HYPERNOVA
For Percussion and Electronics
Written in 2020, rev. 2023
Duration: 8½ minutes
Written in 2020, rev. 2023
Duration: 8½ minutes
Program Note
Hypernova (2020) for percussion solo and electronic playback was written for Casey Cangelosi. In outer space, a hypernova is a type of stellar explosion which ejects material with unusually high kinetic energy, an order of magnitude higher than most supernovae. The piece is centered on broad and expansive explosive gestures that give birth to sparkling and technically virtuosic phrases.
The soloist plays a small kit of vibratone, five tuned gongs, tamborim, hi-hat, and kick drum. The accompanying electronic part is made entirely of acoustic hand-stopped or bowed piano samples that were recorded during and assembled as digital instruments. There are four main types of these samples used throughout the piece:
Hypernova (2020) for percussion solo and electronic playback was written for Casey Cangelosi. In outer space, a hypernova is a type of stellar explosion which ejects material with unusually high kinetic energy, an order of magnitude higher than most supernovae. The piece is centered on broad and expansive explosive gestures that give birth to sparkling and technically virtuosic phrases.
The soloist plays a small kit of vibratone, five tuned gongs, tamborim, hi-hat, and kick drum. The accompanying electronic part is made entirely of acoustic hand-stopped or bowed piano samples that were recorded during and assembled as digital instruments. There are four main types of these samples used throughout the piece:
- Piano with the string hand-muted and the pedal up. The most agile tape parts are primarily made with these sound samples.
- Piano with the string hand-muted and the sustain pedal down. Most low, resonant tones and some mid-range notes use these samples.
- Bowed piano, modified with post-production effects to give it an organ-like quality.
- Hand-muted, no-pedal piano samples with the envelope reversed to play backwards as a swell gesture. You hear this sound at the very beginning of the piece.