Fulgura Frango: Breath-Extended Harpsichord

Fulgura Frango is a composition for extended harpsichord and electronics. It is conceptually inspired by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre's opera Céphale et Procris, and many of its techniques refer to Cephale's bow and arrow that mistakenly pierced Procris's unwavering heart. Procris is represented by a steady passacaglia reminiscent of de la Guerre's baroque harmonies, and it is interrupted by multiple interventions: bowing of an amplified horsehair tied to a harpsichord string, goose quill glissandos on the upper tuning pins, and e-bow placements on a small psaltery. In this tragic love story, the cycle of bowing and being stricken represents a perpetual shooting and dying and loving and shooting and dying and loving. In addition, the performer controls frequency shifting parameters through a max patch that takes in his breath data as measured through a hexoskin. Thoracic inhale pitch-shifts up, whereas abdominal inhale pitch-shifts down, so a taking in a breath increases resulting frequency output. Though harpsichord is not a wind instrument, the musician's breath is an interesting and often unnoticed part of the performance. The performer can also intentionally manipulate the live electronics with their breath, adding another dimension to the composition.