scaradh anama le corp

2024 · for saxophone quartet and live electronics · c. 12′ · written for the FUKIO Saxophone Quartet with the support of KULTURStiftung NRW · premiered at Alte Feuerwache Köln, 22 March 2024

Scaradh anama le corp (trans. ‘separation of body and soul’) places the quartet inside four gliding sine-tone voices that follow the players through 118 cues. The notation, loosely inspired by early mensural notation, gives durations in seconds and cells of rhythm that each player chooses from freely, so that the ensemble’s texture becomes granular, gathering now and then onto long held chords. Wide, unstable pitch bends draw on the sound of worn magnetic tape.

The electronics use the sine-tone score follower, a system developed across several works.