a situation for solo alto flute and live electronics, 2005
My musical interests in Alone in a Crowded Room are twofold. Electronically, I am exploring macroscopic and microscopic processes in the time domain. At the same time, I am engaged with the physical reality of the alto flute and by extension, the flautist.
The long delay lines at the beginning of the piece are an example of macroscopic process; the technique has long been a part of compositional vocabulary from analogue tape loop to cannon at the unison. In this piece it creates the situation for an interior monologue between the player and himself. Concepts repeat, decay, and interact with one another, creating new layers of meaning with each recontextualization. As the piece progresses, microscopic process come to the foreground. The sound of the flute is broken into individual grains that gradually loose cohesion. The monologue branches out, as memories of the original performance split into fragments.
