HUM 2
Maggi Payne
About this work:
HUM 2 is scored for eight live trombones, although it can be performed by one trombone plus seven taped parts, and the players (or speakers) should also be diffused around the performance space. The piece deals with expansion/contraction and involves spatial deployment of the eight performers or eight or four speakers. Ideally one should not be able to distinguish the live performer from the taped parts when performed using the tape version. The piece takes advantage of surround capability with sounds traveling around, through, and across the space (all built into scoring of the piece), with many instances of extended techniques and delicate pitch alterations (of 2-7 Hz). If the listener is in a good listening position, the space should contract—to appear to come very close (as all eight trombones get very loud) and expand outward (as all eight trombones get very soft). The expansion/contraction also takes place in the frequency domain as pitches converge and diverge and in the amplitude domain with an extreme dynamic range. This work is virtuosic. I composed the work for the trombonist, Abbie Conant, whose superb capabilities are explored in the work.
Year composed: 2000
Duration: 00:07:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 6-9 players
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: 8 trombones, or solo trombone with 7 pre-recorded trombones spatially deployed over speakers