Fabrication begins with a series of fragments. Elements of trumpet technique, like breathing and tonguing, are presented in isolation, rather than in the combinations of ordinary playing. This acoustic study of the trumpet is taken up by other splinters of material: natural harmonics are used to produce distortions of pitch and timbre, and the performer creates further disruptions with mutes, and by singing into the instrument. Eventually the trumpet is metaphorically constructed from its component techniques - just in time for a more literal disassembly.

While Fabrication is obsessed with trumpet acoustics, it is entirely dependent upon electronics. Many of the sounds used in the piece are too quiet to be heard in performance. And so the microphone serves as a microscope, revealing otherwise inaudible sounds. The electronics gradually take on an active role as well, transforming and extending the sound of the trumpet beyond its acoustic limits.

Performances:
2004.02.02: HinterConti, Hamburg, Germany
Friedemann Boltes, trumpet
 
2002.04.20: Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
2002.04.11: CREATE, UCSB, Santa Barbara, CA
2002.03.22: Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival 11, Gainesville, FL
2001.03.16: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
2001.02.16: Mills College, Oakland, CA
2000.11.19: ACME Observatory, Berkeley, CA
2000.11.09: Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Christopher Burns, trumpet

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