The Justice

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of Brandeis Office of the Arts

Those who listen to a symphony on record may begin to take the orchestra for granted. The sound one hears is whole; the orchestra, when playing, is one thing. To see an orchestra perform, however, is an entirely different thing. With about 100 members, such an orchestra is both visually stunning and slightly overwhelming. Because of the sheer size of such an ensemble, there are relatively few nationwide (only 350 or so). Consequently, fewer people are able to witness performances of great symphonic works, and fewer conductors are able to conduct large ensembles.

Paul Henry Smith M.F.A. '04 may be able to change this with his project, the Fauxharmonic Orchestra. The Fauxharmonic Orchestra uses sampling software to digitally simulate a musical ensemble, which can be as large and complex as a symphony orchestra. While this is excellent news for young composers who want relatively inexpensive recordings of their compositions, the possibilities afforded by this technology are even greater.

With the aid of a specialized conducting apparatus, one is able to not only play back recordings of the Fauxharmonic Orchestra but also conduct the Orchestra-that is, control the tempo, dynamics, timbre and brightness of the synthesized group. This means that the Fauxharmonic can also be used as a means of accompaniment, allowing a few instrumental soloists to perform a piece that was written for many more performers. Even more astoundingly, this mechanism obviates the need to contend with the prickly egos of professional musicians when establishing his or her musical vision.

Such a performance of Smith's Fauxharmonic Orchestra will occur at Brandeis on Oct. 4. In addition to works by Anton Webern and Edgard Varese and a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 2 in D major, Smith will conduct two student compositions: Animated Watercolors by Jeremy Spindler Ph.D. '11 and A Piece For Several Instruments (or a futile attempt to explain the magical powers of nothingness) by Christian Gentry Ph.D. '12.

One may wonder what such an instrument sounds like. According to a test performed for the Wall Street Journal, it sounds remarkably like an actual symphony orchestra. In the trial, two professors of music listened to four renditions of a passage from Beethoven's Symphony No. 7-one of which was Smith's synthetic version-and tried to identify the computer-generated version. On both occasions, the professors misidentified the sample.

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