Paula Matthusen · Composer

In the supermarket down the street from me, a family of sparrows has taken up residence, having found a convenient location above the bakery aisle. I’m intrigued by such moments when the boundaries between different environmental and acoustical spaces are reconfigured.

sparrows in supermarkets seeks not to convey literal birdsong, but rather to examine snippets of melodic repetition as they inhabit different, and at times surprising, spaces. The piece originally grew out of a series of improvisations between Terri Hron and myself, eventually evolving into a fully scored work with fixed media and live-electronics. The live-electronics used a customized program in Max/MSP that processes the live instrumentalist’s sound in eight speakers, applying different filters, reverberation parameters, and delays to create a separate “environment” for each speaker.

The piece was commissioned by and is dedicated to Terri Hron, and is featured on the album, “Bird on a Wire II: Flocking Patterns.” The piece was subsequently released on the SEAMUS CD Series, vol. 22, as well as Pieces for People (innova Recordings).