Vibraphone+Live Electronics

Commissioned by Daniel Mejía.

Reflections on “Rayuela” (Hopscotch) novel by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar.

Cortazar claimed that should be such thing called “active reader” one that would create the work of art together with the writer while he reads. With this piece I claimed (and many others did it already–Cage, Stockhausen, Norgard, etc.– that it should such thing called “active performer.”

The Monologue has eight pages of straight-forward music but the performer has the chance to alter this regular stream by inserting additional music in between using six pages that are also provided. The insertions are colored with electronics (using MaxMSP) and the decision on where to put them is completely up to the performer. With this in mind, the piece is reinvented on every performance and portraits somehow the individuality of each musician.

This piece is more into the realm of abstraction and is a quite challenging for the performer where he/she has to mastered some unusual techniques and colors in the vibe for they are use constantly.

With Daniel Mejía in Medellín, Colombia preparing the premiere of the piece

Below is the recording, set in the order it was premiered but feel free to listen for instance page 1 and page 2 putting in between other insertion in between. It really changes the perception, is something like driving everyday from A to B but each time changing the roads you take.