A series of seven hockets for two performers. A recorded EP of this music was released on Cantaloupe on October 25th, 2019. Available on all digital platforms here. Order vinyl here. The EP was mastered by Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar and mixed by Marta Salogni. Vinyl is high quality 180 gram and comes with a folded insert poster with graphical representations of each hocket. Cover image is an edited photograph of a sculpture by Tauba Auerbach, titled Where there had once been a snag in the fabric.
Movement III.
The practice of hocketing is defined by splitting a melody across multiple parts, in often very surprising ways. While the form dates back as far as the middle ages, it is also found in music from all over the world.
Each piece explores a variety of conditions under which one might involuntarily fuse sequences of notes into melodic patterns, despite differing sound sources. In the entire series of seven hockets there are never more than two notes occurring at one time, although there may often be the perception that there are many more. In the field of music cognition this is also referred to as Pseudopolyphony, or melodic fission. This concept was brought to my attention through Albert Bregman’s writing and work on Auditory Scene Analysis.
Early versions of these compositions were originally commissioned by Tauba Auerbach for a performance and installation at the Kitchen NYC in 2016. Alternative scores were created to highlight the perceptual patterns in the pieces, in an edition of two accordian style books.
Excerpts from Alternative Scores - Hockets for Two Voices