy can be described as the “measure of the disorder or randomness in a closed system,” or the “tendency for all matter and energy in the universe to evolve toward a state of inert uniformity.” (source: American Heritage Dictionary).  Taking some poetic liberties in reducing the scientific definition of “entropy” to simply a unit of measurement for chaos, one might say that this work conveys a state of high entropy in music, in stark contrast both to my previous work and to the classical tradition itself. This is a characteristic that I feel reflects not only specific elements of the compositional process, but also the result of the technical demands made on the performers, as well as my state of mind throughout the creation of this work.


Please note that all sounds heard in this performance are produced acoustically without electronic processing.

- Jason Thorpe Buchanan

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMel9NUt30s&feature=plcp

OSSIA New Music Concert, Eastman School of Music - Oct. 4, 2012
Madison Greenstone, amplified bass clarinet
Lauren Cauley, amplified violin
Kelsey Farr, amplified viola
Julia Nilsen, amplified cello

For more information, please visit: http://www.jasonthorpebuchanan.com

Asymptotic Flux: First Study in Entropy (2012) - OSSIA World Premiere

stars from the earth stars from the stars (2019) - for amplified flute, clarinet, violin, cello, percussion, and electronics

[Switch~ Ensemble]: Zach Sheets, flutes; Madison Greenstone, clarinets and pedals; Lauren Cauley, violin; T.J. Borden, cello; Megan Arns, percussion
Rehearsal recording, Harvard University, October 4, 2019

--

more info + 24-bit/48kHz audio here: http://juliozuniga.info/works/stars_from_the_earth_stars_from_the_stars.html

stars from the earth stars from the stars

A new music ensemble for the 21st Century, the [Switch~ Ensemble] is an electroacoustic ensemble in residence at the Eastman School of Music's Computer Music Center.  Switch~ is an initiative dedicated to the performance of works for chamber ensemble and electronics, with a focus on the creation of new repertoire featuring the integration of live musicians, amplification, synthesizers, fixed media, and real-time interactive computer processing.

Voi(rex) by Philippe Leroux (Mvts. 1-2)

theswitchensemble

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