Mandelkern
The material of the four-track tape composition Mandelkern consists exclusively of prerecorded
flute sounds that were, in part, modulated through granular synthesis. The piece has six short
parts, which are similar to or differ from the natural flute sound in different degrees. There
are also contrasts between static movement and organic development. The title "Mandelkern"
(literally in German: almondheart) refers to a part of the brain analogous to the hippocampus,
which has vital control functions and where one suspects that emotional impulses are triggered.
The composition plays with various grades of distance from natural flute sounds as well as
oppositions between static, block-like progressions and organic movements. Mandelkern was
conceived for four loudspeakers, but not primarily to achieve an effective and well-sounding
distribution of sound within a space. Rather, the loudspeakers were treated as instruments,
forming an ensemble of different sound sources that work together. |