For context: I have to write an abstract of my research proposal (to which I have added the commentary for my basset clarinet concerto because Germans aren't familiar with practice-as-research) for a grant application; so this is less about my research in general and more about what I want/hope to do.
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This application outlines the broader context and a possible methodology for an investigation into the idea of density in compositional practice. Density as a concept for composition came into use within the post-war avantgarde, most famously in pieces and writings by composers such as Stockhausen, Ligeti and Xenakis, but also in collage pieces such as Berio's Sinfonia. It has recently resurfaced in the work of composers like Aaron Cassidy or Raphael Cendo, whose work concerns itself with the density of information presented to the performer.
So far, the existing body of research on density is mostly limited to the parameters of pitch and rhythm. In my research, I want to expand this inquiry to previously neglected parameters such as timbre, articulation and structure. For this, I plan to use the existing concepts of horizontal and vertical density (Stockhausen 1954) and add a third concept of compositional density to describe recent developments in this area.
On a more practical side, the use of density poses significant questions to the composer regarding topics such as textural clarity and balance, performability and generation of large amounts of material. I want to investigate in which way the use of density-based techniques can shape the compositional practice itself by using a practice-as-research approach which combines compositional activity with written analytical commentaries.
As a preliminary result, I show how in my basset clarinet concerto Sammlung, density is used to shape the formal and timbral organization of the piece.
(242 words; the application needs to be half a page, which this more or less is)
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Looking forward to hear your thoughts!