CONCEPT SCORES

CHE SARÀ

Performance notes for all instrumentalists

Start of the sound:

  • a little bit before the 1st beat shown by the conductor
  • 16th note later than the 1st beat shown by the conductor
  • 8th note later than the 1st beat shown by the conductor
  • Quarter note later than the 1st beat shown by the conductor
  • Half note later than the 1st beat shown by the conductor
  • Whole note later than the 1st beat shown by the conductor

End of the sound:

In the end of the last beat of the bar (watch conductor).

End of the bar:

Musicians vote whether they want the next bar to be longer (put the right hand up) or shorter (put the left hand up). [So, from the conductor’s perspective vice versa: left hand up – longer, right hand up – shorter]. The voting is happening on the last bit of the bar, fermata possible, if the tempo is too fast to do it in tempo.

SOUND

  • Sound should be possible to perform with one hand (as the other hand has to be used to vote in the end)
  • Sound should be able to gliss up or down, by every performance of the sound
  • The use of additional objects is free. For piano and guitar prefered additional
  • objects are bottle neck and superball – those objects will simplify glissando technique
  • Glissando down should be supported by diminuendo, gliss. up – by crescendo
  • Start dynamics are shown by the conductor

Performance notes for conductor

Conductor shows the dynamics (any)

Tempo is ALWAYS 4th note (crotchet) = 60

Conductor shows time signatures from the list:

  • The time signature of the 1st bar is decided by the conducter.
  • In the end of each bar musicians vote, whether they want the next bar to be longer or shorter. [From the conductor’s perspective] more left hands mean – the next bar
  • is longer, more right hands mean – the next bar is shorter.
  • Conductor decides when the piece is finished. During the fermata in the end of the bar, conductor slowly turns to the audience and bows (also slowly). Stays in that position until there is no more sound.
  • Silence is the end of the piece.

COMMENTS to Che sarà?

About the idea of the piece:

The piece is a mirror of a democratic system in my vision: I inspect the most common and obvious way of a democratic influence we know – the voting. How much influence do we really have? How much responsibility? How much the level of our personal responsibility can possibly influence the outcome? Do we really care about the outcome, about the result? Can we really make a change and to which extend?

In the piece Che sarà? [What will come?] the musicians are able to influence the sound, the length of every next bar, the time of their entrance but there is still always a conductor who shows the tempo, and the beginning of each bar [the beginning of the timeframe of their free actions], there is still someone who put those rules, who put performers into that frame of a piece, who allowed them to perform only ascending or descending sound.

How much liberty could we squeeze out from those rules and do we really want to be free or do the rules make us feel more comfortable by freeing us from the responsibility of taking a decision?

About the structure:

There is no long break/pause between the bars. Musicians might take a short breath if necessary but it should not destroy a continuous flow from one bar to another.
The necessary fermata in the end of each bar is to be held on the sound, making the voting possible.

So, as said before in performance notes, the sound, produced by musicians should be possible to perform with one hand. It might be challenging to change the hand while performing (if you use your right hand but then you want to vote with the right hand) – musicians in this case should take a decision, whether to stay in the comfort zone [so just to use a free hand] or to do everything possible to influence the voting results [change the hand despite the uncomfortable situation].

Voting is always necessary. If the tempo is too fast and there is a very short bar and a musician cannot perform during that short period of time – he/she must not play but still has to vote.
Therefore it might be the case that not everyone is always playing but it might also be that everyone is playing all the time.

About the sound:

It might be any sound, produced using the instrument, body or external objects on the instrument/body/another object. The only requirement is the possible glissando. For example a pianist might use bottle neck on the strings for glissando sound or just an ordinary glissando on the keys or just whistle or sing or use superBall on the piano surface [with the movement which produces glissando] or a toy instrument or any other object/way of performing. It might be the same way of playing each time, it might be different each time – this has to be decided by the performers.

FORCED WAY UP

INITIAL POSITION:

  • Relaxed body posture.
  • Sitting at the piano on a comfortable chair (without back).
  • Sit comfortably on the whole surface of the chair – hands on the knees, feet – shoulder width apart, feet parallel to each other, with the heels on the floor. The breath should be calm and relaxed.
  • After each performance of the sound, you need to put your hand back on your knees.
  • The hand which is not involved in the performance of the sound, remains on the knees.

While performing this work, every sound should be produced in accordance with a set of processes of technical and mechanical properties. These processes are related either to the internal efforts of the pianist’s body (muscle contractions, facial expressions, certain type breathing) or are the instructions of producing the sound by using the specific techniques of piano playing. They may also indicate the physical location of the finger while making the key contact.

This figure could help with visualisation and with a better understanding of the process of engagement of the back muscles.

PERFORMANCE:

For the performance of each sound, the pianist should make a decision and choose one the options from each column (hand, dynamics, fingerings, source of the movement, the location of the distal phalanx on the key, the speed of the sinking into the key, face, breath, touch). It is advisable to choose one option from each column.
All actions should be performed very consciously, slowly and without any exaggeration and with the highest level of concentration.

EXAMPLE:

with right hand in pp dynamics

with index finger with the movement from the elbow

with the fingertip on the left side

with fast speed of sinking into the key

with pursed toes

with a slight smile while inhaling

with sliding your finger on the key (movement down) before pressing the key perform the sound

DOWN