Torrent, for Flutes and Water
Photography by Paul Lapides, 2016
Torrent, for Flutes and Water, is inspired by the catastrophe of the flood that occurred in Calgary in June 2013, and the spirit of those who came together to overcome it. It is written for expandable flute choir and water sounds controlled live by electronics. The water sounds make audible that which is usually silent but ever present in music-making – the musicians’ muscle tension as they perform, think about, and feel their music. As music-making and listening is shaped and experienced with an integration of both mind and body, my research, of which this piece is a part, explores empowering and illuminating this connection.
Data from electromyography (EMG) sensors worn by four players is wirelessly streamed to custom software that controls propellers to agitate a large container of water. The water sounds are amplified to accompany the flutists, with the aspiration that the piece presents both means and end, process and result, effort and achievement in a struggle of people together against the elements.
This project was made possible with generous help and admirable expertise. I would like to thank Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes for all their hard work and open-mindedness, computer-scientist and yoga teacher Eric Pattison for co-developing the EMG-Water system with astute understanding of the meaning and requirements of the piece; Jim Akeson and family for their creativity and technology advisement and supply, Lawrence Fyfe for documentation help, my PhD supervisors Sheelagh Carpendale and Laurie Radford for their guidance, and my family for their support.
Data from electromyography (EMG) sensors worn by four players is wirelessly streamed to custom software that controls propellers to agitate a large container of water. The water sounds are amplified to accompany the flutists, with the aspiration that the piece presents both means and end, process and result, effort and achievement in a struggle of people together against the elements.
This project was made possible with generous help and admirable expertise. I would like to thank Lucie Jones and the Mount Royal Chamber Flutes for all their hard work and open-mindedness, computer-scientist and yoga teacher Eric Pattison for co-developing the EMG-Water system with astute understanding of the meaning and requirements of the piece; Jim Akeson and family for their creativity and technology advisement and supply, Lawrence Fyfe for documentation help, my PhD supervisors Sheelagh Carpendale and Laurie Radford for their guidance, and my family for their support.
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