Squirt
1994
alto saxophone + fixed medium (stereo)
13’18”
In 1994, I became very interested in the live action paintings of artists such as Jackson Pollock. What particularly fascinated me technically about their work was the methodology of spontaneous expression followed by modelling to produce the desired result. Henri Michaux, more widely known for his poetry, would create work in this way, squirting ink or paint onto a canvas and then smearing it to produce images.
I wanted to be able to do something similar using sound as the medium - to be able to project a sound into a landscape and then to model and reshape that sound, creating new images. The most obvious example of this is seen in the first gesture of the piece where the saxophonist "squirts" a sound out into the space, which is subsequently smeared. Throughout the piece various squirts and smears, in both the saxophone and tape parts, serve to articulate other material derived from this opening squirt/smear gesture.
Squirt was composed for Doug Skinner and premiered by him in April 1995 at Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. The fixed medium part was realised in the Electroacoustic Music Studios at Northern College, Aberdeen.
Recording
Squirt (alto saxophone - Griffin Campbell) appears on Florida Electroacoustic Music Festival Vol.1 available from electrocd
PERUSAL SCORE
BUY SCORE + SOUND FILE
Performances
1995
Apr 13 - Southwest Texas State University, San Marcos, USA - ARTWORKS; alto sax - Doug Skinner
1996
Mar 29 - University of Florida, Gainesville, USA - 5th Florida Festival of Electroacoustic Music; alto sax - Griffin Campbell
Aug 22 - City Hall, Kowloon, Hong Kong - International Computer Music Conference; alto sax - Daniel Kientzy
1997
Feb - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA - 52nd Festival of Contemporary Music; alto sax - Griffin Campbell
Mar - Stevenson Hall, RSAMD, Glasgow; alto sax – Matthew Smith
Jun - Northwestern University, Illinois, US; alto sax – Rachel McLarin
1998
Feb - Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; alto sax – Rachel McLarin
2000
Nov - Adam State College, Alamosa, Colorado, USA; alto sax – Griffin Campbell
2001
Mar 4 - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA; alto sax - Griffin Campbell
Nov - The Warehouse, London; alto sax - Steve Cottrell
2002
Feb - Crewe and Alsager College, Crewe; alto sax – Steve Cottrell
May D H Lawrence Theatre, Nottingham alto sax - Steve Cottrell
2003
Jun 6 - Hilldale Lutheran Church, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; alto sax - Cliff Ojala
Apr 10 - Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, USA; alto sax - Michael Strauss
Nov 24 - Foldover, WOBC 91.5 FM, Oberlin, Ohio, USA; alto sax - Griffin Campbell
Aug 7-23 - Museum Paco das Artes, Sao Paulo, Brazil - FILE (International Electronic Language Festival)
2004
Mar 1 - Universidade FM Radio Station, 107.9 MHz - Springel & Zabrinsky Radio Programme
2006
Mar 3 - University of Manchester - MANTIS Festival; alto sax - Charlotte Bradburn
Apr 9 - Griswold Hall, Peabody Institute, Baltimore USA - Peabody Computer Music; alto sax - Rose Hammer
2010
Feb 28 - Martian Gardens, WMUA 91.1 FM, USA - Martian Gardens
2018
Mar 8 - Phipp’s Hall, University of Huddersfield Annual Saxophone Day; alto sax – Richard Ingham
2021
Jan 28 - Online (Zoom) - soundfestival 2020; alto sax - Richard Ingham