This composition is one electroacoustic piece in a collection entitled The Brock Collection: Stories from a Neighbourhood. It is a collection of five pieces tied together in concept. I decided to choose the idea of narration as a connecting point for all the pieces in this collection. By doing this I could connect the pieces into a cohesive collection by concept, but still have the freedom to include pieces that are quite different from each other. Different compositional approaches, methods, materials and mediums were used in each of the pieces, thus creating variety. While each of the pieces is connected to one other, they are separate enough in concept that they can be presented separately or as part of the whole collection.

The concept behind these pieces is my neighbourhood in Toronto. I have used my neighbourhood as a source of inspiration for narrative ideas to create my pieces. I live on Brock Avenue, a street right on the border of the neighbourhood of Parkdale. It is a diverse neighbourhood that is interesting because of the complexity resulting from the broad range of people who live in the community. I have also used my neighbourhood to collect sounds from that I have later used in my electroacoustic pieces. I have taken a different story or idea from my neighbourhood for each of the pieces. The stories about my neighbourhood are the linking narrative material behind this collection.

The concept behind Unsequenced Memories was a retirement home in my neighbourhood, which brought to my mind problems of memory. I was interested in how, in the course of aging, many people retain very clear distinct memories. At the same time, I became interested in how difficult these memories sometimes are to keep in order. Memories become out of sequence with each other in their time-line. I wanted to find a way to represent this idea musically.

I decided that a rondo form would best represent this idea. Section A could represent present time and the other sections such as B, C, and D could represent various memories. At the end of the piece, I could then combine fragments of many of these sections to create a sense of disarray. I also decided that I did not want to follow the traditional rules of rondo form, but that I would use it as a loose framework. I could stretch this structure, by choosing to constantly adjust the time of the section A. While this sections always returns, it would always be different, in an altered form such as shorter or longer than the previous time that it was heard. The piece incorporates many sound elements: soundscapes from my neighbourhood in both unaltered and altered sounds; recorded sounds that I created on musical instruments and altered; human voices; and drum loops created through processed percussion instruments that I played. The use of western art music in the form of the piece, coupled with electroacoustic music and soundscapes for timbre procedures, demonstrates that this piece embodies many of my influences and interests.

Emilie LeBel. [email: emilie (at) ceceproductions.ca]