Still Time

Details: Still Time is a composition for flute and electronics. It was awarded Second Prize at EAR’03 HEAR Studio, Hungarian
Radio, Electroacoustic Music Competition, 2003, and Third Prize at the Luigi Russolo International Electroacoustic Music
Competition, 2003. It has received six further performances, including Seoul International Computer Music Festival, KEAMS,
Korea; Hot Trio, Malmo, Sweden; Musica Viva Festival, Lisbon, Portugal; and has been broadcast on Hungarian Radio.

Portfolio:
1)Nights Bright Daies (18'40), commissioned by IRCAM for the Agora Festival 2004, premiered at the Espace de Projection,
IRCAM, Paris, by the Ictus Piano/Percussion Quartet, 4 June 2004, Score and CD-R.
2)Luigi Russolo International Electroacoustic Music Competition, Prizewinners' CD.

Context: Both Still Time and Nights Bright Daies have their origins in research using IRCAM’s Open Music software into
structuring harmonic and durational proportions of a work from prime-number harmonics. In Still Time the opening exploration of
the prime harmonic field is subsequently ‘processed’ through compression and expansion – the ratios of these processes are
determined by the harmonics themselves (e.g. expansion factors of 1.03… 1.17… 1.31…). In Nights Bright Daies the expanded
versions of the prime chord are presented first, descending throughout the work until the original prime chord is reached in the
coda. The rate of harmonic change speeds up as the chords descend to the prime form. The lengths of these sections are
governed by the ratios of the harmonics. The electronic component in both works ‘freezes’ the musical gestures in time,
providing a musical halo around the instrumentalists. In Still Time the two interpretations of the title are embedded in the
structure and harmonic pace: the hectic flute part concentrating ever more material into shorter time periods, while the electronic
part depicts time frozen or standing still in harmonic blocks.