Thomas Shorthouse - made for breaking NOT slicing

made for breaking (NOT slicing)

contrabass recorder and live electronics

2025

duration: 4'

This piece was first premiered on the 13th of June 2025 at the Royal College of Music, London by Larli Davies.

made for breaking (NOT slicing) is admittedly about the misinformation often spread about many medieval European swords – namely that they were actually used to break an enemy’s limbs, not to slice off limbs like much of popular media seems reflect. Bouncing off of this idea, I wanted to turn the sound of the recorder into a sword along with various comically medieval sounds (including an incredibly important crow call Larli put in special request for) and impacts, all of which is triggered by the dynamic envelope of the recorder into a mic setup.

To develop the material of this piece, I decided to look towards composer and abbess Hildegard von Bingen. As a composer both myself and Larli adore, I felt it fitting to use the opening material of her work for voice O ignis spiritus, and process it through a magic square, like the sound of the recorder being processed through the electronics: a “historical” sound being brought into the now via a modern technique/machine.

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