Q Express
Benjamin Bierman
About this work:
The sound sources for Q Express (an electro-acoustic work) were collected during a subway ride from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The sounds were recorded inside the cars, between the cars, and in the stations. Some sounds appear as recorded, while others have been manipulated by methods such as time-expansion, transposition, and filtering.
The piece can be performed as is (CD playback), and I also perform it with an improvised trumpet component. In this form, the role of the trumpet is not as soloist, but rather as another sound-participant in the overall texture. Besides always having been fascinated by the subway’s various rhythms, noises, hums, etc., the stream of humanity that flies by in all of the windows as one stands on the platform also regularly fuels my imagination. This is where the trumpet fits in, as one small piece in the social jumble of this particular train ride.
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 00:04:30
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Prerecorded Sound
Instrumentation: 1 Prerecorded Sound (Tape/CD/Other)
Instrumentation notes: Optional improvised trumpet