"BonnGasse Twenty"
For Solo Piano
Part of Susanne Kessell's 250 Piano Pieces for Beethoven Project
Bil Smith Composer
Friday, December 30, 2022
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
Preview of New Commissioned Compositions for 2023: Works in Progress: Trio for Flute Bassoon and Tuba (Guillioche)
In this new piece for the trio of Flute, Bassoon and Tuba, I employ a Guillioche design aesthetic as a compositional tool. Guilloché (/ɡɪˈloʊʃ/; or guilloche) is a decorative technique in which a very precise, intricate and repetitive pattern is mechanically engraved into an underlying material via engine turning, which uses a machine of the same name, also called a rose engine lathe. This mechanical technique improved on more time-consuming designs achieved by hand and allowed for greater delicacy, precision, and closeness of line, as well as greater speed.
From Cardew's Treatise Handbook....
"However, the years of work on Treatise have furnished me with a fund of experience obviously distinct from the experience embodied in the score itself. And this fund continues to accumulate , since my experience of and with the piece is by no means completed with the completion of the score ; so some of the excreta of this fund may as well be made available to those who, because it 's published, may shortly wish to be occupied with the score."
Friday, December 23, 2022
"The Library Forecourt At Some Private Reversed Murmur of Surprise" for Two Sopranino Saxophones. Donatiene Martin, Composer.
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"The Library Forecourt At Some Private Reversed Murmur of Surprise" for Two Sopranino Saxophones. Donatiene Martin, Composer.
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| Excerpt: "The Library Forecourt At Some Private Reversed Murmur of Surprise" for Two Sopranino Saxophones. Donatiene Martin, Composer. |
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
"Yet The Star Enjoys Autonomy" for Bass
"Yet The Star Enjoys Autonomy"
for Bass
Bil Smith Composer
Link to PDF Score File
Friday, December 16, 2022
"Perimeter Walls" (2002) Bil Smith Composer.
"Perimeter Walls" (2002) Bil Smith Composer. An Oulipo inspired composition for for a solo percussionist, to be used in whole or in part to provide a solo or ensemble for any combination of pianists, string players and percussionists.
Can An Asemic Notational Aesthetic Create A Valid Compositional Lexicon?
Bil Smith's "Delinquent Spirits..."
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| Ariel González Losada |
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| Gustavo Chab |
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| Anat Pick |
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| Ariel González Losada |
My idea is to create a new system of notation embedded with apparent contradictions, but is itself based on the recognition that contradiction is the fundamental starting point of all musical departure, indeed all thought.
The real kernel of ideation in this abstruse speculation is about the process involved in getting from nowhere to nothing.
From the brilliant mind of Gustavo Chab...
Gustavo Chab "Asemic writing is a wordless open semantic form of writing. The word asemic means "having no specific semantic content". With the non-specificity of asemic writing there comes a vacuum of meaning which is left for the reader to fill in and interpret. All of this is similar to the way one would deduce meaning from an abstract work of art. The open nature of asemic works allows for meaning to occur trans-linguistically; an asemic text may be "read" in a similar fashion regardless of the reader's natural language. Multiple meanings for the same symbolism are another possibility for an asemic work.
Some asemic writing includes pictograms or ideograms, the meanings of which are sometimes, but not always, suggested by their shapes. Asemic writing, at times, exists as a conception or shadow of conventional writing practices. Reflecting writing, but not completely existing as a traditional writing system, asemic writing seeks to make the reader hover in a state between reading and looking.
Asemic writing has no verbal sense, though it may have clear textual sense. Through its formatting and structure, asemic writing may suggest a type of document and, thereby, suggest a meaning. The form of art is still writing, often calligraphic in form, and either depends on a reader's sense and knowledge of writing systems for it to make sense, or can be understood through aesthetic intuition.
Asemic writing can also be seen as a relative perception, whereby unknown languages and forgotten scripts provide templates and platforms for new modes of expression. It has been suggested that asemic writing exists in two ways: "true" asemic writing and "relative" asemic writing.
True asemic writing occurs when the creator of the asemic piece cannot read their own asemic writing. Relative asemic writing is a natural writing system that can be read by some people but not by everyone (e.g. ciphers). Between these two axioms is where asemic writing exists and plays
The Asemic Continuum
Influences on asemic writing are illegible, invented, or primal scripts (cave paintings, doodles, children's drawings, etc.). But instead of being thought of as mimicry of preliterate expression, asemic writing may be considered to be a post-literate style of writing that uses all forms of creativity for inspiration. Other influences on asemic writing are xeno-linguistics, artistic languages, sigils (magic), undeciphered scripts, and graffiti.
Asemic writing occurs in avant-garde literature and art with strong roots in the earliest forms of writing. A modern example of asemic writing is Luigi Serafini's Codex Seraphinianus. Serafini described the script of the Codex as asemic in a talk at the Oxford University Society of Bibliophiles held on May 8, 2009."
"Memphis Design" (Dedicated to Ettore Sottsass) For Bassoon
"Memphis Design"
(Dedicated to Ettore Sottsass)
For Bassoon
Bil Smith Composer
Link To Full PDF Score:
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Why No "Performance Notes?"
Yes, I understand, my scores are not traditional in the academic music sense. I know that many composers who create different notational systems and unconventional tablatures will provide performance notes for their scores.
I guess I am a bit different in that regard in that I do not subscribe to a “one size fits all” approach. I like to understand the proficiencies/ strengths of each performer that I am working with by listening to them perform other works, whether audio or video performances. It gives me insight as to how to craft specific performance notes for that individual.
In effect, it changes the aesthetic of the score and ultimately the final output (the performance).
Back in 2017, the pianist Nicolas Horvath, performed a world premiere of a piano piece I wrote at Carnegie Hall. I spent several months listening to his previous performances so I could construct a performance directive that accounted for his style and nuanced performance skills.
Friday, December 9, 2022
"Clue for Viola"
"Clue"
for Viola
Bil Smith Composer
A Commission from Grupo Aval
Published by LNM Editions
Saturday, December 3, 2022
IN PROGRESS: Two Pages of Score of New Work for Tuba.
IN PROGRESS:
Two Pages of Score of New Work for Tuba.
Bil Smith Composer
2022
To be Published by LNM Editions
In this work for solo Tuba, I have a simple premise as with many of my compositions. I pretend that objects, notational elements and tactile visualizations form a self-composition. This work consists of allowing the score to compose itself. I believe that by incorporating new musical lexicons, I am creating compositions more relevant to today.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
"Royalist Strongholds" for Oboe, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone, Violin and Double Bass
"Royalist Strongholds"
for Oboe, Bass Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone, Violin and Double Bass
Bil Smith Composer
Commissioned by Lafarge
Published by LNM Editions
Link To Full Score PDF
