MOTH

viola and live electronics

7’

July 2023

written for Sally Belcher

MOTH explores the alteration of acoustic timbre with electronic means. In this work, the timbral content of the acoustic viola sound, and the sonic world of the electronic sound create both opposition and integration. The resultant sound encourages the audience to question the boundary of electronic and acoustic sound, the processed and the unprocessed, and the human and the machine. The pitches used for the piece are chosen using particular intervalic rules. Like the symmetry of a moth, the intervals and structure of the work form a palindrome. Every sound in the piece comes directly from the viola, in an exploration of the misunderstood beauty of the moth.