Harvard University
Decoding Tristan Perich's Dual Synthesis
Tristan Perich's Dual Synthesis (2010) probes the nature of the interface between the human and the mechanical by seamlessly blurring together a live performance on harpsichord, along with cone speakers emitting a pre-programmed electronic track at only one bit depth, indicating simply when a given frequency should flicker "on" or "off." A ten minute introductory lecture explores how the nature of these electronic sounds reflects not only the language of binary code that forms the basis of the digital electronic signal between components of the microchip, but also the mechanism of the harpsichord, whose jacks and plectra can activate or dampen the string but preclude the possibility of dynamic nuance. I explore how Perich's work thus finds a common thread between musical technologies from the Renaissance to the present, with focus on its connection to examples of sixteenth-century Italian musical automata as well as harpsichord works by György Ligeti and Iannis Xenakis. I also include some reflections on my personal experience working with Perich on the development of the composition from its genesis to its recent recording and distribution on the Physical Editions label. The introduction is followed by a live performance of the 20-minute long composition.
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Daniel Walden is a pianist, harpsichordist, and Presidential Scholar in Music Theory at Harvard University, with interests ranging from ancient music theory to Renaissance musical automata and nineteenth-century enharmonicism. He received the MPhil in Music Studies with Distinction at University of Cambridge, where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar and Derek Cornwell Scholar in Instrumental Performance. He has presented papers at annual meetings of AMS, SMT, the American Philological Association, and MOISA International Society for the Study of Greek and Roman Music and its Cultural Heritage. His articles have appeared in journals including Early Music History, Music Theory Online, Greek and Roman Musical Studies, Études grégoriennes, Early Music, and Journal of Landscape Architecture. His is a founding member of Ensemble Oerknal (The Hague), and his performance of Tristan Perich's Dual Synthesis, which he will be discussing today, was released last November on the Physical Editions label.