Robert Scott Thompson

Clarinet, Signal Processing, and Computer-Generated Tape

Program Notes:

The title of this piece is taken from Yates and is found in the poem "The Second Coming":

Turning and turning in the widening gyre,
the falcon cannot hear the falconer. ..

This composition is comprised of four section and creates a form A B C A'. The first and last sections are based on chordal sonorities and their articulation - block chords and linear/contrapuntal outworkings using both plucked string sounds and band-limited noise. The second section pro­vides a vivid contrast in its serenity and is based on the development of ambient texture. The foundation for this section is provided by a stochastically derived bed of bowl gong sounds. The third section is the most advanced technically, utilizing sounds created by a wide variety of means. The final section presents a more complex tape component than the opening while the materials are de­rived in similar ways. Throughout, the role of the clarinet is as textual counterpart and not as "soloist" in the traditional sense. The chief technical challenge lies in the effective blending of the clarinet materials with the computer gener­ated sounds.