Hubert Howe

Cello and Fixed Media

Composer's Note:

This work employs frequency shifting down by a ratio 17/24 of fundamental frequency. The amplitude of each partial is controlled separately, so that there is a continually shifting timbre. The cello represents a fixed element over this continually changing 
backdrop of sound components fading in or out. In the middle part of the piece, the inharmonic components change from continually fading in and out to being attacked individually. When playing long notes, the cello plays the “fundamental” of the inharmonic sounds, but when playing pizzicato notes in the middle of the piece, it plays inharmonic components that line up with equal temperament. The score shows only the "fundamental" tones above which the frequency-shifted components fade in and out; it does not show those components. The work was composed in the winter of 2026, and the fixed media part was generated by Csound.