Year of the Rooster
Michael Robinson
About this work:
Even though my musical instincts led me from traditional human performance to the new environs of computer-expressed music, my compositions are conceived as performance pieces. Thus, all of my music is played in real time, without any overdubbing. The emphasis is on the physical rather than the visual dimensions of tangibility. (You can hear and feel sound but you cannot see it.) If you are willing to consider that human performers are a tradition rather than a given for musical expression, you may discover that computers are perfect instruments for the musical distillation of intellectual, sensual and spiritual energies, capable of articulating the nuances of one’s soul. There is a greater emphasis on what rather than who.
Year of the Rooster presents a kaleidoscope of sonic colors throughout its three contrasting movements.
- Michael Robinson, January 1994, Beverly Hills
© 1994 by Michael Robinson All rights reserved
Year composed: 1993
Duration: 00:14:34
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Live Electronic Sound Sources
Instrumentation: ,1 Computer/Laptop soloist(s), ,1 Sampler (Keyboard/Other) soloist(s)
Instrumentation notes: A computer and sound module are programmed to perform the fully notated composition in real time. Year of the Rooster is voiced with samples of the following acoustical timbres using equal temperment tuning: pizzicato strings, french horn, flute, piccolo, clarinet, bells, harp, recorder, violin, xylophone, shamisen, marimba and percussion. Electronic synthesizer timbres are used, as well as synthesized ocean waves.