fields - for two percussionists (2010)

The piece takes place with two percussionists separated at a linear distance of 150 yards. There is a microphone placed at each performer. Four additional microphones partition the duo, whose distances are structured distinctly upon ratios of the harmonic series. These distances are sought after, as the piece is written specifically around these spacial arrangements, their spacial frequencies and their relationship to the speed of sound.

As one impulse is triggered, a four-note delay succeeds the initial in the playback of the piece. As sound travels from one microphone to the next, one hears the entire lifespan of a sound in an instant; an over-exposed photograph revealing multiple points of time. The microphone placement alludes to a sense of interdependence, while human error distorts on the axis of pulse. The pulse forms a string, oscillating at a theta rhythm of about 7.66 hz.

The performers are equipped with personalized metronome tracks. The metronome tracks lead the performers through the various phase relationships that occur throughout the piece. As the piece progresses, the phase relationships split, but the delay pattern created in the microphone placement suggests an increase of interconnectedness.
 

"fields" performed by Mark Knoop and Serge Vuille on the roof of the Godsbanen in Aarhus, Denmark

"fields" performed by Christian Smith and Ryan Packard in Oberlin, OH