Generator /Operator
Marianthi Papalexandri Alexandri
Sound Composition
2019
Animation film by Andrea Schneider
Materials: aluminum, rosin, silicone, steel, generator, motors, nylon
Instruments: violin, viola, cello, double bass, bassoon, bass flute, bass drum,
hat pins, resonator, cardboard
Devices created in collaboration with Pe Lang
Commissioned by Klang Forum Wien, the ECLAT 2019 - Festival
Neue Musik Stuttgart and funded by the
Ernst von Siemens Music
Foundation
.
Generator/Operator is written for three generators (viola, clarinet, and oboe
players) and seven operators (bassoon, bass flute, percussion and string
players). Papalexandri and Land have created a set of hand crank
generators which convert mechanical motion into electrical energy to
directly drive and synchronize several motor-driven instrumental devices
combined with acoustic instruments such as strings, percussion, and winds,
to produce sound. While the generators are producing energy and therefore
control sonic and musical parameters such as speed, dynamics, and
duration, the operators can influence the sound by determining how close
or near, where and for how long the kinetic device will come in contact with
their instrument. Traditionally, instruments are made to be performed by
one person at a time. Generator/Operator seeks to highlight the need for,
and invites the performers into, a new way of making music, which is based
on trust, sharing, and cooperation, but nevertheless mediated by a set
structure