Estremo d’ombra: an interactive electronic composition

Abstract

In Estremo d’ombra, for five soloists and electronics (2015), an interactive system was developed in order to enable the synchronisation between the performers and the live electronics – consisting of real-time processing and synthesis – to be composed in detail. This system led to the creation of a ‘centralised’ score for the electronics realised in the Antescofo programming language, which pilots electroacoustic processes executed in the SuperCollider and Max/MSP environments and displays scores for the performers in openFrameworks. The Antescofo system allows for the expression of temporally complex interactions involving the instrumentalists, rendering the composition of the real-time electronics more dynamic and expressive. This system eliminated the need for a conductor or a pedal of activation, thereby allowing the performers to interact and move more freely. The staging of the work is emphasised by lighting and a symbolic dramatic narrative.