chroma by Lewis Wolstanholme

chroma is a work for surround sound speakers and live electronics.
This recording is binaural. For best results, please use headphones!

This installation piece was written and performed using a software instrument developed in Max MSP, specifically designed to explore the decomposition of timbre in a surround sound environment. The title of this piece was influenced by the psychoacoustic theory of pitch chroma and pitch circularity, a perceptual phenomena relating to one's interpretation and identification of pitch. This notion surrounding pitch comprehension was utilised throughout this piece to designate the placement of harmonic partials, which, when treated correctly, can give the listener the impression of a unified timbral sound resonating within the space. At various points throughout the piece, however, this notion of timbral and perceptual unity was distorted and experimented with, so as to create a sonic interplay between numerous textual colours.

A video recording of the performance of this work can be found here:
https://youtu.be/20eLg6skiK4

lewiswolstanholme.co.uk