dedicated to Wendy Lee and the Cong Quar tet
Instr umentation String Quartet
4-channel pitched click track
Duration: 12 minutes
Performance Dire ctions
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. B oth pieces use the same scordatura and a retuning in-between should be avoided. B esides 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
Te chnic al Re quirements and S etup
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. B oth 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. Dr y and gentle resonating samples carr y 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.
S cordatura
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 inter vals 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
E5 = 669.248 Hz (+10¢)
A4 = 440.000 Hz (-16¢)
D4 = 296.334 Hz (0¢)
G3 = 198.780 Hz (+9¢)
Violin 2
E5 = 661.248 Hz (-10¢)
A4 = 448.000 Hz (+16¢)
D4 = 294.334 Hz (-11¢)
G3 = 197.780 Hz (0¢)
Viola
A4 = 444.000 Hz (0¢)
D4 = 298.334 Hz (+12¢)
G3 = 196.280 Hz (-13¢)
C3 = 134.002 Hz (+26¢)
Violoncello
A3 = 223.000 Hz (+8¢)
D3 = 144.167 Hz (-47¢)
G2 = 099.890 Hz (+17¢)
C2 = 066.001 Hz (0¢)
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 necessar y
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, exag gerated vibrato)
For all trills (harmonics, bisbigliando, tremolo), the auxiliar y notes are always indicated.
All glissandos should begin immediately and connect from start to nish as evenly as possible with constant speed. e distance is either indicated by a targeted notehead, or by a relative distance, as stated by the added accidentals.
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 ver y 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 energ y for the production of this sound than the result would imply. e ordinar y 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 Instr uments (1/4)
bridge clef - depicting the position of the bowing contact and the transitions in between
P - ponticello, ver y close to the bridge, on the bridge
poco - poco sul ponticello, close to the bridge
ord. - ordinario, ordinar y 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 Instr uments (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 - "car ving out" high partials by subtle changes in the bowing position (poco, P)
crunc h - 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) dr y and pitchless, near and over the bridge (poco, P) strident with spectral components
String Instr uments (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]=ver y 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 ordinar y 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 Instr uments (4/4)
M - multiphonic : nger contact similar to natural harmonics, bowing slowly and with slightly more pressure, "deep" in the string with ord. or poco 1 indicated harmonics present ; stability enhance might bridge the to parallel strictly owingb and edge) the (not hair all using oint,p contact tasto sul 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.
Maurer, Barbara. Saitenweise: Neue Klang phänomene auf Streichinstrumenten und ihre Notation - Eine Anleitung Wiesbaden, Breitkopf und Härtel 2014.
1 Fallow eld, Ellen. Cellomp. https://cellomap.com/ [accessed: Jun 29, 2021].
