The Misweaves

The Misweaves is a piece for flute, cello, harpsichord and computer-realized sound. The piece is an exploration of music improvisation. It was composed during rehearsals with the performers. The computer-realized component consists of recordings taken of each instrument, that were then manipulated using various digital signal processing techniques and sequenced in time using computer algorithms. The electronic part served as a sort of bass continuo over which the performers can improvise. It also served as the timing of the piece.

The title comes from the ending of Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, in which the main character, a stock market investor, realizes that he has spent his whole life looking for mathematical patterns in nature and business and should have been interested in where the patterns break down “the misweaves” in the universe. So, the piece explores moment at which the patterns break down and the uncanny can come to the surface.

Performers:

• The Discovery Trio:

  • Gemma Goday, Flute

  • Chris Young, Cello

  • Wyatt Smith, Harpsichord