Listen

Richard Dudas – Prelude No. 2 for Clarinet and Computer (2006)

Music ©2006 Richard Dudas. Performed by Pete Furniss, clarinet.

Program Notes

Prelude No. 2 for clarinet and computer is the second in a series of interactive pieces for solo wind instrument with live computer processing. The piece explores (and blurs) the fine line between the sound of the live clarinet and the computer processed clarinet sound by the use of multiphonics in the clarinet part. The computer is also used to fill in the “missing” even harmonic partials in the clarinet’s odd-harmonic sound spectrum, morphing its sound into one resembling a saxophone.

The piece was written for clarinetist Peter Furniss who premiered it on a concert of music for clarinet and live electronics at the Forum Neues Musiktheater in Stuttgart, Germany in April of 2006.

Additional Information

All of the computer-processed sounds come from the live sound of the clarinet player – the composition does not rely on pre-recorded material. The computer part is realized with a “patch” (i.e. software program) running in the software Max/MSP from Cycling ’74 Inc., and is available from the composer in either a stereo or a quadraphonic version. The software tracks the pitch of the live instrument and “follows” the clarinetist through the score, triggering certain musical events automatically as specific notes are reached.

See also

Conference papers discussing the technological aspects of this piece:

Prelude No. 2 for Clarinet and Computer

Towards an Aesthetic of Instrumental Plausibility for Mixed Electronic Music