In The Blink of an Ear: a publication demonstration/celebration
10 October 2009
Issue Project Room, Brooklyn, NY

Alvin Lucier
CHARLES CURTIS (2002), for cello and slow sweep pure wave oscillators (12 min.)
Jessie Marino, cello
Tom Hamilton, electronics

During the course of the performance two pure wave oscillators sweep up and down
from a central tone drawing the letter "C" twice. As the waves rise and fall, a cellist
sustains double stopped long tones against the sweeping waves, creating audible beats
at speeds determined by the closeness of the tunings.

Because the pure waves are in constant motion, the beating continually changes speed.
If a player's tone begins before a pure wave reaches unison with it, the beating will start
fast and slow down. If a tone starts at unison, the beating will start at zero, then speed up
as the wave moves away from it. If a tone crosses unison, the beating will slow down, stop,
then speed up again.

The cellist plays three long tones of 2 or 3 bow lengths each, separated by silences. He or
she is free to anticipate of delay his tones thereby changing the shapes of the beating patterns.

The pure wave sweeps were designed by Bob Bielecki and executed in Max MSP by Anne Wellmer.

CC was written for Charles Curtis.

BIRD AND PERSON DYINING (1975) (approx. 15 min.)
Alvin Lucier, microphones
Tom Hamilton, electronics

As an electric birdcall sounds from a single loudpseaker a performer wearing binaural
microphones in his or her ears walks trhough the room producing feedback from a
separate pair of loudspeakers. As he or she does so the sound of the birdcall and the
strands of feedback interfere with each other causing phantom images of the birdcall
to appear in various places around the room. This phenomenon, known as heterodyning
in radio terminology, often appears to sound in one's ears. The birdcall was sent to me by
Doug Kahn whom I had never met. He said that it could be the first piece in what he
called "A Dream Aviary" or in this case "A Dream Alviary."


MINIATURE (2009) (1, 2 min.)
for clarinet and cello
The New York Miniaturist Ensemble

Two instrumentalists play a series of 1-second tones slightly detuning each one. Starting
with an interval of a minor second they step down and up in small increments until their
respective pitches are switched. While there are only fourteen dyads in the work the
accumulated audible beats implied by the differences in frequency number 99?

Miniature for clarinet and cello was written for the New York Miniaturist Ensemble for this
performance in celebration of the publication of Seth Kim-Cohen's book, In The Blink Of
An Ear: Toward a Non-Cochlear Sonic Art.