Soundboarding (2008) for amplified soprano recorder (doubling with piston flute), classical guitar and electronics
Duration approx. 7’ minutes
Soundboarding for amplified soprano recorder (doubling with piston flute) classical guitar and electronics was completed in February 2008. It is composed for the Dutch duo Bosgraaf & Elias. According to dictionary the title refers to a material placed in partitions under floors in order to deaden sounds. However in the piece the title is rather a paraphrase of the words skateboarding or snowboarding. As a result, the piece is inspired by the energy and speed the sport requires, the sounds and the gestures made on different terrains from rails, boxes, handrails, jumps, half pipes, quarter pipes to a many of other features.
Soundboarding explores unusual sound possibilities of the two instruments. The form of the piece unfolds through continuous timbre manipulation and transformation. The piece eschews from traditional formal musical elements such as melody, harmony and rhythm. Instead, it reconsiders and reevaluates them proposing gestures, figures, textures and degrees of energy. Both of the instruments and the electronics fuse together. They contribute to the production of a composite sound image that bears various morphoplastic attributes for further exploration.