solo trombone
7 minutes
for Matt Barbier
Program Note
When I first wrote facesplitter in 2011, it was an exercise in mechanism and extremity. I was drawn to the machine-like sounds of pulsating split tones and vocal multiphonics as well as the instability quietly playing at the edges of both extremes of the players range. Between Matt Barbier’s premiere in 2011 and the recording we made in 2015, we regularly revisited the piece and continued to update the score. As Matt gained additional control of the extreme techniques required to play this piece, we found new ways to develop the material, further pushing boundaries of Matt’s finessed control over these raw and violent sounds.