blissful ignorance
知らぬの仏(2021) for two performers

As a painter I often think of myself as creating topographical representations of a given moment. I transmit these sensations into the canvas through applying thick paint to linen canvas. These patterns are like frozen ripples in the water showing shockwaves that emanate from our feet hitting the ground, a sonic boom that is emitted by the movement of a second hand, and the ripples of a single word as it tears through the air. This sound could also be a human voice, traveling through the air striking another person's ear drum which then elicits a response that may or may not be perceivable by the other party. Frozen in gesso, these ripples cease to be tied to their original point of origin and become a shared exploration of space and movement. Blissful Ignorance attempts to translate the sensations of painting into sonic expressions and deals with music making in isolation.

It is part of my ongoing series of works “Sonic Cartography,” a type of emotional map building process. Works like “Blissful Ignorance” use pre-recorded and processed audio stimuli in combination with written instructions. Performers listen to audio cues and respond in real time according to the written score, creating a more spontaneous and intimate means of creating music that also allows for increased individual performer agency.

These compositions are not a perfect recreation of the audio scores that they hear but are instead a unique and individual translations of a series of musical objects.

Blissful Ignorance 知らぬの仏 was written for and dedicated to the SANS; duo. It was premiered on youtube April 19, 2022.

Blissful Ignorance 知らぬの仏 is 9 minutes long.

Patrick Breiner (tenor sax) and Brian Ellis performing Blissful Ignorance 知らぬの仏