haegeum, vibraphone, drum set, electric guitar, accordion, and video
11 minutes
Note
Composed and recorded in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, mimenrosp is a reflection on the connectedness I have experienced with my colleagues despite the isolation brought on the pandemic. mimenrosp layers performances and audiovisual field recordings taken by each instrumentalist in their respective locations. This conflation of places and times results in a unique sense of location in the work. This reduction of physical distance mirrors our current interactions, condensed into video conferencing and networked performance. “mimenrosp" is an anagram of the word persimmon. My collaborators in this work were located in Amherst, MA, Taos, NM, Los Angeles, CA, and Seoul, South Korea. The average of all of our geographic coordinates was near Mount Persimmon in Alberta, Canada. So, if we could have all gotten together, maybe that would have been the place!
mimenrosp was specifically created for virtual performance. In the creation of this work, the boundaries between composition, improvisation, collaboration, and post-production blurred. I would compose sections of the work and have it immediately recorded. That musical information would inform my next compositional steps. As I received the music and field recordings from the performers, the final steps of composition occurred during post-production. Audio processing and video layering provided the final glue that binds the work together.
mimenrosp uses a mixed-intonation system combining equal temperament in the vibraphone and accordion with a five-limit tuning system in the haegeum and electric guitar. This “mismatch” of systems serves to further reinforce, the sense of layered, disparate locations.