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Track Record

• First Performance: Brussels (April 1, 2004) by students of the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel

Program Notes

The subtitle refers to the 17^th century English standard ensemble “a broken Consort”. The six instruments flute, clarinet, horn, trombone, piano and percussion are electronically manipulated and multiplied, resulting in the sound of a ca 24 instruments ensemble, standard practice in the 18^th century. These instruments are “broken up” all over the concert hall, and the positioning of their sound is controlled by the electronics, creating a virtual sonoric space, comparable to the atmosphere in many Monty Python films.

The sound of the solo cello is continuously tracked by the computer and fully controls the numerous manipulations of the electronics. As such he is not only the musical protagonist, but also acts as the main character and manipulator in this “movie without images”. The musical form is that of a standard 19h century symphonic concerto (4 movements), but its rhetoric is completely absurd. Much like in Monty Python’s “the Holy Grail”, where the knights go looking for this well-known mythic object which, obviously, they don’t find. At the end they conclude with “at least, we had some fun”.

Happy listening, Peter Swinnen

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Specifications

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Performance materials

Download the score

Download the Computer Program