Viper Snake
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Viper Snake (2020) for two percussionists and electronics. 8 minutes
I composed Viper Snake at the CEMI Studios - Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia, University of North Texas, and my home studio and premiered by contemporary percussion ensemble Synergein Project.
The instruments used in Viper Snake are a modified ratchet, and a custom made daxophone. The latter is a friction idiophone instrument developed in the 1980s by Hans Reichel with a timbre that resembles animal-like or vocal qualities.
While composing Viper Snake, my compositional process expanded with new steps that I thoroughly enjoyed. I became a little of an instrument designer and maker using tools and my hands to make or modify the instruments; I taught myself how to perform these seemingly simple instruments and take advantage of their full sound and musical potential; I created various notational solutions to represent the musical ideas; and last but not least a documented the whole process thoroughly with photographs and video instructions on how to make/modify the instruments and audio/video performances notes on how to perform all the different sounds in the piece.
Viper Snake consists of two main sections, with multiple subsections, and one shorter section right in the middle of the piece, which I call Fantasia. In this section, various field recordings combined with the instrumental parts to create multiple timelines and spaces stacked together called chronotopes. These chronotopes allowed me to navigate the piece's timbre space in a more immersive and three-dimensional way.
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