Tristan Perich is one of my favorite contemporary composers and I love his piece, Observations for crotales and six-channel 1-bit sound. The first time I heard it, I had the pleasure of seeing a live performance. The stage was set up with six hanging speakers without enclosures in a semicircle and two percussionists in the middle, each with a set of crotales (high-pitched brass discs). Since the speakers were in view, I could even see each one pulsating with its individual rhythm.
The crotales and 1-bit sounds both have such a steady pulse the entire time, it is almost as if Perich is treating the crotales players as two more electronic channels instead of acoustic instruments. The repetitive nature of the piece almost puts me in a trance but the unexpected movements and note changes throughout keep me on the edge of my seat. The last note is especially shocking because after listening to repetitive high-pitched sounds for so long, I still hear them after the abrupt end.
Perich writes a lot of music for electronics and acoustic instruments, exploring the relationship between the two. some of it is even available to download for free at http://www.tristanperich.com/
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