Root Drinking

by Brigid Burke

electronic composition

Our need to think in new symbolism is urgent. Perhaps fish who knows no end can help us. Motion is such a language, poetry another.

So now I have a fish, its action in hand, its naked signature, joy of return to water, eye impress, its silent sound and lines on rice paper. My fish in picture or word is second-hand dead. Better become Fish instead.

- - ) - -) - - ) --8

8 Reps. Gold and Fish Signatures. Charles E. Tuttle Company, Rutland, Vermont, U.S.A. 1969. p.23

Performance Duration 10:40

Composers Notes

The concept here is a strident, powerful statement lasting for the first six minutes and developing into a delicate poetic second section. The transformed acoustic clarinet performed by this composer and percussive strokes from inside the piano performed by Jeremy Martin.

The opening sound make a clean yet rough statement as to what is to come: dynamic and pulse alterations, with many 'peaks' and subtle layers. In this opening section the placement of sounds has a cohesive rhythmic sense through the spatial use of the source material with equal balance of melodic and percussive material for the first six minutes. The clarinet gestures emerge for the last four minutes in Root Drinking with the transformed clarinet sounds moving into complex paths and high overtones as if speaking to each other with occasional hoarse interruptions of white frequencies. These layers fluctuate to give different densities of texture. All parts have a small dynamic and tonal range creating a metamorphosing atmosphere.

Sounds for Root Drinking as stated above are altered by the following transformations: mixing, fragmenting, vibrato, delays, panning and ring modulations. These accentuated sounds are treated with different dynamic and room placements.

The clarinet and piano alone have there own complex overtone and timbral attributes. I have kept the amount of material used by the clarinet to six motifs which are formed into gestures and are stated clearly throughout. Only two motifs by the percussive piano and have been used with much fragmentation.

The sounds were also influences from images based on a 6x4 foot multi-media canvas that was created during the same period of time entitled Alluring Eyes (see attached). In the canvas I chose pure primary colours side by side with the combination of computer transparencies of images emerging within the work. The objective was to make these images grow in and out of the canvas and move the images around at many different layers to create multiple densities of colour.

Brigid is a clarinet soloist, visual artist, composer and educator. She has performed extensively in solo and chamber recitals, both nationally and internationally most recently 1999 BEAT International Gamalon, 1996 Experimenta, 1996 Victorian Arts Centre Sunday Live, 1994 & 97 Composing Women's and 1995, '96 & '98 Melbourne International, Festivals. Also 1998 & 99 Australasian Computer Music and 1997 Australasian Clarinet and Saxophone Conferences. She has also received ten art awards in the Japanese International Hand Printed & Shhin Kohanga competition sponsored by The Riso Educational Foundation from 1989-98. Her involvement New Music has led her to integrate sound, visuals (video and slides) and theatre in her performances of her own work or in collaboration with other composers/performers. Ensembles include INTERSECT with composer/performer Rainer Linz exploring the interaction of new media using clarinet, computer/live electronics in live performance, STREAMING (contemporary new music group) performing original and Australian compositions, and THIS with David Tolley and Gary Costello performing real time improvisations. As a freelance performer/composer Brigid is recording regularly at the ABC broadcast on ABC FM as well as live broadcasts, CD recordings and interviews on local & overseas radio. Her most recent CD recordings are INTERSECT and TRI DUO. Brigid has also been supported by the Performing Arts Board of the Australia Council, South Australian Govt., Community Arts Centers and Universities. She is on staff as Lecturer in clarinet and saxophone at Monash University and is currently lecturing, performing and taking master classes at Tertiary and Secondary institutions throughout Australia.

Brigid Burke PO Box 315 ELSTERNWICK Vic. AUSTRALIA 3185 Phone (03) 95961998