Reverie (listening session)

By Leah Reid

Reverie is an acousmatic composition that leads the listener through an immersive fantasy centered around deconstructed music boxes. The work comprises eight sections that alternate between explorations of the music boxes’ gears and chimes. In the work, the music boxes’ sounds are pulled apart, exaggerated, expanded, and combined with other sounds whose timbres and textures are reminiscent of the original. As the piece unfolds, the timbres increase in spectral and textural density, and the associations become more and more fantastical. Gears are transformed into zippers, coins, chainsaws, motorcycles, and fireworks, and the chimes morph into rainstorms, all sizes of bells, pianos, and more.

The work is available in stereo and 8 channel versions. Reverie won Sound of the Year's Composed with Sound Award, and prizes in the 8th KLANG! International Electroacoustic Composition Competition, the Xenakis International Electronic Music Competition, and the XIII° International Destellos Competition. Stereo and 8 channel versions of the work are available.