Pulse Cycles

Written for the NIU Bau-House and Due East, the continuum between noise and tone is of over-arching concern in this work. This noise comes in two forms: noise produced by the functioning (or “misuse”) of the instruments themselves, and the noise of extreme contrapuntal density. These two definitions of noise are, I believe, very important. One is an introspective exploration of the sounds possible on an instrument: approaching the instrument literally as a producer of sound. The other is the boisterous, cacophonous combination of all possibilities at one time. The reduced structure of this work is a linear progression from the first form of noise to the second. The noise at the edge of the tone brings the tone into existence, from here the tone multiplies to such a point as to reach saturation by the end of the work. – Matthew Dotson