Brian Parrish: Contours, Clowns And Shadows (1982)

Abstract

"Contours, Clowns and Shadows was made as part of the research work for my master's thesis, 'A graphics based scoring system for computer music synthesis'. The work was produced using the MUSIC4BF synthesis program on a VAX 11/780 computer. This system provides a means of producing sound using a general purpose computer; it is a very slow and somewhat tedious process. The sheer quantity of data required to produce such a piece, and the difficulties experienced by composers in using such resources, have prompted the development of a number of tools to ease, or at least modify, the task. GRABS - graphics based scoring- is a program running on the same VAX computer and Contours, Clowns and Shadows is one of its products. This is not to say that the piece was written by the computer; GRABS merely provides a means of specifying musical events in graphic form and does not involve any stochastic or random processes. It is not narrative, despite the title, and makes no overt attempt at political or artistic statement. The title refers to the three mam textural ideas on which the piece is based. The complex. evolving textures, particularly at the opening, were constructed from more simple timbres by using high note rates and relatively long durations. All synthesis used a single frequency modulation algorithm. Timbral variety stems solely from the manipulation of the parameters used in this algorithm." -- Brian Parish