Ghost Trap (2017)
for Two Flutes and Electronics (2017) PDF Download
Link for electronics download in PDF
Written for Siroko Duo (Jessie Nucho and Tori Hauk) while at the Avaloch Farm Music Institute in New Hampshire in 2017. Commissioned by the Guerrilla Composers Guild. Generously supported by a grant from InterMusic SF.
Program Notes for GHOST TRAP
This work is a playful duet filled with unity and mimicry, enhanced by a mystical electronic sound world that blurs the line between each of the flutes. Before long, new and eerie voices enter and join the primary players, serving as subtle ghost flutes that the players interact with. They enjoy this new company before feeling trapped by its limitations, unable to escape the persistent ghost flutes that are inflexible in pitch material, but before long the players learn to harness this sound world of the ghost flute to bring back the main theme in a more structured and mystical sounding variation before finally unwinding it all and ending with a whisper, allowing the listener to wonder if this was all a dream.
I had a lot of fun writing this piece, and it is one of my first works for live-processed electronics. I couldn't have completed it without the tireless workshopping of Jessie and Tori, and I am so grateful to Avaloch Farm for hosting us while we worked out all of the kinks, both on the page and in the computer.
- Nicolás Lell Benavides
Performance Notes
Equipment needed:
USB Audio interface with 2 preamps and stereo out
2 microphones
2 speakers
USB MIDI keyboard controller
Laptop with Max 8 installed, the Ghost Trap Max project downloaded and placed in the Max user folder. https://cycling74.com/downloads/ (no purchase required)
Download the patch: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/bgrpuu2py7kit5a/AADtvwiYBEGhERye47gR1YeIa?dl=0
Ghost Trap (2017)
Performed by Siroko Duo
For two flutes and live electronics.
Performed by Siroko Duo (Jessie Nucho and Tori Hauk, flutes)
Ghost Trap is a piece commissioned by Siroko Duo and the Guerrilla Composers Guild. The piece was written during a co residency with the performers and composers at Avaloch Farm Music Institute in New Hampshire. The piece uses a computer to process their sound in real time and generate "ghost" flutes that perform in harmony with Siroko Duo. They are subtle, but sometimes the performers can "trap" the ghosts and play with them, as though there were two other flutists in the room performing intonation tricks that human flutes would not be able to. As the piece progresses, the live performers push further and further into the ghost sound world, until they settle on a playful texture that is the culmination of the work. www.nickbenavides.com www.sirokoduo.com www.guerrillamusic.org
Written for Siroko Duo in conjunction with the Guerrilla Composers Guild. The players use Max 7 to control the output from the computer, which acts as ghost flutes to their live flutes.
• More Info
• www.sirokoduo.com