davesabine.com

A technological and percussive masterpiece.

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Difficulty

Primary Instrumentation

Number of Performers

Suggested Performance Venue

Instrumentation

• Multiple percussion
• Pre-recorded tape

Brief Review

Space Model is a fascinating composition. In essence, the piece is designed such that the percussionist performs with him or herself. Imagine this:

• Player performs 1st movement.
• Player performs 2nd movement while the audience is also hearing a pre-recorded performance of the 1st movement.
• Player performs 3rd movement while the audience is also hearing pre-recorded performances of the 1st and 2nd movements.

As if that idea isn't cool enough already, the sounds and energy in this piece are equally as breathtaking.

Performance Notes

This piece can be approached a number of ways. I have witnessed two performances: one in which the percussionist had pre-recorded his own performances of the 1st and 2nd movements; and one (that I was involved in, thank you Kris!!) in which the audience was witness to the live performance and simulataneous recording and playback of the movements. If you have the courage and technical prowess to arrange the latter, I highly recommend it.

I had the joy of recording/performing this piece with a former student and colleague of mine, Kris Maddigan. Kris came to me with questions about recording the piece. He asked me to help him record the movements so that he could use the tracks during his upcoming performance. I said, "sure", but I also suggested we should try to simultaneously perform and record the piece. What I mean is: as he performed the 1st movement, I'd record it live and then immediately play it back (and record again) while he moved on to perform the 2nd movement. And so on for the 3rd movement the audience would hear the just-recorded 1st and 2nd movements while he performed the 3rd.

It was both hair-raising and incredible to watch and record Kris and I'm very happy he asked me to help and then also trusted that I could reign-in the technology to make it work. I had absolute faith that he'd be able to consistently produce excellent performances of the movements and therefore all I had to do was capture them, mix the recorded tracks with the live instruments, and hope that the Macintosh wouldn't crash in the process.