Music for Dance

Sudden Changes is music for the dance work of the same name, created in 1991 by choreographer Liss Fain for the Liss Fain Dance company. The score was commissioned by Liss Fain Dance, and performed live many times throughout 1991 and 1992.

The dance for Sudden Changes consists of a series of episodes that originate in real life events, evolving from the choreographer's interest in reactions to environmental loss and diminishment. The movement idiom originates in descriptions of animal's behavior, their environments, and the effects of land development on the species; the parallel in human experiences of loss is the perception of and adjustment to altered boundaries.

To fully support the depth and range of the emotional and psychological content of the work, I felt that a live musical performance was required. It also was an opportunity to put into practice a new computer-based performance system I had been experimenting with. In this work, my solo instrumental performance is amplified by a sophisticated computer music system to orchestral levels of musical expression. The system is designed to allow a wide variety of configurations of musical textures, rhythms, recorded sounds, signal processing, algorithmic accompaniment, etc., to be called up at will by a performer. However, little of the actual musical material is determined in advance. Everything is derived during the performance from the notes and gestures of the performer. Polyphonic accompaniment created in real time by the system can be based strictly or loosely on the harmonic, dynamic, and rhythmic structure of the performed material. Since the details of the music are largely improvised, the performer and the dancers act as a single ensemble, leading to a level of interaction rare in the history of music with dance.

Sudden Changes premiered at the New Performance Gallery (now ODC Theater), San Francisco, on May 9, 1991.

© 1991, 2021 Michael McNabb

---