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Piece 3: Decoupler (2023)

Even as a string player myself, I always thought that the ubiquity of the idea of discrete pitch in string writing was a bit strange, both in that we can execute it so reliably and that we don’t spend much time questioning it. Decoupler (2023) is an exercise in building a different grammar entirely out of the indiscrete artifacts that arise from expressive playing (vibrato, glissandi, etc) by only indicating pitch parametrically. This notation allows it to be played on any Western string instrument.

I wrote this for Cameron Chase who, in this recording, plays it on the violin.

 

Recommended excerpt: 3:25 - end (roughly bars 17 - end in score),

in the case of problems with the PDF viewer, score can be downloaded here.

Violin: Cameron Chase

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