Symphony No. I, <S.E.>
Interactive installation, 2-channel audio, single-channel video
The performance of noise* has no score and no rules. Twelve noise play(er)s, each designed to pour out random pitches and random rhythms within its own timbre, show the very essence of improvisation. These waveform generators take in noise data, begin and stop playing at unknowable moments, and produce unpredictable notes and beats. The music you are about to hear has never existed before and will never be repeated: a singular symphony that exists only once. Each of their waveforms is briefly recorded by a visualization system, then disappears.
If you wish, this piece is ready to become a concerto. Flip the switch to ON, then move your hands and play something. An invisible digital theremin** has been placed before you. You, too, are given no score and no rules. Clench your fists, clap, dance, and complete an improvised ensemble with the noise orchestra. Whether this is noise or music, no performer here will care.
- * Noise: In a narrow sense, unwanted sound, interference, or an unwanted signal; in a broad sense, also used to mean patternless, random data. In acoustics in particular, a sound in which all frequency components are scattered completely at random, without rule or bias.
- ** Theremin: An instrument played in midair without contact, which alters sound through interference with an electromagnetic field.