Metaphorismus (part 1)

Tobias Fandel Metaphorismus (2020)

for String Quartet score

dedicated to Wendy Lee and the Cong Quartet

Instrumentation String Quartet 4-channel pitched click track

Duration: 12 minutes

Performance Directions e String Quartets Metaphorismus and simplex are intended to be performed together. e order can be chosen by the performers, whereas the pieces should not be presented as a single, uninterrupted composition, but rather as two movements. Both pieces use the same scordatura and a retuning in-between should be avoided.

Besides a regular stage setup, the quartet can also be placed in a circle, surrounded by the audience, with each player directed to the outside. For recordings, the successively playing of all instruments is suitable.

Technical Requirements and Setup e pitched click track for Metaphorismus consists of four individual channels, with a di erent tempo structure for each player. For certain passages, the clicks are complemented by pitched pulses, guiding the players to approximate the indicated micro deviations. ese pitched clicks are placed prior to the respective tones, allowing for su cient preparation. e technical setup must provide all players with headphones, earphones or in-ear monitors. Both wired and wireless synchronisation methods are feasible and equally suitable. e best possible setup ensures that: all performers are able to follow the click track e ortlessly without the clicks being perceived by any other player or the audience, while still being able to hear all the instrumental sounds. e concrete click samples have a major in uence on the aforementioned considerations. Dry and gentle resonating samples carry the clicks e ectively without interfering. In case a player follows the click track with one ear only, the audio playback shall be allocated to this particular output channel, with the other side being muted. e click track audio and midi les are available upon request and can be modi ed and adjusted to meet the players’ needs.

Scordatura e scordatura is based on a concert pitch A4 of 444 Hz and should not be transposed. All deviations are given in absolute frequencies with the relative di erences stated in cents (¢), relating to an equidistant well tempered tuning in 444 Hz. e scordatura was carefully designed to enable speci c acoustical beatings of natural harmonics and to facilitate certain intervals and therefore should be prepared as precisely as possible. All resulting micro di erences of the same notated pitches are intended as such and should not be compensated.

Violin 1

Violin 2

Viola

Violoncello

E5 = 669.248 Hz (+10¢) A4 = 440.000 Hz (-16¢) D4 = 296.334 Hz (0¢) G3 = 198.780 Hz (+9¢)

E5 = 661.248 Hz (-10¢) A4 = 448.000 Hz (+16¢) D4 = 294.334 Hz (-11¢) G3 = 197.780 Hz (0¢)

A4 = 444.000 Hz (0¢) D4 = 298.334 Hz (+12¢) G3 = 196.280 Hz (-13¢) C3 = 134.002 Hz (+26¢)

A3 = 223.000 Hz (+8¢) D3 = 144.167 Hz (-47¢) G2 = 099.890 Hz (+17¢) C2 = 066.001 Hz (0¢)

Universal Tempo markings, changes and processes (accel. - accelerando, rit. - ritardando) should be followed as precisely as possible, additional tools might complement and aid rehearsals, performances, and recordings.

For prolonged sections subjected to a single tempo process, the targeted tempo is given alongside the starting tempo. e process should be as continuous and steady as possible, until the tempo marking for the aimed tempo is indicated.

All durations should be realised as precisely as possible, without added processes of timbres or dynamics unless indicated. Grace notes should always be played before the beat, curtailing the previous sound if necessary.

Each accidental a ects only the subsequent note and each note always has one accidental attached to it, with the exception of pitchless, tied, or successively repeated notes.

Quarter-tone accidentals, denoting tempered quarter-tone steps implemented into the twelve-tone equal temperament.

Eighth-tone accidentals, either indicating contextual micro alterations relative to the tempered quarter-tone grid, or applied to approximate representations of partials and multiphonics.

Micro alterations speci ed in cents (¢), implemented into the twelve-tone equal temperament with the maximum deviations of a quarter tone above (+50¢) and below (-50¢) the notated pitch (0¢). For enhanced approximation, the use of dedicated tools (such as pitched click tracks or reference samples) is suggested, if not required.

Noteheads which di erentiate speci c playing techniques are only applied as crotchets or smaller note values.

Vibrato of any intensity should only be applied if explicitly stated. (vibrato, poco vibrato, molto vibrato, exaggerated vibrato) For all trills (harmonics, bisbigliando, tremolo), the auxiliary notes are always indicated.

All glissandos should begin immediately and connect from start to nish as evenly as possible with constant speed. notehead, or by a relative distance, as stated by the added accidentals.

e distance is either indicated by a targeted

Slurred glissandos in a single motion and articulated glissandos with intermediate attacks.

Even and seamless transitions of articulations or playing techniques, also in combination with glissandos. msfz - mezzo-sforzato, sfz - sforzato, s z - sforzatissimo: subtle, strong, or very strong accents with emphasis, independent of the surrounding dynamics.

Targeted dynamic marks on a rest sign, suggesting the loudness of an imagined sound and implying its virtual physicality.

Accented rests imply an active and metrical interruption of the previous sound, or a metrical "weight" as a physical impulse for the following playing action.

Muting sign, used for metrically damping of the prior produced sound, or for muting of speci ed strings for particular techniques.

Smaller sized dynamic markings in parentheses attached to regular dynamic markings indicate the e ective loudness of certain techniques that require distinctly more physical energy for the production of this sound than the result would imply. e ordinary dynamic marking hints at the player’s e ort.

Crescendo dal niente. Diminuendo al niente.

Dashed hairpins indicate a sounding process in contradiction to the physical e ort required.

Hairpins in parentheses hint at a musical connection, although the implied process is not audible.

Dashed slurs denote a best possible legato, di ering from the technical execution.

String Instruments (1/4)

bridge clef - depicting the position of the bowing contact and the transitions in between

P - ponticello, very close to the bridge, on the bridge poco - poco sul ponticello, close to the bridge

ord. - ordinario, ordinary bowing contact position T - tasto, fretboard GF - in touch with the tip of the stopping nger (greifender Finger)

open, muted, muted (string indicated), muted (all strings)

T-P brushing tremolo - fast alternating the contact position of the bow between fretboard and bridge, all strings muted

bridge, edge, scroll - pitchless bowing, notated over the 5th sta line and without accidentals, always as crotchets bridge (pitchless bowing directly on the bridge) edge (bowing on the edge of the instrument body) scroll (bowing on the scroll)

String Instruments (2/4)

bridge (slow, overpressure) - pitchless bowing right on the bridge with overpressure, inde nite squeaking noise

aut. GF - autando, tip of the stopping nger is touched by the bow hair while bowing

bow glissando - shi ing the bowing contact while bowing as indicated with GF - T - ord. - P

split tone - "carving out" high partials by subtle changes in the bowing position (poco, P)

crunch - crunching, cracking or squeaking sounds, slow bowing with severe overpressure, on indicated open or muted strings,

and on stopped tones, indicated by square noteheads, over the fretboard (T) dry and pitchless, near and over the bridge (poco, P) strident with spectral components

String Instruments (3/4)

harmonic pizzicato - releasing the harmonic touch in the instant of plucking

pitchless Bartók pizzicato on indicated string, all strings muted while snapping

pizzicato behind the bridge on indicated string

natural harmonics - speci ed with small numbers in brackets, always referring to the corresponding open string as fundamental:[2]=octave; [3]=octave+ h; [4]=2 octaves; … ; [8]=3 octaves; [9]=3 octaves+second; … ; [x]=very high but undi ned harmonics

harmonic trill (two variants): a - root of arti cial harmonic is released slightly to create a natural harmonic in the same position; b - unlike ordinary trills, both ngers must touch and release the string, to enable two natural ageolets to occur

timbre harmonic trill - fast alternating of harmonic touch and slightly releasing touch (open string), so that both the harmonic and the open string gets hardly enough time to resonate, with the velocity depending on the speci c resonances

String Instruments (4/4) M - multiphonic1: nger contact similar to natural harmonics, bowing slowly and with slightly more pressure, "deep" in the string with ord. or poco sul tasto contact point, using all hair (not the edge) and bowing strictly parallel to the bridge might enhance stability ; present harmonics indicated similarly to natural harmonics

e following chart depicts the touching positions and resulting pitches of natural harmonics and multiphonics on the Violoncello C-string for the lower octave. For all the other strings and on all other string instruments, the positions and resulting pitches can be derived by transposition.

1 Maurer, Barbara. Saitenweise: Neue Klangphänomene auf Streichinstrumenten und ihre Notation - Eine Anleitung. Wiesbaden, Breitkopf und Härtel, 2014.

Fallow eld, Ellen. Cellomp. https://cellomap.com/ [accessed: Jun 29, 2021].