Posthorn at NIME05 Festival, Vancouver, BC

via PALLADIO blog:
http://newsgrist.typepad.com/palladio/2005/05/posthorn_at_nim.html
image source<http://www.metmuseum.org/special/Hudson_River/gifford_more.htm>

*NIME 2005 <http://hct.ece.ubc.ca/nime/2005/index.html> - May 26-28
The 2005 International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression*
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC

*Concert Program <http://hct.ece.ubc.ca/nime/2005/concerts.html>* - School=

of Music, Recital Hall
THURSDAY, 19:30-21:30: OPENING Concert [full
program<http://hct.ece.ubc.ca/nime/2005/concerts.html>
]

*Posthorn *
*Ben Neilll, Bill Jones, composer/performers*
10 minutes

* Posthorn* is a live performance piece for my self-designed
mutantrumpet/electronics system. The work is titled after and based on
the *"Posthorn
solo"*, a section of the third movement of *Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 3*=
,
originally composed in 1898.

In Posthorn three computer programs respond to my playing in real time. The=

pitches and dynamics of my acoustic performance are translated into MIDI
information, then sent to all three programs simultaneously. The first
program enables me to trigger and modify the playback of MIDI sequences fro=
m
the mutantrumpet. The output of the program triggers a sample of the
orchestral chord which immediately precedes the entrance of the Posthorn
solo in the original symphony. As the piece progresses the sample is
modified in pitch, duration and density by the dynamic and pitch content of=

my acoustic playing as well as the mutantrumpet1s on-board MIDI controllers=
.
The second software is a live sampling program which enables me to grab
samples and modify them in real time with the same set of controllers. In=

Posthorn I live sample my own playing as well as the samples of the symphon=
y
that are being triggered. I also recall samples of other performances of th=
e
piece and combine them with the material that is evolving in real time. The=

third program runs on a second computer and translates the MIDI data from=

the mutantrumpet into real time video control. The MIDI input manipulates=

live digital video samples of *19th century landscape paintings* and *live=

action footage of pastoral landscapes*.
While the basic shape of Posthorn is fixed according to the melodic
structure of the Mahler piece, its details are improvised, depending on how=

I unfold the melodic material and the dynamics with which I play. My
decisions are influenced by feedback from the system, which guides the work=

into unforeseen areas each time it is performed.
*– Ben Neill*