7 mins
Date 2008
I had had the idea of incorporating my ‘desk-life’ into a piece for a while, and when I was asked to write for the Sinfonietta’s 40th anniversary it seemed the right time to do it, as this piece focuses on an aspect of composition that goes on in the background in some way or other for most composers.
When I compose, I experience two soundscapes: my internal one, in which I am imagining and moulding the sounds I want to create; and the external one, which is a combination of outdoor sounds, the sounds of my playing unconsciously with things on my desk, and the sounds of writing music down — the pencil and pen moving across the paper, the sharpening of that pencil, the moving of a ruler. These sounds go largely unnoticed, they are always there, faithful companions, but they do not play a musical role. In untitled 40 [desk-life] I wanted to bring them into the music and celebrate their importance in the production of a work.
When sitting at my desk, I not only hear; I also see the pencil markings of notes, staves, dynamics and squiggles appear, disappear and dance across the paper. In the film I try to capture this dynamic movement across the manuscript.
The score sometimes picks up the playful way in which notation is approached in the film and introduces indeterminate notation to allow for improvisational input by the performers. In this way the piece continues to engage with the creative process right into the performance itself.
I am particularly interested in the proportioning of time within a piece and the effect proportioned time has on the listener’s experience of the musical material as well as the piece’s overall gestalt. My work combines conventional with less conventional notation, allowing me to integrate the familiar with the unfamiliar and to create a soundworld that breaks down historical hierarchies of sound.
© Claudia Molitor
