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Tod Machover: GAMMIFIED

Gammified includes stereo electronics that play continuously throughout the piece, with the start of each of the five tracks marked in the score. (Each of the tracks should ideally be routed through different stereo channels on a mixer so that each new track overlaps with the last, with the previous track faded out at the discretion of the sound engineer/quartet.)

The electronic layer of the piece is based on spectra constructed over a 40 Hz. drone. This drone is mixed with other sonorities – studio-produced as well as sampled/processed from Kronos - to keep the ear interested while the mind is meditating. The string quartet part is meant to blend with the electronics, neither dominating nor disappearing, and creates a musical journey from pedal to pulsation to spectral shimmering to melody to harmonic resolution. The quartet is asked to listen carefully to the electronics while performing, interacting, imitating and occasionally improvising.

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