153 x 56 (2009)

For any ensemble, 2008 – 2009

153_x_56

05.15.2009 – sfSoundGroup: Alexa Beattie, Kyle Bruckmann, Matt Ingalls, John Ingle, Graeme Jennings, Christopher Jones

04.05.2009 – sfSoundGroup: Alexa Beattie, Kyle Bruckmann, Matt Ingalls, John Ingle, Christopher Jones, Monica Scott

153 x 56 consists of 15 11″ x 14″ pages, each containing a wide variety of hand-drawn graphic notations. The notations are organized into networks of interconnected boxes, which performers navigate and interpret – the appearance is similar to that of a flow chart or an electronic circuit diagram. The detailed and evocative nature of the drawings encourages multiple interpretations and produces a multi-layered collage of materials. Images evolve from page to page, combining elements from previous pages with new ideas. A set of transparent sheets, which the performers place on top of their pages, provides instructions for musical relationships between the performers. The instructions are deliberately open-ended, along the lines of “bask in quiet”, “defy harmony”, and “death by sustain”.
Following a simple set of rules, the performers create a path through the pages of the piece. The rules make it impossible to play all 15 pages in a given performance, so some are inevitably left out. Combined with the indeterminate nature of the drawings, this creates a piece which has a large number of possible versions. Each performance is different, and highly personal to the ensemble presenting it. Through careful control over the layout of the pages, each performance moves from a dense, complex, and wildly varying gestural world to one which is sparse, repetitive, and cut-up. (The last page is literally a collage made of photocopies of the 14 which precede it.)
153 x 56 is my attempt to create a piece which depends on the creativity and invention of the performers, allows for performance by musicians of varying skill levels, encourages an improvisatory and textural playing style, and perhaps most importantly, rewards multiple performances and is enjoyable to play.

153 x 56 consists of 15 11″ x 14″ pages, each containing a wide variety of hand-drawn graphic notations. The notations are organized into networks of interconnected boxes, which performers navigate and interpret – the appearance is similar to that of a flow chart or an electronic circuit diagram. The detailed and evocative nature of the drawings encourages multiple interpretations and produces a multi-layered collage of materials. Images evolve from page to page, combining elements from previous pages with new ideas. A set of transparent sheets, which the performers place on top of their pages, provides instructions for musical relationships between the performers. The instructions are deliberately open-ended, along the lines of “bask in quiet”, “defy harmony”, and “death by sustain”.

Following a simple set of rules, the performers create a path through the pages of the piece. The rules make it impossible to play all 15 pages in a given performance, so some are inevitably left out. Combined with the indeterminate nature of the drawings, this creates a piece which has a large number of possible versions. Each performance is different, and highly personal to the ensemble presenting it. Through careful control over the layout of the pages, each performance moves from a dense, complex, and wildly varying gestural world to one which is sparse, repetitive, and cut-up. (The last page is literally a collage made of photocopies of the 14 which precede it.)

153 x 56 is my attempt to create a piece which depends on the creativity and invention of the performers, allows for performance by musicians of varying skill levels, encourages an improvisatory and textural playing style, and perhaps most importantly, rewards multiple performances and is enjoyable to play.

Performance History:

05.15.2009 – sfSoundGroup @ San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Alexa Beattie Artist’s Certificate Recital
05.13.2009 – Christine Barclay, David Collins, Matt Martell, Jonathan Sanford, Greg Surges @ Brewing Grounds, Milwaukee, WI
04.05.2009 – sfSoundGroup @ UWM Recital Hall, Milwaukee, WI

Creative Commons License
153 x 56 by Greg Surges is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

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