"The Impartial Observer" for Piccolo and Bass Flute

"The Impartial Observer" 

"The Impartial Observer"

for Piccolo and Bass Flute

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

New Tablature System for Solo Violin Work in Progress

 

New Tablature System for Solo Violin Work in Progress.  

A commission from Bechtel 

I have chosen to create a hybrid tablature combining elements of WET (words, events text) scores with semi-traditional notation, tactile stimuli and combustion (inspired by Alberto Burri's work).  My goal is to throw the entire nature of music notation and representation under the spotlight; to straddle the realms of visualization, sound, science and culture; exploring the ways they dovetail with each other while also investing the tension created between these disciplines.  

 

"Interiority" for Solo Harp. Bil Smith Composer.

 

"Interiority"

For Solo Harp

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

Link To Full (PDF) Score:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VzpVyDOVz5-33A1nbUqzLKgMPrNiifzs/view?usp=sharing

"Interiority" for Solo Harp is a compositional anthology of projects that defy traditional norms, trapped within theoretical contexts, obscured by fictitious parameters, and entangled in hypothetical physics. This score is not concerned with constructability or adhering to existing praxis; rather, it is a bold inquiry into the unique relationship between the harpist, notation, and composition.

At its core, "Interiority" serves as a manifesto of constructed unrealities, fabricated orthographies, and synthetic syntax. It challenges conventional norms and introduces new dimensions to the world of musical composition. The notational devices within the score become a parallel to the nature of the work itself, manifesting as a web of fabricated histories, projections, and rogue inquiries, both conceptual and physical. This amalgamation of artifice and authenticity becomes the heart of the notation and the composition itself, blurring the lines between reality and imagination.

The score of "Interiority" represents a self-referential proto-typology, an experiment that delves into the curation, articulation, and dissemination of the composition. It invites inquiry, interpretation, and thrives on divergence, pushing the boundaries of what we traditionally associate with musical notation. This departure from the norm serves as a canvas for the harpist to express their artistic individuality, transcending the conventional constraints of music notation.

The construction of new notational vocabularies within "Interiority" may initially bewilder the performer. It challenges our established notions of how music should be communicated, pushing the boundaries of conventional musical language. Yet, the intent is not to confound but rather to stimulate curiosity.

With an understanding of the reasoning behind the deconstructed and reconstructed lexicon, these new constructs cease to appear alien. They become a gateway with its distorted chronological identifiers serving as purposeful contradictions. These artificial chronicles become the foundation upon which the work is built, creating an intricate web of ambiguity.

In this score, the harpist is not just a performer but an explorer of synthetic territories, an architect of fictitious parameters, and a communicator of hypothetical physics.

"Gaddis" for Viola. Bil Smith Composer

"Gaddis"

"Gaddis"

For Viola

Link to PDF Score (Hi-Res)

A Commission from ABB Ltd.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MLS5eqoK2dVEH0CC950qi_2DCvPEpRst/view?usp=sharing

 

"Discourse and Conclusion" for Bass Clarinet in B Flat

"Discourse & Conclusion"

For Bass Clarinet in B Flat

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

Like to PDF Full Score:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CrIwPB-ERzDiVRxLwPW98WTLX1WOa4Mf/view?usp=sharing

 

"Reach" for Guitar

"Overpowered by Stuporous Confusion." A Fanfare for Two Trumpets

 

"Overpowered by Stuporous Confusion"

A Fanfare for Two Trumpets

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

"They Tamed The Island Some". For Flute, Percussion & Piano. The Score

"They Tamed The Island Some"

For Flute, Percussion & Piano

The Score (Link To PDF)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A727NRiUvCpj6bq_afYAi2WKwgcB7Bx-/view?usp=sharing

Bil Smith Composer

A Commission from Kubota

The Post-Conceptual Composer and Institutional Composition

The work of the post-conceptual composer is a contradiction intended to surprise both the listener and infinity. Ideas are the way a listener will refer to this surprise. The composer will state the idea as ludicrously infinite. 

Successful completions generally have been found to mitigate infinity. I predict we will see one such mitigation via Institutional Composition. This is a newly minted term meant to function as a post-conceptual commentary on infinity as well as the various institutions and assumed normalities of composing and/or a radical disarticulation of the institution of composition (radical is notationally understood in its relation to radix which means to get to the root of something). 

For instance, assumptions about the supposed aesthetic autonomy or neutrality of science fiction and fantasy are often explored as a subject in the field of literature, and are then historically and socially mapped out (i.e., ethnographically and or archaeologically) as discursive formations, then (re)framed within the context of The Infinite Library itself. 

As such, Institutional Composition seeks to make visible the historically and socially constructed boundaries between inside and outside, public and private.  Institutional Composition is often critical of the false separations often made between distinctions of taste and supposedly disinterested aesthetic judgment, and affirms that taste is an institutionally cultivated sensibility that may tend to differ according to the class, ethnic, sexual and gender backgrounds of music's audiences. 

The resulting work is meant to sound good. Sometimes the work suggests the form of the composer. I am grateful for the way a score presents itself as an autobiographical product of its creator and his/her place in the infinite. And yet, I have found this gratefulness tends to go awry in expressionist composition. 

It looks better when the score may more easily become a metric time element, a kind of objective tool that is an intrinsic part of the composer who is out to avoid subjectivity. This type of work is free even to be a belief, something that shows the size of a metric time element as representative of a belief.  The composition is representative of that belief.

Reinventing the String Quartet Tablature: A Work In Progress Bil Smith Composer

 

Reinventing the String Quartet Tablature: A Work In Progress

Bil Smith Composer

Score 30" X 30"

The Blank Tablature:

Details from score: