Computer-aided composition in the creation of As I ride the late night freeways from the OM Composer’s Book 3.

Abstract:

This article presents a composer case-study documenting the use of OpenMusic software in the compositional processes of As I ride the late night freeways, a piece for soprano and orchestra. The introduction lays out the work’s aesthetic environment, considering Cathy Park Hong’s poem Census and how its theme of freeway driving can suggest compositional processes and musical parameters that unify the musical work. Architect Zaha Hadid’s parametric aesthetic is also considered as a significant “streamlining” influence. The following portion focuses on the development of the musical processes, which take a variety of forms: from harmonic and textural elaborations drawn from the analysis of car sounds to a poetic suggestion of aerodynamism given by the algorithmic shaping of musical gestures and by the smooth morphing of one musical gesture into the next. Other related OpenMusic patches illustrate how these ideas are being developed further for use in future works.

Collection Musique/Sciences
Editions Delatour France / IRCAM 2016

Further information: [Publication]