Composing for Ensemble: the interplay of material, phrasing and time
The equivocal abstractness in the techniques of composition have long been an interesting topic to me. Why can the sense of time be imperceptibly different despite the same approach to building materials? How does what a composer employs imply a climax from the perspectives of proportional thinking and structuring? Seeking answers to some of these questions is what motivates me in this project.
Researcher: Zhichang Lin
I aim to produce a collection of original ensemble compositions that exhibit my aesthetics by centring on the texturing of materials, the organisation of phrasing, the perception of time and, summatively, the autonomous interactivity among these essences.
The pieces that are programmed as part of this collection of recordings will each showcase aspects of my research, such as presenting different methods of forming musical materials, textures and structures, and exploring how these factors influence each piece’s perceived duration and actual duration. It is a project focusing on the absolute essence of composition, producing a series of ensemble pieces for up to eight players.
Image: the trunk on the mountain of Bray Head, Dublin, by Zhichang Lin