CM18 (Graphic)

score by Christopher May, A Scratch Orchestra: Draft Constitution

The score Ted and I used for our 5 minute performance as part of Scratch Orchestra: Pilgrimage from Scattered Points. The notes for the score:

Coloured lines in four colours zigzag along in apparently random fashion like erratic markings on a temperature chart. Sometimes three are interwoven, sometimes two. They proceed from left to right through five systems. Sometimes a line abruptly changes colour. The following is a description of the sequence of events: Top system, line 1: green to yellow to red. 2: blue. 3: (starts two thirds along) green. Second system, 1: red. 2: blue to yellow. 3: green. third system, 1: red (ends halfway along). 2: yellow. 3: green. Fourth system, 1: (starts after an inch or so) blue. 2: yellow 3: green to red. Bottom system, 1: blue (ends a couple of inches before the end of the system). 2: (starts halfway along) green. 3: red.

Obviously we were working from a photocopy of the score as it appeared in the book, and so all color information was lost. What happens when you approach a structure with only some of the information? At what point does the score disappear and pure improvisation take over? Was the score merely a node of data to inform the context of the performance?