solo cello
Composed 2001, duration 9’30”
Dedicated to Robert Ibell.
Performance by Robert Ibell, Wellington, 2001:
Performance by John Addison, Wellington, 2017:
Sinew/Synapse is concerned with ideas of connection: the causal links between brain and body, score and sound, performance gesture and sonic result. The musical materials existed first as independent objects, which were then manipulated to draw out links between them. The music deals particularly with areas in which the acoustical systems of the instrument become unstable, where a precisely specified physical gesture will produce an unpredictable sonic result. Many of the sounds hover around the threshold of audibility, and the performer is constantly involved in a delicate balancing act.
Sinew/Synapse is dedicated to the cellist Robert Ibell, whose role in the music’s evolution was invaluable.