When I got the opportunity to compose for McGill's Schulich Singers Choir, I decided to take a big ironic risk: I wrote a piece that questioned AI in art... with AI in art.
All of the music is written by me (not AI), but I had to compose it to match the text, which is a poem generated by ChatGPT, on the topic of advancing technology. This piece tackles difficult questions on what it means to be an artist in today's digital age, and whether art will forever lose the human touch at this rate of advancement.
The controversies surrounding AI during early 2023 were the main motivation for me writing this. I had the idea to generate this poem in multiple languages, so that the climax would have technology advance with such speed that words shatter into French, Latin, Italian, and German, to highlight the impact on our interconnected world, while questioning whether we are echoing the ancient fable of the Tower of Babel.
Some in-depth analysis with timestamps for those interested:
0:00 - A mechanical and precise opening of zaps and crackles. I wanted to emphasize the onomatopoeia of "Zap, crackle, beep, and whir".
0:08 - Lines are hocketed, bounced from one voice to the next as the Basses enter beneath.
0:17 - First entrance of the simple to compound meter rhythmic idea (eg. swapping between 2/4 to 6/8)
0:20 - First introduction of the dovetail stacking idea ("for sure" rising from Basses up to Sopranos)
0:23 - Altos are literally "connecting people from near and far", with the "peo-" dovetailing the Soprano and Bass lines together.
0:33 - First sign of tonal instability as the "borders fade and walls come tumbling down", another compound swap with the introduction of whole tone.
0:50 - First introduction of the limited aleatoric repeated lines - singers repeat their phrases ad lib, forming a beautiful shimmering sound mass of sibilances and whispers. These represent the "whispers fly[ing] like birds on the wing"
1:23 - Beginning of a quasi canon, building from Basses up to Sopranos, representing the world "drawn closer" as the rhythmic activity increases. This leads to the luminous m. 52 chord, the first climax.
1:49 - Voices have literally been "drawn closer", now finally in unison!
1:57 - These hocketed lines are a callback to the beginning, similar musical ideas. Also, the piano does a gliss + staccato octave which represents the "swipe" and "click" haha.
2:16 - "Drumbeat of change" changes the harmonies. Note the articulations also get gradually less staccato, and more held.
2:24 - One more iteration of "of change" and we've changed to another key! Reverse dovetailing now as the main line goes downwards through the voices.
2:41 - A fragile piano solo contrasts the initial joyous mood, something is now uneasy...
3:01 - Reverse entry of voices (normally it's from Bass up, now it's Soprano down to Basses).
3:10 - The "scotch snap" rhythm of "forward" is back (initially appeared in "world drawn closer, closer, closer") at m. 44 onwards
3:27 - Whole tone appears again, symbolizing unease. The end of the word "looms" is dragged out, as an airy pitchless "sss" hiss emerges, then a whispered "the fear"
3:41 - Beginning of the uneasy buildup as the fear of technology grows
3:59 - Sopranos enter with a hemiola, punctuation is gradually lost as the tempo accelerates, much like technology's acceleration
4:09 - Now in the higher register, singers now sing and stagger breathe amongst themselves, creating a restless high pitched shrieking voice. Note that for the word "create", the "cr-" and "-te" are eventually dropped as the speed increases, creating an "ea-ea-ea-ea" piercing sound.
4:17 - Huge foot stomp (with the low A in piano to act as a reference pitch), followed by stacked fifths as I wanted that pure open harsh feeling this brings.
4:24 - As the metaphorical Tower of Babel falls, voices shatter into German, French, Italian, and Latin. Limited aleatory is then reintroduced again but with cacophonic screaming voices in m. 121 onwards, much like turning up a volume knob.
4:41 - Amidst the ruins of shattered voices, a lone singer emerges, questioning if we will build our own Tower of Babel. Note that the m. 130 piano intro is a throwback to the same as the m. 41 intro.
5:30 - Now hopeful yet uncertain, the choir turns to the audience, beseeching them to "use our tools with care"
5:41 - Final instance of the scotch snap rhythm in "future" (previously appeared in m. 44 "closer" and m. 84 "forward")
5:48 - Final instance of a dovetailed effect from Soprano down to the Basses
5:58 - Ending with a blurred divisi sound, I wanted the last chord to be ambiguous and uncertain (hence none of those perfect cadence resolutions haha.)
Premiered on November 22, 2023, by the McGill Schulich Singers in Pollack Hall, Schulich School of Music
Conducted by Mattias Lundberg
Piano Accompaniment by Jono Devey
Music by Nicholas Ma
Text Generated by ChatGPT-3.5
Social Media: nicholasma01
#choir #satb #ai