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Phantom Power

Jonty Harrison

Programme notes

Phantom Power uses instrumental material originally recorded in 2002 for Force Fields (2004-06) — musique concrète for 8 instrumentalists and fixed sounds commissioned by Erik Oña and the Thürmchen Ensemble. Knowing that I had composed very little instrumental music in recent years, Erik specifically proposed that I work ‘in my normal way’ — i.e. starting from the sonic properties of sound material itself, just as I do in my acousmatic work. In the end, I had no alternative — I had lost all the notes I made when recording the instrumentalists, on the extended techniques used and how they might be notated; I had only the sounds!

While working on Force Fields (whose title reflects the ‘gravitational pull’ of certain materials and the manner in which particular sound types or sonic behaviours dominate for a while and then become dormant), I became increasingly aware that, in a purely acousmatic context, with no live performers (and especially when the material is subjected to signal processing in the studio), only a ‘ghostly presence’ of the original instrumental identity would remain, even though some of its power might still be perceived. I determined to explore this side of the Thürmchen Ensemble recordings in a complementary piece to Force Fields (which I had already taken to referring to as FF in my notes and file names). The title Phantom Power (PP in my shorthand) suggested itself immediately — not only does ‘phantom power’ have a ‘studio’ meaning (a voltage used to power capacitor microphones), but the musical resonances of ff (fortissimo) and pp ()pianissimo) also seemed an apt reflection of the respective characters of the two pieces: one direct and ‘upfront’ (even ‘in your face’, to use the vernacular), the other veiled, subdued and reflective, but always with the lurking sense that, at any time, there could be an eruption, an unstoppable, overwhelming surge of power.

The invitation from Andrew Lewis to be the first Parry Williams Visiting Composition Fellow at Bangor University (Wales, UK) provided the ideal opportunity to develop these ideas further. What I had not foreseen was that I would also find two wonderful additional metaphors for my piece in North Wales. Driving around the region, equipped as usual with field recorder and microphones, I spotted a wind farm on Anglesey and (probably with a bit of trespassing) managed to get close enough to one of the turbines to make a reasonable recording. I also recorded, up a hillside on the road towards Snowdon, the sounds of pieces of slate being handled, scraped and knocked together. The images of force and power evoked by both the creation of geological layers over past millennia and the potentially limitless availability of wind energy for the future are so obvious that I hardly need mention them.

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Phantom Power was realized in 2007-08 in the Electroacoustic Music Studios of Bangor University (Wales, UK) and in the composer’s studio in Birmingham (England, UK) and premiered on October 30, 2008 in the Powys Hall, Bangor University. Thanks to: Erik Oña and the members of the Thürmchen Ensemble for their patience, their generosity and their musicality — features which extended to a remarkable willingness to put their skills (and their valuable instruments!) entirely at my disposal; Professor Andrew Lewis (one of my former students, though he may not thank me for reminding him!) for inviting me to be a Parry William Visiting Composer Fellow; and Dr Ann Lloyd Jones for her generous funding of this wonderful and unique residency project.

Premiere

  • October 30, 2008, Robert Normandeau; Jonty Harrison, Neuadd Powis — Bangor University, Bangor (Wales, UK)
  • Composer(s): Jonty Harrison
  • Year of composition: 2007-08
  • Duration: 14:59
  • Instrumentation: 8-channel fixed medium