The Furies: A Laptopera - "Glorious Guilt"

Anne Hege, Ge Wang, Camille Noufi, and Elena Georgieva

Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression

Abstract

“Glorious Guilt” is an excerpt of The Furies: A Laptopera, originally premiered by the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk). In this scene, a collective controller, The Rope, acts as a barrier between the Furies and their victims (Electra and Orestia) as well as an instrument guiding harmony and rhythm accompanying the voices of the Fury chorus. The Furies surround the rope, collectively raising and lowering the rope with wave-like gestures to perform their ritual, “Glorious Guilt.” The rope is attached to six GameTrak Tether controllers spaced evenly around the rope. Each tether is attached to a laptop and gathers six axes of spatial information. This information determines the playback of various samples or sound synthesis depending on the instrument design. The sound is spatialized across hemispherical speakers so that each player has a localized instrument. The length and rate of change of the tethers control the playing of specific harmonic samples. Percussive samples are networked to a constant pulse controlled by a server computer and automated variations are introduced throughout the piece.Players control volume and, through volume, collective panning in real-time. As the rope gets pulled in different directions, the sound swells around the space. Through practice, the ensemble perfects a kind of Ouija board-like playing where the rope communally moves around the outskirts of the space, panning the beat as it travels. The basic song form of “Glorious Guilt” creates something familiar and, with the repetition, supports the ritualistic drama while allowing time for the audience to become acquainted with the instruments. This piece aptly introduces the laptopera, showcasing its potential to use physical, group-based, embodied interfaces to support dramatic elements and character relationships.

Citation

Anne Hege, Ge Wang, Camille Noufi, and Elena Georgieva. 2021. The Furies: A Laptopera - "Glorious Guilt". Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression. DOI: 10.21428/92fbeb44.7fbceebc [PDF]

BibTeX Entry

@inproceedings{nime2021_music_2,
 abstract = {“Glorious Guilt” is an excerpt of The Furies: A Laptopera, originally premiered by the Stanford Laptop Orchestra (SLOrk).  In this scene, a collective controller, The Rope, acts as a barrier between the Furies and their victims (Electra and Orestia) as well as an instrument guiding harmony and rhythm accompanying the voices of the Fury chorus. The Furies surround the rope, collectively raising and lowering the rope with wave-like gestures to perform their ritual, “Glorious Guilt.” The rope is attached to six GameTrak Tether controllers spaced evenly around the rope. Each tether is attached to a laptop and gathers six axes of spatial information. This information determines the playback of various samples or sound synthesis depending on the instrument design. The sound is spatialized across hemispherical speakers so that each player has a localized instrument. The length and rate of change of the tethers control the playing of specific harmonic samples.  Percussive samples are networked to a constant pulse controlled by a server computer and automated variations are introduced throughout the piece.Players control volume and, through volume, collective panning in real-time.  As the rope gets pulled in different directions, the sound swells around the space. Through practice, the ensemble perfects a kind of Ouija board-like playing where the rope communally moves around the outskirts of the space, panning the beat as it travels. The basic song form of “Glorious Guilt” creates something familiar and, with the repetition, supports the ritualistic drama while allowing time for the audience to become acquainted with the instruments. This piece aptly introduces the laptopera, showcasing its potential to use physical, group-based, embodied interfaces to support dramatic elements and character relationships.},
 address = {Shanghai, China},
 articleno = {2},
 author = {Anne Hege and Ge Wang and Camille Noufi and Elena Georgieva},
 booktitle = {Proceedings of the International Conference on New Interfaces for Musical Expression},
 doi = {10.21428/92fbeb44.7fbceebc},
 editor = {Eric Parren and Wei Chen},
 issn = {2220-4806},
 month = {June},
 title = {The Furies: A Laptopera - "Glorious Guilt"},
 track = {Music},
 url = {https://doi.org/10.21428/92fbeb44.7fbceebc},
 year = {2021}
}