Perturbations 04.28.19

Perturbations is a composition for double bass and computer which is the second movement in a cycle of extractable works inspired by categories of natural disasters, in this case extra-planetary events such as solar flares and meteors. The disturbances and eccentricities from the normal course of an orbit which are cause by outside forces are called perturbations. In this piece, the bass plays against a drone to which the computer is adding unexpected gestures and interjections. The gestures in both the bass and computer parts are all abstracted from sonifications of various magnetospheric events including solar flares, lightning whistlers, bow wave shocks, and auroral kilometric radiation (AKR). The pitch material is derived from the Schumann resonance spectrum of the Earth. Performed 04/28/19 in the Merrill Ellis Intermedia Theater at UNT - Jonathon Piccolo (double bass).