The Locust Tree in Flower is an interactive multimedia installation, based on a poem by William Carlos Williams. The installation invites a single person at a time to create and perform a musical setting of the poem by simply reading it. A short piece of music is generated in real time by applying digital processing, mixing, and looping to the user's voice.
The installation makes use of new synthesis algorithms which were developed by the composer. These algorithms use techniques adapted from a field of mathematics known as cellular automata. While the overall form and structure of the piece is pre-determined, all of the sounds themselves are produced in real time, and they vary according to the pitch, timbre, and inflection of the user's voice.
A common audio processing technique called phase vocoding is also used in the installation. Phase vocoding is used to repeat highly compressed copies of the sounds a user has already generated earlier in the piece. These compressed repetitions highlight phonetic relationships within the text.
The Locust Tree
in Flower is intended to give people a meaningful role in creating and
performing a short piece of music, whether or not they have a formal musical
education. It also seeks to highlight the richness and diversity of the human voice.