Until It Blazes is an amplified solo piece for piano, guitar or other plucked string instrument, harp, marimba, or vibes. The piece requires a stereo multi-tap digital delay for processing. You can also perform the piece using a MIDI keyboard or mallet controller. If you’re using a MIDI instrument, I can supply a Max patch that implements the delay as MIDI delay, if it’s easier to do that than to use an audio delay.
The piece’s duration is variable: I imagine it could work at any duration between six and twenty minutes. I have made a twelve minute version, but it is only one possible version of the piece: please don’t regard it as definitive.
The overall idea of the piece is to set up various repeating patterns and then gradually group the notes so that new melodies grow out of the accents. For example, when you are playing a three-note pattern, if you accent every fourth event, you will get one melody; if you accent every fifth event, you will get a different melody.
There are six patterns in Until It Blazes, each an outgrowth of the previous pattern. In each case, you will first want to establish the pattern very softly with no accents at all, and then very gradually begin to stress a grouping that creates a slower melody arcing across the pattern. This accenting happens gradually during a slow overall crescendo, reaches some high point, and then the accenting recedes as you diminuendo. The length of the piece will vary depending on how slowly you want the cross-melodies to build and recede. The most interesting place is where you can hear both the pattern and the melody that cuts across it.
Prior to beginning to play the piece, you can say the words: "I have cast fire upon the world, and watch, I am guarding it until it blazes." This line is attributed to Jesus in the gnostic Gospel of Thomas.
Cory Arcangel has created a video for the piece that can be played back in live performance. If you are interested in this aspect of the piece, please get in touch with me.
The stereo delay should be set up as follows: The left channel should have a delay time of 454 ms (equivalent to a dotted eighth at MM = 99) and should give three repeats. The right channel should have a delay time of 303 ms (equivalent to an eighth note delay at MM = 99) and have four repeats. The delay should be set to approximately 70% of the volume of the direct sound. The direct sound should come from the center of the stereo field.
Until It Blazes is dedicated to Kathy Supové with love and thanks.
There are two recordings of Until It Blazes currently available; both are performed on guitar. Here is Emanuele Forni's recording; here is Seth Josel's.
In addition, you can watch and listen to an excellent live performance by Eric Mellencamp of the Robin Cox Ensemble on vibraphone here (and you can see Cory's video as well.)
Until It Blazes is April 15th in my ongoing project A Book of Days. You can go to the Book of Days page to hear my keyboard version of the piece.
You can download a pdf of the score and information here. If you perform the piece, please let me know.
And you are warmly invited to support this very low-key way of publishing:
