Flutter a’ Folds is meant to lie somewhere between dance and music . Years ago, I decided that music, at its root, is actually dance. It is a dance of soundwaves: the striking of the ear drum, the fluttering of the vocal folds, and the flow of breath. This piece is composed of independent lines that are meant to interact like the gestural movements of Merce Cunningham choreography. Flutter a’ Folds is also an experiment in the ways that technology can extend our human abilities. I have been wanting to write for chorus and smartphone for sometime. The smartphone answers some of the biggest problems for chorus and electronics. Smartphones are portable, available, and with the right programming, they are reliable. They also have their limitations. The speakers are small, they don’t have a great low end, feedback makes real time vocal processing impossible, and time synchronization is difficult without more equipment. Working within these parameters, I wanted to create something that explores the potential of this ubiquitous tool while also creating a deeply musical performance piece. My gratitude to Dan Iglesia for his application MobMuPlat and his advice on the creation of the MobMuPlat patch for this piece.
