Bandwidth is about compositions that start from a single parameter or principle, extrapolating an entire piece from this one point. It is like looking through a paper towel tube, focusing on a small circle in the distance, until the outline of the tube becomes the viewer’s world. These pieces begin with a mechanism—a simple numerical series, the resonance of a room, or the shape of a singer’s mouth—and build into something more. They ask the listener to focus on a small space, and to find what is audible within it.

The program includes James Tenney’s (1934-2006) piece Critical Band, where through a simple numerical series, the piece slowly expands from a dense microtonal cluster into a harmonically resonant chord. This seminal work is presented alongside world premieres by Fraufraulein (Andy Guthrie & Billy Gomberg), John P. Hastings, and Brian Parks, and Michael Winter’s mass and band.

Program

James Tenney, Critical Band
John Hastings, White (Vermont)

intermission

Michael Winter, mass and band
Brian Parks, Stagger Canon for Eight Singers
Fraufraulein (Andy Guthrie / Billy Gomberg), Remarks on Color