To hear on Sunday December 21, 2008
2 pm - 9 pm:
In the Mean Time
by Fergal Dowling
Fergal Dowling on 'In the Mean Time':
'In the Mean Time' was written on the theme of ‘Limbo’. What interested me in this concept was the idea of limbo as a non-place, that is a place defined more so by what it is not, rather than what it is; an in between place, a space outside space. The English phrase, ‘in the mean time’, likewise refers to some indefinite time span, defined by the events outside that time, rather than how the time itself is spent.
With 'In the Mean Time' I wanted to use that ambiguous range of frequencies which fall in between the slower-rate frequencies which we perceive as rhythms, and the faster frequencies which we perceive as pitches; in other words, a range of frequencies in the audio spectrum which we define by how we don’t perceive them, rather than how we do perceive them. 'In the Mean Time' uses a very slow progression of stacked sine waves whose fundamental frequencies fall within this ambiguous range. The result is a slowly evolving progression, devoid of rhythm and consisting of overlapping and intermeshing sine waves, whose perceived frequencies seems to alter with our movements in the space in front of the loudspeakers.
Fergal Dowling
(b. Dublin 1965) is a composer of electroacoustic and instrumental music. He studied composition at Trinity College Dublin and at the University of York.
His compositions combine sound spatialisation and real-time interaction in aurally rich forms. His works have been performed in Ireland, England, Germany, Sweden, Canada, the USA, Spain and Brazil.
As a performer he has presented his own computer-based interactive music throughout Europe with various soloists and groups such as Ex-Machina, Concorde, Ensemble Chimera, Projektgruppe Neue Musik Bremen, EAR Ensemble, Grup XXI, Improvised Device, and DublinSoundLab. He is represented by the Contemporary Music Centre, Dublin.
www.fergaldowling.com