Nightscapes with Water
[multichannel electroacoustic]

I was part of a large team that worked together to restage Merce Cunningham’s minEVENT for the Five College Fall Faculty Dance Concert in November 2011. The collaborators included Eitan Mendelowitz (video), Dan Rist (lighting), Emily Dunn (costume), and the dancers and faculty of the Five College Dance Department. The process was fascinating, as we did our best to work in the same manner that Cunningham, Cage, and Rauschenberg had — i.e., we were (to the degree possible) unaware of what the other collaborators were doing until the very last minute, and many decisions had strong elements of chance involved.

For my part, I was given free reign over the theater’s 14-channel sound system and no stipulations other than an approximate length of 20 minutes. The three scores that I composed all make use of water sounds and were created (in part) with various algorithmic processes. By necessity the mixes below are stereo, but all were originally 12- to 14-channel in full surround.

Nightscapes 1–3

[These pieces use samples from freesound.org, used under Creative Commons]

[I am unable to post video of the event due to copyright.]