T i m o t h y M CCO R M AC K

KILN II

bass

clarinet,

contrabass,

percussion

KILN II [2013-14] for bass clarinet, contrabass & percussion

Commissioned by Ensemble et cetera.

time-space notation
This work utilizes a time-space notation in which events are presented
spatially and proportionately in relation to other events, suggesting things
like rhythm and duration without prescribing them. Though time is elastic
and thus the duration is relatively flexible, the durational/proportionate
relationship between events should not vary wildly. A line parsing out even
space-intervals has been provided to aid the performers in visually retaining
proportionate relationships throughout the piece.
beams and stems
As this piece is written in a time-space notation, conventional distinctions
between note values (quaver, semi-quaver, etc.) have been replaced by pure
spatial relationships between impulses. Thus, stems indicate velocity and
value through their proximity to other stems. Beams indicate both phrasing
and duration. For the bass clarinet and contrabass, if a beam is present,
sound should be present [a bow should be in contact with the strings; air
should be passing through the instrument]. The sound/action indicated by
the note head affixed to a stem continues through the beam until a different
direction is given [though in the case of the bass clarinet, multiple note heads
are used in tandem to indicate different and combinatorial actions; see
the performance instructions for the bass clarinet for further clarification].
triggers
The piece is to be performed without the aid of a conductor, stopwatch,
click-track or other external, automated synchronizer. Rather., the
performers conduct themselves by listening for specific triggers or
cues initiated by the other instruments within the very musical fabric
of the piece. Each performer has their own network of triggers to listen
for, which are detailed in their individual part. Each trigger given by one
instrument initiates an attack, gesture or event for another instrument,
which may then act as a trigger for the third instrument, and so forth.
The triggers, effectively the synchronizing agent in the piece, are
actual events which happen in the piece itself, and thus exist at a unique
intersection between form and content, material and structure, sound
and sign. The music is, at all times, potentially all of these - all sound
events carry the potential to be structural triggers; all gestures create the
possibility to be perceived as significant beyond their own significance.
The piece is a spiders web whose design is both its own aesthetic and
its own structure. There is no difference between these two things.
The importance of these triggers implies heightened responsibilities for the
performers. The piece demands that there be excellent communication skills

between the performers. However, perhaps most importantly, the piece

requires each performer to become intimately familiar with the other
performers music. Due to the occasionally high level of activity in the music,
the web of triggering events can become rather dense. Thus, it is important
to know the music itself - to know already what the triggers are, so one can
focus more intently on when they appear. Though individual instruments
parts have triggers indicated, it is also possible for the performers themselves
to add triggers when and where necessary. In engaging with each other
through this heightened inter-ensemble communication, the performers
become a singularity, an apparatus.

The contrabass [to the percussionists right] and the bass clarinet [to the
percussionists left] are located far back on stage and angled towards
the percussionist. There should be a considerable distance between the
performers, though not so much so that they are completely isolated from
the distance.

In the performers parts, only the triggers off of which the performer in
question acts are included. However, a small, red circle is placed underneath
events in their part which indicate that that event is acting as a trigger
for another performer [though the specific receiver of the trigger is not
indicated].

[BACK OF STAGE]

If the piece is performed in a space in which the audience surrounds the

performers on three or more sides, the triangular orientation of and distance
between the musicians is to be retained, but the percussionist may turn
around 180-degrees, thereby allowing all three performers to face inwards.

tracon ss
ba

Though the performers must be aware at all times of the triggers, it is

very important that this network is not communicated to the audience.
An ideal performance would constitute absolutely no physical indicators
of the triggers; no motioning, no gesticulation, no physical synchronizing,
no physical movement that is superfluous to that which is required to
simply execute that which is on the page. Thus, the triggers are transmitted
as pure aural events, and are received solely through listening. Ideally, all
communication between performers is infused into the raw sounds being
created. The audience should not be aware of these triggers, as their task is
to construct their own network of relationships as they hear the piece.
sound-world
KILN II explores the hushed but turbulent sound-world found in between
objects. Almost every event in the piece yields from the force of one object
rubbing upon or being dragged across the surface of another. Various
objects are deployed upon the membranes of bass drums; the bow of the
contrabass applies various pressures and is employed in multiple directions
upon the strings; even the bass clarinetists almost-constant feeding of
breath into the instrument is approached as an object in motion against
another. The effect should be of sonic granularity and a sense of a withdrawn
sonic vitality that resides not only within objects, but also within the very
friction created by their collision.
stage set-up
KILN II distributes the three performers in a specific triangular orientation
upon the stage. The percussionist is centered on stage, facing towards the
audience, and significantly closer to the edge of the stage than the others.

ba
clar ss
ine
t

percussion

AUDIENCE

the KILN cycle

KILN II is the first piece to be written for a larger installation/cycle entitled
KILN for 3 trios creating 4 interlocking ensembles. This large-scale piece
includes the following pieces and instruments:
r
Porcelain Body [percussion trio]
r
KILN I [contrabass clarinet, trombone, percussion]
r
KILN II [bass clarinet, contrabass, percussion]
r
KILN III [tuba, violoncello, percussion]

KILN is in two parts without break: The first part consists solely of Porcelain
Body. This transitions into the second part, in which KILN I-III are performed
simultaneously.
KILN and the trios contained within are all based on the work of ceramic
artist Nishida Jun, particularly his piece Zetsu #8.

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left hand/fingers

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O R fingerings
In this piece, note heads both represent sounding pitches and indicate

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or various fingering amendments from which any number
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may result. As is explained below, some note heads indicate full fingerings as
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well as tone quality, while others indicate specific keys. The
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notational conventions for note heads which indicate full fingerings:

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Tremolo: Tremolo between the two full fingerings of the pitches

indicated as fast as possible for the duration suggested by the beam.

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By replacing the lips with the teeth, the harmonic

outcome should be markedly different in both pitch and timbre.
At loud dynamics, the sound should be extremely shrill, present
and complex, and will most definitely result in something far more
complicated than what is notated in the score. At soft dynamics, the
sound will be more restrained, pale and frail, but still rather shrill.

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heads
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bodied tone quality. The hollow diamond indicates an extremely airy
tone, producing diffuse and muffled tones with high noise content.
The solid diamond lays inbetween these two extremes: it should be +
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muffled and weak in comparison to the full-bodied tone, but not as
airy or diffuse as the hollow diamond.

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Tongue-Slap: Often used with spectral glissando.

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Flutter [with the tongue]: held for the duration specified by the beam.
The resultant sound should be rather sharp and bright. The action is
termination marked by a bracketed beam.
Flutter [in the throat]: held for the duration specified by the beam.
The resultant sound should be rather veiled and dark. The action is
termination marked by a bracketed beam.

Embouchure position upon the reed/mouthpiece: The varying degree

of thickness of the beams indicate the placement of the performers
mouth upon the mouthpiece of the instrument. A normal beamthickness indicates the normative mouth/embouchure placement.
The thicker the beam, the more of the mouthpiece should be inserted
into the mouth, resulting in gradually more extreme and more-or-less
unpredictable alteration, distortion or destabilization of the notated
pitches. The resultant sound may have no harmonic relationship to
the notated pitches, nor will it be able to be reliably reconciled with
the written dynamics, depending on what they are. The beam will

always gain thickness going down [i.e.: below the beam].

Spectral Multiphonic/Glissando: The spectral multiphonic/glissando
is indicated graphically and asks the performer to shape the
gesture accordingly. Often, this action takes place while the fingers/
mechanism are also engaged and in a state of change, which may
disallow the spectral multiphonic or glissando to fully materialize as
it would in a more normal context. In such cases, the performer is
asked to mentally divorce the actions of the mouth and the fingers;
to carry the techniques action through while allowing the fingering
information to continue with autonomous fidelity. No attempt to
reconcile the two strata in favor for a more present, normal spectral
multiphonic/glissando should be made. This technique will always be
notated above the beam through hollow, typically triangular designs.

voice

Double-tongue [continuous iterations]: executed as a continuous 15

t-k-t-k motion with the tongue. This should be as fast as possible
for the duration specified [i.e.: the number of symbols/dots may not
correspond to the actual number of possible iterations]. This action
should sound iterative, forceful and brutal, and, in certain situations,
1
may yield a more complex harmonic outcome than that which is
written on the page.
Jaw Vibrato: Though vibrato should not be employed in this piece,
this jaw vibrato technique is used quite often. The jaw should move
up and down in a continuous wha-wha-wha motion, causing
measured, even dramatic changes in the embouchure, resulting in
a forceful undulation of the sound being produced. The entire jaw
should be moving.

15

The voice is notated

1 upon the bass clarinet staff with stems extending
to beams below the staff. The voice is also notated in gray so as to
further distinguish it from bass clarinet material. The voice is notated
in relation to the bass clarinet material. Thus, it is transposed with the
instrument. If this means that the voice material is at times lower than
the performers voice extends, fidelity of the voices gestural trajectory
is much more important than transposing the voice part up an octave.
Furthermore, specific pitches are never prescribed for the voice part,
though intervallic relationships between the voice & the instrument
are at times strongly suggested. The voice part is in an almost constant
state of glissando.
When singing, the mouth should never leave the mouthpiece of the
instrument; the voice should always sound through the bass clarinet.
A series of hash marks located near the beam of the voice part requires
the performer to execute fast, sharp iterations from within the throat
while executing the notated gesture of the voice part. The physical
action is like an artificial, labored vocal fry; the throat and vocal chords
should be iterating on a schwa [like the u in up or supply]. Like many
other techniques [such as flutter tongue, double-tongue, etc...] this
technique will effect the sound of both the voice and the bass clarinet.
However, unlike all other techniques, this one is only possible while
the voice is activated.

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contrabass

OR

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OR

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to a stem indicates
that the performer bow distally or
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proximally
strings without bowing laterally. The
P
P
bow should not move across
the four strings at all; it
should only move down the strings. A tight grip with
T T
the fingers is required and the wrist should not move;
P
the elbow and forearm should provide the necessary force and
movement. The aural result should be totally pitchless.

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O R z O R changes are indicated throughout the piece.

String

commissioned by Ensemble Tzara

partially solid, partially hollow

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another. The abbreviations for the positions are boxed and will be declared once the
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the four fingers. The fingers will create microtonally and timbrally
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four bowing
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21

6
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)
Extreme Vibrato:
Though
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be performed

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6vibrato, the6degree of6vibrato

without any
in singular instances of its

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#
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Oblique Bowing: A downward arrow affixed to the stem

indicates that the performer bow obliquely [i.e.: the tip of the
bow moves more than the frog] on the strings for the duration
P
indicated by the beam. It is typically used in conjunction with
T T
a heavy degree of bow pressure and, though any audible pitch
material should be largely cloaked by heavy distortion, a coarse,
glissando-like sound should be audible.

Parenthesis around a stem indicates the termination of a prior

technique [such as: bow tremolo, distal/proximal bowing, oblique
bowing, etc...].

Circular Bowing: Using the entirety of the bow, bow in a circular

motion from ponticello to tasto positions at a steady rate [not slowly
but not too quickly], without interrupting the bows contact with the
) ))
) ) strings. Circular bowing should produce extremely complex harmonic
6 6 6
and timbral results, especially with heavy bow pressure. The symbol,
6 I II
shown to the left, is put at the intersection of the stem at which point
III
6
the circular motion begins and the beam to which it is attached.
IV

other
m notational conventions

n
?m6
O6
R
6

6 Open strings are indicated with a circle around the note head.

Multiphonic: An M affixed to a stem indicates that the resultant sound

should be multiphonic. However, due to constant shifts in finger/bow
placement/pressure, it is probable that events not marked explicitly
as multiphonic come out as such.

Arborescent Stems: In certain situations, stems may break off into

more complex tree-like formations. This is used in instances during
which one aspect of the figure remains constant while another
changes in some way, or when both aspects of the figure are
changing, but at different rates. Arborescent stems are used to
automize and to distinguish between simultaneous movements.
They help to establish hierarchies of action.

) $8) $8) $8) 6I 6) $8 6) 6m

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6
6
6
6

program notes
percussion

6 6 66
6
6

P
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T
T 6T though
T profile of the percussion
A
strike
upon
a
bass
drum
is
notated
graphically,
most
strikes
occur
at
KILN
II attempts to impart the form taken by molten materials after they have
TherePerc.
will be more subtle variation in the

)
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>
6
6
)

P
P
P
P6
6P
6
6
6
6
6
IV

I
M

the
center
of
the
membrane.
Strikes
upon
the
kick
drum
[operated
with
the
fused
together and ossified into a solid object. The piece is about the forces that
)
material than is apparent in the score.
The
score
aims
to
provide
the
general
)
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6
O
O
mT n
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T
T

foot
upon
the
beater
mechanism]
are
placed
directly
upon
the
middle
line.
impose
influence upon objects and jettison them into assemblages and relations
6
level within which the gesture or passage
be contained,
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6
6
6
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P 6
P
P
P

dynamic
<
6
IV

I
6the
6 6 6
6 6 the distance
with other objects. The work seeks to expose a sonic granularity, a withdrawn aural
though microvariations
in the speed of the
hands
of
6) 6)and
O

6
mT > 6
6
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66

T
T
T
vitality, residing not only within objects, but also within the very friction created by

The
dynamic
level
for
each
strike
upon
a
bass
drum
is
6
/P
nP IV
membrane being
may result in dynamic abberations.
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6
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A
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their collision.

relative
size of the note6head. There
6 ) $8 6) 6O
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6 O 6
6
6
6
m

are four sizesTof Tnote heads,

T
P
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M P instruments/staff
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work is based on ceramic artist Nishida Juns sculpture Zetsu #8, in which various
IV
fall
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in
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to
the

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IV
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implements/symbols

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icons affixed to the middle line. Their placement upon the line
O $
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indicates
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T
TherePerc.
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the
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drums:
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P
6
6
6
6
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A
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smaller
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8 $8$8 $8
The edges of each staff of the bass drums Trepresent the
edges
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one
side
the hand associated with the larger bass drum changes.
6 its opposite side. It is up to the performer
6
6 6 6OP which axis the staff

and
to
decide

)
)
)
)
6
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8 consistent
$8$8 $8T
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For the ease of the performer, the symbols corresponding to which implements
P
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entire performance].
P
are being used at that moment are provided at the beginning of each system.
O
T
6) 6) )6 6) -

P that an implement
Pages 10-13 utilize the guiro/ribbed sticks. In this passage,
$8 $8$8 $8 TA solid, unbroken line indicates

O is in unbroken contact
[sandpaper,
superball,
a
hand,
etc...]
the sticks are to be rubbed against a metal part of the bass

T
with the membrane of the instrument.
The rubbing action
A

drums, from one end of the stick to the other [or, rather, to
15

O
T

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666666

P
O
T

? ?

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should be as smooth as possible.

A solid, wavy line indicates that an implement is in unbroken

contact with the membrane of the instrument. However,
here, the rubbing action should have a subtle but audible
trembling quality to it, achievable through a trembling of
the hand at the wrist while the arm continues a smooth
drag.
Circular Stroke: The implement should be dragged on
the membrane of the instrument in a circular motion.
The instigation of circular motion is indicated by a circular
arrow placed at the outer lines of either of the bass drum
staves, and is terminated by the same symbol with a slash
through it.

666666
666666

666666
666666

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the performers hands]. The speed at which the sticks are rubbed is determined
by the boxed symbols. These indications are up- and down-bow symbols
borrowed from string notation. Applied to the guiro sticks, the symbols indicate
a single direction: either left or right of the performer or to or fro [depending
on where on the instrument the performer applies the sticks].

[V:10.22.14]

KILN II

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Perc.

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B. Cl.

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Perc.

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O 3R

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10

B. Cl.

&

Perc.

Cb.

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Cb.

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ff

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B. Cl.

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11

B. Cl.

&
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Perc.

b
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Cb.

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B. Cl.

II
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ff

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B. Cl.

&

Perc.

Cb.

p n #

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3
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B. Cl.

Perc.

##R
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#++ b

III

OR

+++

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b++ +
#

OR

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II I

##
b+++++
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66 #) 6

b6
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6 )> 6

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II
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pp

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II
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6#6

P OR
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# ##

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mp
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III

O R

? 6 b66 b66

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III
IV

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fp

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B. Cl.

& O R

ppp

Perc.

O R

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13

##

nb+++R #

OR

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pp

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Cb.

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III

66 66

III
IV

>
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B. Cl.

&

Perc.

A
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Cb.

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& O 6 6R
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mf

3++ b
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ppp

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III
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II
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33

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OR

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6
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II
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mp

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86
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14

B. Cl.

& O 3R

Perc.

A
!

b+++++R 3#
#3 #n#

33
f ppp

3
3 b3++
+ R
#3 # #33n3
#3 # 3

#3

? O 6)R b6)b)
#6)6)
III
IV

Cb.

>

B. Cl.

&
O

Perc.

A
!

Cb.

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? < ))>
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<
<

))))>>

ppp

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ppp

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< >
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mf

January, 2014
Boston, USA

[V:10.22.14]