Bordoncello (2014)
For cello and laptop, 9′
This piece can be played using Max Runtime, a free program from Cycling74. Download Max Runtime here.
Richard vonFoerster, Cello; Loretta Notareschi, laptop
April 26, 2014
About the Music
Bordoncello, whose title is an amalgam of the Italian for “drone” and “cello,” is for live laptop and cello improvisation. The laptop part is played on a virtual instrument called the Drone Machine, which I built using the interactive electronics software Max.Bordoncello is the second in a series of pieces for the Drone Machine and live instruments–the first was Bordone (from 2012), and the third is Bordonquartet (also from 2014). The Drone Machine allows for the layering of filtered drones and the playing of other synthesized and sampled sounds. The laptop player also plays an amplified telephone pickup over the laptop. Into this evocative soundscape, the cello enters with its own otherworldly timbres, including sul ponticello (a glassy sound), harmonics, slap and ordinary pizzicato (plucked), glissando (sliding), and noise made through overpressure with the bow.
 Score Sample |
Digital Edition Score (PDF), Sound Files, and Max Patch – $20.00 |