VIII. Transference

This is a video score transcription of Eliot Burk’s “VIII. Transference” from the album Fourteen Movements for String Duo. The score was commissioned by Burk, and rendered in MAX/MSP/Jitter. Listen to Burk’s album at this link:

https://eliotburk.bandcamp.com/album/fourteen-movements-for-string-duo

Performance instructions for this video score:

“Here are two possible approaches to playing the score of Transference. The score need not be interpreted one way within a performance. If a performance has several performers, they may each choose differing, or similar approaches to the score.

1. Know colors as forces—techniques, postures, moods of your choosing. Embody these forces. Consider the rate and texture of their movement, the shapes they form, and how densely the screen is saturated with each. You can play as you see them, and you may also play on according to your memory of them once they are gone.

2. Below is a list of relationships and morphologies to which you may add your own words (some words overlap between the lists). Pick one of each to define your relationship to the image and the trajectory of your improvisation—you will have to imagine what these words mean as they traverse visual and audio mediums. E.g., with your playing you could be destroying the image and accelerating your playing, or supporting and elaborating, etc. Alternatively, so long as one player is performing in relation to the video, you may pick a relationship and morphology that describe your connection to that other player rather than to the video.

Relationships: destroying, supporting, contrasting, accompanying, imitating, mocking, paralleling, orbiting, fragmenting, echoing…

Morphologies: accelerating, decelerating, solidifying, dissolving, fragmenting, elaborating, increasing, decreasing, simplifying…”