Feedback Shift II
Background
Feedback Shift (2011) was written for Julia Werntz's Microtonal Composition and Performance II Course at the New England Conservatory and premiered by cellist Sebastian Baverstam at Jordan Hall (Boston, MA). The composition began with an idea of creating a single instrumental thread that would hold otherwise dense or complicated music together. I determined that a perpetually oscillating pitch would make for a fascinating thread. From that I recorded and looped myself playing an acoustic guitar, using a coin held diagonally as a pick for more timbral color. Next, I began to find public domain audio samples of electric guitar feedback. In searching through the plethora of samples I looked for recordings which sounded unique and not overly abrasive the ears. The best samples exhibited an inviting opening envelope, a nice sound profile, and a longer decay period. I edited and arranged these clips like a mosaic to create a rich sonic texture of sustain. Once the pre-recored sound part was completed I began to flesh out material for the cello. Here I tried to work in a mindset of restraint, beginning with one note in one range and slowly adding new pitches to the palate. In terms of form, I focused on avoiding clear sections and aimed to let the music gradually develop in a way that felt natural. The role of the cello in Feedback Shift is to provide balance to the pre-recorded sounds; sometimes complementary, but often reactionary.
Premier recording: https://soundcloud.com/wattsmusic1/feedback-shift
Original score: https://stanford.box.com/s/q6myda3a01b4fqjotxe4z227dtdo1ghn
Feedback Shift extended (pre-recorded sounds only): https://soundcloud.com/wattsmusic1/feedback-shift-extended-sounds
Feedback Shift II was composed in the fall of 2014 for cellist Séverine Ballon's January 2015 residency at Stanford University. The first Feedback Shift (2011) began with the idea of creating a single instrumental thread that would hold otherwise dense or complicated music together. This thread was a perpetually oscillating pitch on an acoustic guitar recorded then looped ad nauseam. The material for the cello soloist was generated under the mindset of extreme restraint, beginning with one note in one range and slowly adding new pitches to the palate. In terms of form of the first Feedback Shift, wanted to avoid clear sections and aimed to let the music gradually develop in a way that felt natural. For Feedback Shift II I returned to this process of extreme restraint. However, rather than beginning with one note in one range and slowly adding new pitches to the palate without sections, this work consists of eight sections each “shifting” through distinct sets of pitches. The effect can be thought of as having the live instrument passing through isolated filters or rules. Additionally, the role of the pre-recorded sound is no longer a ever present thread to hold the material together, but a distant and distorted echo of the cello's gestures.
