Stealing time A is the first piece in a four-part cycle of variable instrumentation titled Stealing time. As the name suggests, the cycle explores the idea of “stealing” musical time — a metaphor for a time in constant transformation, where the music seems to move forward inevitably, yet paradoxically, never quite arrives anywhere. It is a search for a form of non-linear directionality: a time that flows but without a fixed trajectory.
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Unlike earlier works in which accumulation or dispersion of a single element creates a more transparent linearity, Stealing time unfolds cyclically while remaining in continuous transformation. It begins with a neutral idea that is gradually and permanently altered — not through a straight path, but along a more oblique route. This contradiction between circularity and change gives rise to perceptual implications that transcend the initial musical object.
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Through the interplay of live multi-percussion and electronics, the piece challenges our sense of musical form and time, inviting the listener to inhabit a fluid, ever-shifting temporal landscape.
Instrumentation
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solo multi percussion
(stealdrum, 1 woodblock, 1 vibratone, 1 cencerro, 1 foot bass drum)
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Fixed electronics
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Details
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2022
dur. : 7'
Commissioned by Drumming GP (Miquel Bernat)
World premiere on 1 Mars, 2023 / Ateliers de Music Fund (Brussels/Belgium) by Miquel Bernat
Publishing
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Published by Octavi Rumbau
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Performances
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15. July 2023 | MAS SOBEIES Miquel Bernat (Vall de Bianya/Spain)
1. July 2023 | Re-En-Cantos de Mateus Miquel Bernat (Porto/Portugal)
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