Diary for S uses sounds collected from my surroundings as material for the composition. This includes various outdoor recordings, excerpts from some of the music I listen to — especially ethnic music — and the sounds of my writing with pen, pencil and paper. These recordings of writing are the main theme of the composition and appear in many variations throughout the piece. In the work, an imaginary protagonist writes down thoughts about his everyday experiences. These thoughts, and the environments contemplated, slowly melt into the sounds of the composition. The theme of writing in the work is closely related to the gallery exhibition “Sounds on paper,” presented in conjunction with the concert for which Diary for S was commissioned.

The outdoor recordings used in Diary for S provide either spatial colouring or concrete soundscapes within which events take place. The musical excerpts employed are for the most part transformed beyond recognition with spectral delays and strong resonance filtering. This provides the glassy harmonic timbres that characterize the work. Here, ethnic music was especially interesting to process due to its rich spectral content. All of the sound processing used in the piece was written in MAX/MSP.

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Diary for S was realized at the composer’s home in Weimar, Germany. The piece was commissioned by Réseaux des arts médiatiques (Montréal) with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA).

Premiere

• April 14, 2008, Pulsar *3: The Book of Spaces, Planétarium de Montréal, Montréal (Québec)