Paula Matthusen · Composer

pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design was commissioned by the Women Composers Festival of Hartford for the string trio forty/sixty. I was delighted that the piece turned into a wonderfully layered collaboration with adventurous trio.

As I was interested in repetition and vocality, the ensemble recorded themselves playing a range of motivic fragments both on their instruments and with their voice. Using these recordings, I created a series of fixed media tracks that were triggered and played from their cell phones on stage. Additionally, a handful of audience members accessed additional fixed media tracks that were played back on their cell phones, so that sound gradually migrated from stage and into the audience while the trio performed the fully notated parts of the piece.

This trio is the first in a series of three pieces concerned with unusual and layered forms of repetition and vocality. This piece shares much in common with the final piece of these three pieces, such is now the necessity.