Program Note
Perception of Proportion (2020) is an ambient work featuring an application of formant synthesis. In this piece a brief line of text from Jonathan Kramer's, The Time of Music, is read by the composer. The topic of the text is related to how a listener perceives proportion in music. This recording is stretched and processed in various ways using formant synthesis in Native Instruments' Kontakt. The duration of the piece is determined by stretching one iteration of the spoken text to almost 9 minutes. This serves as a textural pad or foundation, above which other elongated versions of the text are overlayed. The piece culminates with a final brief statement of the spoken text which, still might not be entirely recognizable to the listener.