"Wisp of Time on Borrowed Sands" for Solo Violin

                     

Symbolic Essence in "Wisp of Time on Borrowed Sands for Violin"

This piece, comprising 34 enigmatically orchestrated cards and a Guilloche-based tablature, intertwines the essence of existential inquiry with a symphony of visual and textual symbols, inviting both performer and audience into a deeply introspective dialogue.

At the heart of this composition lies a proprietary notational system, which replaces conventional staves with intricate Guilloche patterns—spiral designs that evoke the complexity of identity and the intricacies of memory. These patterns serve as both a map and a maze, guiding the musician through a fractal landscape of sound and silence, challenge and discovery.

Parametric Performance

The structure of the piece is determined parametrically, with the order and interpretation of the cards left to the discretion of the performer. This method grants each musician the agency to shape the narrative arc of the composition, reflecting a fascination with the mutable nature of storytelling, where each interpretation layers upon the last, creating a palimpsest of personal and collective experiences.

Fractured Neologisms and Rhetorical Inquiry

Each card is embedded with fractured neologisms and rhetorical questions presenting a piercing and poignant use of language. These elements prod the performer to delve into introspective realms, exploring themes of temporality, existence, and the ephemeral nature of being. The questions are not mere textual decorations but are profound, existential prompts that challenge the performer to explore beyond the physical act of performance into the metaphysical space that music occupies.

The Silhouetted Adventure Woman

Central to the thematic exploration of the score is the recurrent motif of the Silhouetted Adventure Woman. This figure, appearing on each card, transcends mere visual artistry to become a symbol of the journey itself. She is both guide and metaphor, a shadowy presence that beckons the performer toward uncharted territories of emotional and psychological depth. Her inclusion is a nod to the dual nature of exploration—both external and internal—that characterizes every artistic endeavor. Her presence resonates with Plath’s exploration of the female psyche, manifesting both vulnerability and the boldness of exploration, inviting a deeper contemplation of the performer’s own narrative and identity as they navigate through the piece.

Jubal Notational Constructs

The introduction of Jubal notational constructs—layered concentric circles imbued with texture and vibrant hues—further complicates the visual and interpretative framework of the score. These constructs do not merely serve as ornamental; they are integral to the thematic structure of the piece, symbolizing the cyclical nature of life and the recursive process of artistic creation. 

"Reach" for Guitar

"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.

"Proctor of The Misconstruction Emporium." A Fanfare for Two Trumpets and Megaphone

"Proctor of The Misconstruction Emporium"

A Fanfare for Two Trumpets and Megaphone

Bil Smith Composer

Large Format Score 22" X 20"

2024

Link to PDF:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tL-YYhdl2uvFg_rhDHPXclru5hhy5R54/view?usp=sharing

The score of "Proctor of The Misconstruction Emporium" recontextualizes the traditional trumpet fanfare within a modernist framework that challenges the historical and ceremonial connotations of the trumpet's sound. Instead of serving as a straightforward call to attention or a marker of significant societal events, this fanfare delves into the realm of the abstract and the introspective, reflecting the complexities of modern narratives and identities.

The incorporation of a megaphone alongside traditional trumpets in this score is particularly noteworthy. This combination not only amplifies the physical sound of the instruments but also metaphorically amplifies the urgency and the contemporary relevance of the fanfare. The megaphone, a tool commonly associated with public announcements and grassroots activism, transforms the fanfare from a symbol of hierarchical or institutional authority into a vehicle for personal expression and public intervention.

Historically, the use of the trumpet fanfare can be traced back to ancient civilizations, where instruments similar to the trumpet were used in religious and military contexts. In the Middle Ages, the trumpet was a staple in courts and battlefields. Its use in fanfares was tightly controlled by guilds, and playing the trumpet was often a right reserved for those belonging to specific societal classes. By the time of the Baroque period, the trumpet had evolved into a key musical instrument in courts across Europe, used both in orchestras and to herald the arrival of monarchs and other dignitaries.

In classical music, fanfares composed by figures like Claudio Monteverdi and Jean-Baptiste Lully incorporated trumpets to emphasize regality and grandeur. The trumpet's role continued to evolve through the Romantic era and into the 20th century, where composers like Aaron Copland used fanfares to evoke feelings of American resilience and unity during challenging times.

This piece, in its refusal to conform to normative musical structures, does not merely exist within the realm of sound but extends its reach into the realm of spatial theory, particularly the "geographical" as an essential component of its composition. This geographical dimension does not refer to physical space alone but to the conceptual and cultural spaces that the music inhabits and invokes.

This score's relationship with location and context underscores a fundamental critique of traditional musicology's reliance on the monocular perspective—the idea that a score must serve as a transparent medium through which the composer's intentions are unproblematically realized by the performer. Instead, "Proctor of The Misconstruction Emporium" subverts this by presenting a score that acts as a site of struggle between the composer's intentions and the performer's interpretation, between the notation's prescriptive authority and the performative act's creative potential.

SCORE DETAIL:

 

Excerpt from the Score: "Luxtrapathy, Capitalocene, and the Logicade" for Trumpet and Cello

 

Reframing Music Notation: The Pharmacological Imaginary (Part Two)

 

The Pharmacological Imaginary: Reframing Notation 

If the notational process, as outlined in The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia, reveals a complex interplay of composer intention and performer agency, then its successor—The Pharmacological Imaginary—proposes a step further: a speculative architecture of musical meaning. Drawing influence from the fractured geometries of architects Lebbeus Woods and Thom Mayne, the typographic disruptions of David Carson, and the conceptual provocations of Barbara Kruger and Ed Ruscha, this reimagining turns notation into a hyper-textual construct where layers of meaning collide and refract.

Notation as Speculative Blueprint

Lebbeus Woods once said that architecture could be an "instrument of transformation rather than stability." In this vein, The Pharmacological Imaginary treats notation not as a stable grammar but as a speculative blueprint—a framework for sonic potentialities that exists in a perpetual state of becoming. Each notational gesture—whether linguistic, graphic, or spatial—functions less as a directive and more as an architectural fragment, evoking the incomplete yet evocative structures of Woods’ dystopian visions.

Consider the term Oscilith, embedded within a score as both linguistic artifact and graphic node. Its phonetics suggest oscillation, a wavering instability, while its visual placement might resemble a fragmentary beam intersecting with chaotic vectors of traditional notation. Here, the score becomes a fragmented architecture—a labyrinth where performers must navigate disjunctures between sound, language, and space.

The Typographic Terrain: Disruption as Aesthetic

Borrowing from David Carson’s chaotic typographic landscapes, The Pharmacological Imaginary rejects the clarity of conventional notation in favor of a disrupted textuality. Each neologism within the system—constructed with the precision of a pharmaceutical naming architect like Bill Smith—functions as both a sonic catalyst and a visual rupture. The terms are deliberately illegible in the conventional sense, demanding a performative interpretation that oscillates between reading, seeing, and hearing.

Take the example of Velocryptin. Its jagged phonetics conjure notions of speed and concealment, yet its typographic representation might appear fractured, with overlapping glyphs creating the impression of a sonic velocity tearing through the notational fabric. This visual disruption transforms the score into a dynamic field where linguistic artifacts resist fixed interpretation, much like Carson’s deconstructed typographies challenge the reader’s expectations.

Neological Precision: The Influence of Bill Smith

Bill Smith, the visionary neologist behind iconic pharmaceutical names such as Exondys, Abilify, Viagra, Remicade, Lantus, and Evenity, brings a unique perspective to the creation of linguistic artifacts within notation. His ability to synthesize phonetic elegance, semantic resonance, and functional clarity informs The Pharmacological Imaginary’s lexicon.

Consider the term Chronovance. Like Smith’s pharmaceutical creations, this term balances evocative phonetics with conceptual depth. The "chrono" root suggests temporality, while "vance" implies forward momentum or advancement. This duality invites performers to interpret the term as a marker of time manipulation or progressive unfolding, paralleling the interpretative freedom Smith’s names offer within their therapeutic contexts.

Smith’s methodology—blending etymology, sound symbolism, and functional relevance—aligns seamlessly with the Pharmacopeia’s goal of creating a notational lexicon that is simultaneously provocative and purposeful. Each term becomes a microcosm of possibility, challenging performers to extract meaning from its layered implications.

Agostino Bonalumi

Notational Reliefs: The Influence of Bonalumi

Incorporating the aesthetic of Agostino Bonalumi’s three-dimensional reliefs, The Pharmacological Imaginary treats the score as a sculptural object. Notation becomes a hyper-surface where linguistic elements protrude and recede, creating layers of interpretative depth.

For instance, a term like Spectratine might be inscribed within a raised segment of the page, its physical elevation suggesting a sonic emphasis or spatial projection. These sculptural notations disrupt the two-dimensionality of traditional scores, compelling performers to engage with the score as both visual and tactile artifact.

Semiotic Collisions: The Kruger Effect

Barbara Kruger’s conceptual practice, with its bold textual interventions and interrogations of power, informs the Pharmacopeia’s capacity for semiotic collision. Each term within the system—like Somnex or Chronovance—acts as a conceptual trigger, inviting performers to navigate the tensions between linguistic signification and sonic realization.

Kruger’s directness finds resonance in the Pharmacopeia’s ethical stance: it demands that performers confront the multiplicity of meaning embedded within the score, rejecting reductive interpretations. This confrontation parallels the dynamic interplay of language and authority in Kruger’s work, positioning the score as a site of dialogic tension.

The Temporal Landscape: Beuysian Flux

Joseph Beuys’ ethos of transformation and fluidity informs the Pharmacopeia’s temporal dimension. Terms like Temporis or Chronotrope function as chronotopic markers, disrupting linear time and introducing flux into the score’s unfolding. These markers operate as temporal catalysts, compelling performers to inhabit moments of suspension, acceleration, or recursion.

Beuys’ concept of the social sculpture finds its analog here: the performer becomes an active participant in shaping the temporal architecture of the piece, transforming the score from static object to living process.

The Ruscha Layer: Language as Image

Ed Ruscha’s playful yet incisive engagement with text informs the Pharmacopeia’s treatment of language as both semantic and aesthetic material. A term like Lumivox, for instance, might be rendered in bold, luminescent typography, its visual presence amplifying its sonic implications.

Ruscha’s work underscores the Pharmacopeia’s central proposition: that language within the score is not merely read but experienced. Each term becomes a locus of aesthetic and performative potential, bridging the gap between linguistic abstraction and sonic realization.

Conclusion: Toward an Open Notational Ecology

The Pharmacological Imaginary repositions musical notation as a speculative architecture, one that draws from the disruptive geometries of Woods and Mayne, the typographic experiments of Carson, the neological precision of Bill Smith, and the conceptual provocations of Kruger, Beuys, and Ruscha. It is a system that resists stability, embracing instead the productive disjunctions between composer, performer, and score.

In this ecology, notation becomes a living process—a hyper-surface of meaning where language, sound, and image collide and refract. The Pharmacological Imaginary challenges us to think beyond the fixed hierarchies of traditional scores, inviting us into a labyrinth of interpretative possibility. It is not merely a notation system but a speculative act, a reimagining of the score as a space of infinite potential.

'The Notebooks'. Colaboratorie (Spectrum Series).

"Posh Hitter" for Piano

"Posh Hitter" 

for Piano

Bil Smith Composer

A Commission from SKF Group

The Notational Pharmacopeia

 

The Notational Pharmacopeia: A New Dimension in Contemporary Music Notation

The notational process is not merely the transcription of sonic intentions but a multifaceted architecture wherein the gestures of the composer collide with the interpretative faculties of the performer. In this interplay lies the potential for a rich and destabilizing dialectic, one which refuses the simplicity of unilateral transmission. It is within this framework of productive tension that the concept of The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia emerges—a radical reimagining of musical notation as a site of dense semiotic entanglement.

By interspersing the score with neologisms representing fictional pharmaceuticals, this system introduces a lexicon of performative cues that function not as explicit directives but as sites of interpretative provocation. Each term, carefully constructed and strategically deployed, operates as a complex signifier, entangling linguistic, conceptual, and sonic dimensions. In doing so, The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia expands the boundaries of notation, compelling the performer to engage with the material as a labyrinthine field of possibilities rather than a finite roadmap.

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Structural Foundations: Neologism as Notational Catalyst

The pharmacopeia, in its hypothetical guise, is not merely a catalog of invented terms but a carefully orchestrated topology of meaning. Each name—a linguistic artifact blending the poetics of pharmaceutical nomenclature with the abstraction of speculative fiction—exists as a node within the score’s broader semiotic network. These neologisms, while suggestive, resist reductive interpretation, offering instead a multiplicity of potentialities.

Take, for instance, the term Somnotrope. Phonetically, it evokes a drowsy momentum, suggesting decaying textures or languorous, disarticulated rhythms. Yet the term’s construction—its implicit etymological threads—might also hint at cyclical, somnambulistic patterns, inviting the performer to consider how repetition and disruption might coexist within the same gesture. Here, the name functions as a fulcrum, destabilizing the simplistic binary of instruction and execution.

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Performative Praxis: Interpretation as Pharmacological Experimentation

Within this notational paradigm, the performer is neither a passive decoder of instructions nor a mere executor of preordained material. Instead, they are positioned as a speculative pharmacologist, tasked with synthesizing the pharmacopeia’s latent implications into an embodied sonic reality. The process is one of experimentation, of iterative engagement with the score’s proliferating layers of meaning.

Consider the neologism Tactilysin. The term, with its quasi-scientific aura, may suggest a focus on tactile interaction with the instrument—perhaps emphasizing percussive articulations, unstable bowings, or exaggerated haptic gestures. Yet its inherent ambiguity resists closure, demanding that the performer navigate an interpretative landscape that is both richly suggestive and deliberately indeterminate.

In this way, The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia functions as a destabilizing force, compelling the performer to abandon the comfort of fixed readings and embrace the contingency of their interpretative agency.

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Density and Multiplicity: The Score as a Hyper-Surface

If the pharmacopeia is the lexicon of this notational system, then the score itself is its grammar—a complex, multi-layered hyper-surface wherein these linguistic artifacts are embedded. The pharmacopeia does not operate in isolation but in dialogue with a dense network of notational symbols, spatial configurations, and structural markers.

The term Echolynth, for example, might appear in a section of the score where rhythmic density is maximal, its phonetic resemblance to “echo” suggesting recursive structures or layered repetitions. Yet its visual placement—perhaps adjacent to a graphic notation resembling a spiral—might further invite considerations of timbral decay, spectral layering, or spatial diffusion.

This interplay between the pharmacopeia and the score’s visual architecture exemplifies the system’s core principle: the generation of meaning through density and multiplicity rather than clarity and univocity.

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Temporal Displacement: The Pharmacopeia as Chronotopic Marker

The pharmacopeia’s terms are not merely spatial signifiers but temporal markers, each one suggesting a unique relationship to the unfolding of musical time. These markers operate as displacements, disrupting the linear flow of the score and introducing moments of rupture, suspension, or acceleration.

Take, for instance, Chronovectis. This term, with its implications of directional time, might suggest a transition from measured rhythm to an improvisatory, time-stretched texture. Yet its placement within the score—perhaps preceding a sudden reduction in dynamic density—might also imply a moment of reflective stasis, a folding of temporal flow back onto itself.

In this way, the pharmacopeia serves as a mechanism for temporal destabilization, challenging the performer to navigate an unfolding structure that is perpetually in flux.

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Interpretative Ethics: The Pharmacopeia and the Agency of the Performer

At its core, The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia is an ethical proposition. It demands that both composer and performer engage in a collaborative process of meaning-making, one that resists the authoritarian imposition of fixed interpretations. The composer, in constructing the pharmacopeia, relinquishes control over its ultimate realization, trusting the performer to inhabit its ambiguities and realize its latent potentialities.

Conversely, the performer must approach the pharmacopeia not as a puzzle to be solved but as a field of negotiation, a space where their interpretative agency can unfold within the constraints of the score’s semiotic architecture.

This ethical stance aligns with the broader aesthetic principles of contemporary music: an embrace of complexity, a rejection of reductive certainties, and a commitment to the open-endedness of the creative act.

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Conclusion: Toward a Pharmacological Aesthetic

The Hypothetical Pharmacopeia is not merely a notational innovation; it is a radical reimagining of the relationship between composer, performer, and score. By embedding linguistic artifacts into the fabric of the score, it disrupts traditional hierarchies of meaning and invites a multiplicity of interpretations.

In this system, the score becomes a site of dialogic interplay, a space where the composer’s intentions intersect with the performer’s agency to generate an emergent sonic reality. It is a pharmakon in the truest sense: both remedy and poison, both constraint and liberation.

Let us then embrace the pharmacopeia as a new dimension in contemporary music notation—a dimension that challenges us to reimagine the possibilities of the score, to reconfigure the dynamics of interpretation, and to reassert the primacy of the creative act.

Neo-Conceptualism and Notational Syntax: "Luxtrapathy, Capitalocene, and the Logicade" for Trumpet and Cello

Rooted in the roiling undercurrents of neo-conceptualism, this work dares to be manifesto and riddle, a dense, sonic palimpsest whose aesthetics spiral into a ceaseless interplay with semiotics and ideology, calling forth a polyphony of discourse. Here, at the juncture where conceptual art marries the serpentine tendrils of post-structuralist thought and music's restless innovation, the piece asserts itself as an excavation—a layered exploration into the shadowy caverns of signification. What does music mean? And beyond that, what does meaning, in its unsteady teetering, mean?

Aesthetic Framework and Methodology

The score—or is it a site? A map? A battlefield?—is forged through installations of cool restraint, their affective charge concealed beneath the rigor of their form. Across both the monumental and the diminutive, these works reproduce texts with a precision that feels at once obsessive and detached. These fragments—pulled from psychoanalysis, communication theory, political science, jurisprudence, and economics—become something akin to artifacts in a reliquary. Yet, unlike static relics, they breathe, hum, and resonate, weaving themselves into the contrapuntal fabric of the musical narrative. The score does not simply use text; it inhabits it, inhabiting the contradiction of being at once a musical object and a critical aperture.

Visually, the score pulsates with an almost unbearable saturation—colors bleed, fragments clash, the whole shimmering as if on the verge of disintegration. This oversaturation is no mere flourish; it is the work's refusal of dogma, a deliberate counterpoint to the rigidity of traditional musical texts. Every note, every mark on the page, exposes the fissures within the system of musical notation itself. Universality becomes a fiction laid bare, its incompleteness revealed. This is not a document that demands to be played; it is a demand to be thought. To wrestle with the impossibility of its completeness is to participate in the work’s reimagining of what musical and intellectual creation can be.

Here lies not resolution but aperture: a gleaming, jagged invitation to thought and sound. What emerges is not music as we know it, but music as a question, endlessly refracting.

Aesthetic Framework and Methodology

The score is crafted through sober installations characterized by a consistent style. It comprises both small and large-format works where fragments of texts are meticulously reproduced. These texts draw on disciplines such as psychoanalysis, communication theory, political science, jurisprudence, and economics, weaving them into the fabric of the musical narrative. The use of text within the score underscores its dual function as both a musical artifact and a site of critical inquiry.

The visual and notational elements of the score reflect an oversaturation of color and meticulously arranged fragments. This aesthetic strategy not only enhances its visual impact but also serves as a counter-illustration to traditional dogmatic musical texts. The resulting work challenges the universality of musical notation, revealing its inherent incompleteness and opening up new spaces for thought and interpretation.

Neo-Conceptualism and Notational Syntax

The score's neo-conceptualist foundation addresses the ideological constructs embedded in systems of notation and their corresponding semiotic frameworks. By deconstructing these systems, I create a counter-linguistic critique that highlights the essential limitations of musical notation as a universal language.

This critique is supplemented by the juxtaposition of iconic and notational rules, allowing for reciprocal transfers of meaning between aesthetic and semantic information. The resulting "literal" intersection is where the work finds its core: a space where meaning is not purged nor confined to referentiality but exists in a dynamic exchange of iconic and linguistic structures.

Excerpt from the Score: "Luxtrapathy, Capitalocene, and the Logicade" for Trumpet and Cello

 

Thoughts on Bespoke Performance Notes

 

Thoughts on Bespoke Performance Notes

I have found in my compositions, particularly those that utilize alternative notational systems, the traditional approach of providing uniform performance notes often falls short in capturing the unique essence of each performance. This realization has led me to adopt a personalized approach, one that respects and harnesses the individuality of each performer. Like a tailor crafting a bespoke suit, I write customized performance notes for each of my compositions, ensuring they fit the musician's technical and interpretative prowess .

I begin with a simple, yet essential step: getting to know the performer. By requesting recordings of their previous performances, I engage in a process akin to reading a personal diary. These recordings offer a glimpse into their technical skills, interpretative abilities, and, most importantly, their unique musical voice.

Once the essence of the performer is understood, the task of tailoring the performance notes begins. This process is not just about adjusting the technicalities to suit the performer's skills but about aligning the composition's soul with the performer's spirit. The performance guidance is crafted to resonate with the musician's strengths, to challenge them appropriately, and to guide them in interpreting the composition in a way that is both true to its essence and their own.

In music, as in life, one size does not fit all. A composition, especially one that deviates from traditional notation, demands a unique interpretation each time it is performed. Standardized performance notes, while providing a foundation, often limit the performer's ability to fully express themselves and the composition. By providing customized guidance, I open a world of possibilities, allowing the performer to explore the depths of the composition and their relationship with it.

Alternative notational systems, by their very nature, invite a broader range of interpretation. They are not bound by the rigid structures of traditional music notation, offering instead a canvas on which the performer can paint their interpretation. Customized performance notes serve as the brushes and colors, chosen specifically for the artist at hand, allowing them to fully realize the potential of these innovative systems.

The result of this tailored approach is a performance that is not just a rendition of a composition but a conversation between the composer, the performer, and the audience. It is a performance that breathes with the life of the musician, infused with their personality, their emotions, and their story. This approach does not just elevate the quality of the performance; it transforms it into an intimate, personal experience for everyone involved.

This approach acknowledges that every musician brings something unique to the table, and it is this uniqueness that breathes life into a composition. By tailoring the performance notes to the artist's essence, I not only honor their individuality but also enrich the musical experience for all.