Awakenings is a piece for two-channel electroacoustic music and video. The work incorporates a text composed specifically for this piece, written by Justin Goldberg and the composer. Other source materials used in the electroacoustic component include a variety of samples taken from speech, vocalisms, found objects, and environmental elements, such as wind and water. The electroacoustic component contains three primary layers: the audible text, processed text, and complementary material derived from the aforementioned sources. The visual component consists of digital video that is compiled from sources similar in nature to the audio source material. It is composed of short moments that provide a visual narrative to the piece, containing literal as well as abstract images.
The underlying concept guiding the piece is the struggle for mental stillness–to find a moment in time where one can be alone with his or her thoughts to achieve mental clarity. The text uses imagery associated with sleep to represent the alternating states of stasis and disturbance. Awakening from sleep disrupts tranquility, allowing external forces to filter into one’s consciousness and cause disturbances. Environmental elements (wind and water) are used in the piece to represent external and internal influences, as well as internal stillness. The movement between the aforementioned mental states is reflected in the electroacoustic music through texture, types of processing, and density.
A primary compositional objective in creating and combining Awakenings’ three elements (video, text, and music), was to present them as tightly interwoven, with each aspect dependent upon the others. The formal structure is through composed, adhering to the organization of the text. Events, types of sounds, and processing techniques in both the music and visual components are triggered by cues in the text.