Steve Kornicki Composer and Musician

Horizontal Color Forms

Composed by Steve Kornicki

HORIZONTAL COLOR FORMS #16, for percussion ensemble (2006)
(7 minutes, 20 seconds)

World premiere by California State University Long Beach Percussion Ensemble,
conducted by Dave Gerhart (December 2006)

Download MIDI version (6.8MB MP3)

Score available from Media Press.

Instrumentation:
12 players:
3 marimbas,
vibraphone
xylophone
piano
chimes
crotales
4 percussion (hi-hat, maraca, suspended cymbal, suspended tambourine)

Each of the HORIZONTAL COLOR FORMS (HCF) pieces deals with the synergetic combination of individual parts composed one at a time in a horizontal manner. These pieces all result from pre-determined structures and processes that are the result of improvisational composition using computer sequencing. The horizontal aspect refers to the process of composing each line completely through while being aware of the other parts, but allowing the parts to be free of each other – a process of “real time” composing and a certain amount of randomness. All of the pieces’ initial pitch structures consist of the simultaneous layering of 12-tone rows (the arrangement of the twelve notes of the chromatic scale in a particular order). These rows are chosen for their tonal relations and combinations and are stretched out over long durations through repetition of the individual tones (this repetition relating back to Arnold Schoenberg’s original concept of 12-tone theory). The resulting sound is of overlapping harmonic textures that can be heard as an apparently static surface of sound with a flux of textural elements and overlapping dynamic patterns beneath (musical effects at particular points: crescendos, rhythmic contrast, accents, instrument entrances, etc). These harmonic textures create the color aspect of the music and are a constant flow of transformation and change within this “stasis in motion”. These qualities give the pieces an ambient sound that can be compared to some 20th century minimal, early renaissance and baroque music, serving on an intense appreciation level or as an environmental experience. The self-similarity and ambience of the music may also create a “suspended time frame” effect for the listener.

Horizontal Color Forms #16 utilizes the simultaneous layering of 12-tone rows based on the originally composed part for marimba 1. The rows are stretched out over the length of the piece by repeating the
notes of the row for various time lengths.

Marimba 1 row:
Eb, G#, F#, C#, B, A, G, E, D, C, F, B

All of the harmonic material for the pitched percussion is based on this initial row. Marimbas 2 and 3 and the vibraphone part are harmonic canons of this row transposed at different intervals:
marimba 2: major 2nd lower
marimba 3: minor 7th lower
vibraphone: perfect 4th lower
xylophone: variation of marimba 1 row

Rhythmically, all of these instruments each employ steady note values of eighth notes, quarter note triplets, eighth note triplets, etc. The mallet instruments follow strict rising and falling dynamic patterns throughout the piece while the piano, chimes and crotales provide a pointillistic sound field in contrast to the constant stream of mallet tones. The non-pitched percussion provides a steady, quiet pulse as the backdrop.

The overall effect is of a steady-state sound environment with morphing harmonies and rhythms.

ANALYSIS : The system of music composition that I developed in late 2004/early 2005 for the HORIZONTAL COLOR FORMS series displays clear and concise processes that occur within the music. The pieces are about the processes and reveal an obvious interplay of harmonic motion through the layering of individual tones. Musical interest is created through texture and dynamics. Harmonic motion is given precedence in a manner that is actually heard and perceived by the listener because of the “harmony generating” nature of the compositional writing and process. The piece avoids tertian harmony in favor of a new harmonic motion created from the stretching out of the 12 tones over a long duration. The HCF series can provide a model for a new form of listening to music through the purity of the compositional processes and the auditory effects (i.e. the music is about the tones and harmonic motion).