This document provides summaries of sound design and composition work by Patrick Jansen for various theatrical productions. It describes 15 projects, listing for each the title, play, concept, instruments/software used, and a brief description of the sound design or composition. The projects cover works for plays such as "Eurydice", "Arcadia", "Art", and others. Methods include live instrumentation, field recordings, digital signal processing and others.
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1. Patrick Jansen
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Title Show Method Concept
‘1’, ‘6’, ‘12’
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Electric
Guitar, E-
Bow, manual
fader riding on
Analog 24.8
Mackie,
GarageBand
Eurydice’s father builds her a string house in
the underworld. I took the idea of string
literally- adding a new note into the multitrack
via manual board fade for each string (12 total)
the actor used to build the house. Each track
has slightly higher levels on the new layer for
clarity and highlight of dissonance.
Arcadia
Waltz
‘Arcadia’ –
Tom
Stoppard
Piano,
Sibelius 6
I was commissioned to write a waltz that
spanned the generations and time periods in
which ‘Arcadia’ takes place. I drew inspiration
from a simple ‘pop-Baroque’ progression with
a hint at Classical era voice-leading. The
melody confirms its Classical conception, and
adds ornamentation and dissonance as the
piece continues, much in the way a more
Romantic composer might have performed it.
Art
‘Art’ –
Yasmina
Reza
Electric Guitar
Harmonics,
Swells, Delay,
Attack Point
Composition,
GarageBand,
Sibelius 6
The script concerns a piece of minimalist
artwork in which value and structure is
debated. In order to accentuate the tension, I
kept the tempo and harmony constant, only
adding layers of harmonics. The first layer
does not make sense on its own- only when
the rest of the layers are added does anything
have any meaning. Much inspiration was
drawn from the Third Movement of Steve
Reich’s ‘Electric Counterpoint’
Dies Irae
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Baritone,
Large
Diaphragm
Condenser,
GarageBand,
Digital Reverb
Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) is from the Roman
Catholic Mass for the Dead whose lyrics
reference David and Sybil. I changed the
original key, melody and lyrics to also quote
the ‘Fate’ motive Beethoven’s 5th Symphony at
the end over the final text ‘cum Eurydice’,
translating in its new form to ‘Day of wrath and
doom impending, David’s word and Eurydice’s
blending’, therefore implicating Eurydice for the
tragedy that has unfolded. In order to increase
diction in the incredibly wet recording, I added
a completely dry track at a lower gain level.
Inspiration for this incredibly wet sound came
from the recent acoustic research at the
Hypogeum of Hal Saflieni.
(http://bit.ly/1GG9qnx)
2. Patrick Jansen
Patrick Jansen
Door
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Bösendorfer
97-key grand
piano, sustain
pedal, Large
Diaphragm
Condenser,
GarageBand,
Digital
Reverb,
Tuning
As Eurydice is drawn into the Nasty Interesting
Man/Lord of The Underworld’s room, there is a
sound of a door slamming, presumably the
door between the over world, Purgatory (the
apartment), and the underworld. IN order to
dramatize this, I recorded the sound of the lid
of the piano dropped on the body whilst
holding the sustain pedal, creating a
cavernous droning sound. I then added reverb
and tuned it down an octave in order to give it
resonance and depth.
Elevator ‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Metal
Railings,
Wood Block,
Large
Diaphragm
Condenser,
SM57,
GarageBand
Digital
Reverb,
Tuning
In rehearsal, I heard the stage manager clank
the wooden key against a metal railing in the
Theater, and found inspiration for a creepy
elevator ding. I recorded the sound of three or
four different pitched railings in stereo, lowered
their pitch, and added reverb to give it a
resonant, but dulled ‘ding’.
Emma
Ritter
‘When I Am
Laid’ – Dido
and
Aeneas –
Henry
Purcell
One Large
Diaphragm
Condenser,
GarageBand
This is more of a recording arts feature. I was
requested to do a Graduate Audition recording,
but only had access to one microphone, so I
placed it in such a way as to capture the warm
sound of the Steinway grand piano while still
allowing the vocalist to showcase their
incredible instrument in its capacity. I
controlled the stage plot, and was therefore
able to use physical placement to affect
auditory perception, as opposed to using
panning or individual levels to create the
desired mix. The recording was accepted, and
Emma is currently pursing her M.M. in Vocal
Performance at Eastman.
Footfall
Chimes
‘Footfalls’ –
Samuel
Beckett
Stereo Pair –
Avantone CK-
1,
GarageBand
A quick recording of a sinister chime noise. I
used Chinese finger cymbals and a Tubular
Bell to create a strong ringing dissonance
brought about by chromatic dissonance
through displaced octaves. Again, reverb was
added to enhance the presence of the sound.
Quad
‘Quad’ –
Samuel
Beckett
Piano,
Sibelius 6
‘Quad’ is strictly a movement piece, so I
focused on creating a driving force behind the
lines I write. There is a four beat ‘Intro’ which
prepares the actors to start the piece, as well
3. Patrick Jansen
Patrick Jansen
as a five beat ‘Outro’ to play them out. The
score is very easy to follow, and indicates
which of the four lines are playing. In order to
further assist the actors in keeping time
through the changing rhythms, I added an
accent and an octave at the beginning of each
measure, each denoting a change of direction.
SFL
‘The School
for Lies’ –
David Ives
Harpsichord,
Sibelius 6
‘The School for Lies’ is based on Moliere’s
‘The Misanthrope’, and is like ‘Arcadia’ in the
sense that it has to do with an understood, but
unacknowledged sense of anachronism. As
such, I composed an introduction of Baroque
music with modulations typical of the era. After
that, however, I launched into anachronism,
writing variations on a Romantic theme
(Dvorak Symphony No. 9, from the New
World) and a Classical theme (Beethoven
Symphony No. 5).
String
House
Deconstruct
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Baritone,
Large
Diaphragm
Condenser,
GarageBand,
Digital
Reverb,
Audacity
I actually used the same sound effect twice in
the show. The first time was when Eurydice’s
father was deconstructing her string house,
and the director wanted a sound ‘akin to a long
groan from a football team’s loss.’ It was
played at a very low volume level to barely
cross the listener’s audible threshold. The
second time is when Orpheus turns back to
see Eurydice, thus losing her forever. The
stage direction reads ‘THE WORLD FALLS
AWAY’, and along with a strong red light cue,
this sound effect played at a high level,
simulating the groan of the entire underworld.
This is the same exact two tracks as the ‘Dies
Irae’, but taken through Audacity and slowed
down by 66.6%.
The Melody
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
Piano,
Sibelius 6
This is a melody that the script calls for that
Orpheus writes for Eurydice in the First
Movement. I used this only to teach the actors
the melody, as they sang it acoustically on
stage. It is referenced a few times later on in
the stage directions.
The Yada
Yada
‘The Yada
Yada’ –
Sterling
Long
Bass, Horn
Section,
Auxiliary
Percussion,
Sibelius 6
The Yada Yada is a new script written by a
good friend and fellow student at Valparaiso
University. It has not yet been produced, but in
order for him to help pitch his script, he
requested the ‘Theme’ be composed à la
Seinfeld’s slap bass.
4. Patrick Jansen
Patrick Jansen
Third
Movement
‘Eurydice’ –
Sarah Ruhl
SATB Choir,
Sibelius 6
In the Third Movement of the Script, there is a
stage direction that reads to the effect of ‘The
Melody that Orpheus wrote, over and over’. In
order to accomplish this, I used the melody as
a structure which I harmonized in ever-
brightening keys, from Eb (three flats) through
the circle of 5ths to D Major (two sharps). In
the score, the melody (whose intervallic and
rhythmic proportions remain intact throughout,
while the pitch level changes) is visually
highlighted with phrase markings, and once
the D Major section begins, the melody’s
entrances become more and more truncated,
until in measures 33-34, all four voices are at
different points in the melody, and the melody
is harmonizing itself.