Wednesday, March 27, 2024

"Imperial Catechism". For Piccolo and Corno da Caccia. The Full Score (PDF)


Corno da Caccia

"Imperial Catechism"

For Piccolo and Corno da Caccia

Bil Smith Composer


Published By LNM Editions

(Laboratorie New Music)

Link to The Full Score (PDF)


Within the score for "Imperial Catechism" we find a notational approach that eschews conventional musical symbols in favor of permutations of geometric forms and symbolic ciphers. These elements are paired and displaced, crafting a visual and auditory puzzle that beckons the performers to engage in a deeper level of interpretation and interaction with the piece. This method not only challenges the performers to rethink their approach to music-making but also invites them to traverse the poles of expressivity, from surplus to subjugation, within the framework of the composition.


The score of is a veritable playground of artifactual expression, exploiting the fluctuating value and overavailability of certain images within the current visual economy. By presenting these images in an alternate visual context, the composition transforms what might otherwise be considered exhausted motifs into elements of a fantasy that serves as a vehicle for exploring the legitimacy or absurdity of the underlying phenomena. This approach stages a paradoxical confrontation between excess and impoverishment—or precarity—highlighting the tension between abundance and lack that permeates the modern compositional experience.


In considering the contemporary doxa of sculptural notational production, "Imperial Catechism" occupies a unique position. The piece can be understood as contextualist, engaging with questions of site-specificity, discursive, and institutional criticality.















Tuesday, March 26, 2024

"Tastes of Silt and Sulphur" for Alto Clarinet, Flugelhorn and Euphonium


"Tastes of Silt and Sulphur" 

for Alto Clarinet, Flugelhorn and Euphonium

Bil Smith Composer

Published by LNM Editions

Link To Full Score PDF



Central of "Tastes of Silt and Sulphur" is a notational system dubbed a "framework shifting structural notation system." It was developed specifically for this score to afford performers a granular level of investigation into the music. This system is infinitely propositional, providing an architectural frame within which interpretation remains intriguingly unhoused.


Frame Shifting is not merely a theoretical concept but a call to action for musicians, composers, scholars, and educators to re-examine and expand the boundaries of how music is documented and notated. By embracing a wider array of artistic discourses and mediums, we can capture the richness and diversity of musical expression in ways that are both innovative and inclusive. In doing so, we pave the way for a more comprehensive and cross-cultural understanding of music that honors its multifaceted nature.


This approach to notation forms an elemental stratum in the accreted layers of what can only be described as hyper-tonal notational symbology. Through this method, the composition transcends traditional musical boundaries, offering a spectrum of tonal possibilities that challenge both the performers' technical abilities and interpretative prowess. The score becomes a living document, endlessly adaptable and open to the personal insights and creativity of those who engage with it.



In "Tastes of Silt and Sulphur," the use of such a complex and flexible notational system mirrors the thematic essence of the piece—the elemental, almost primordial, sensations evoked by its title. Just as silt and sulphur suggest layers of geological and chemical transformation, so too does the score invite performers and listeners to experience layers of musical transformation.