Daniel Wohl - Microfluctuations in Plainchant

Paris-born and Brooklyn-based composer Daniel Wohl draws on his background in electronic music to create pieces that “blur the line between electronic and acoustic instrumentation and seemingly melt both elements into a greater organic whole” (WNYC). He has worked with chamber ensembles and orchestras including the American Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony Orchestra, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Indianapolis Symphony, the Calder Quartet, eighth blackbird, New York Youth Symphony, Sō Percussion and has collaborated with artists such as Laurel Halo, Julia Holter, and Son Lux. In 2013 he recorded his critically acclaimed debut album, “Corps Exquis,” for New Amsterdam Records. The multimedia, chamber, and electronics project created in conjunction with the new music ensemble Transit and a collective of New York-based video artists. His music has been called “boldly surreal” (New York Times), “provocative and surprising” (NPR), “beautiful…original” (Pitchfork), and has been presented at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Webster Hall, DIA Beacon, Mass MoCA, the Chelsea Art Museum, and the Warhol Museum. 

“In Microfluctuations in Plainchant, I used a simple equalizer to draw out high frequencies from a prerecording of the piece. The resulting tiny fluctuations in the texture created an erratic melodic line that I then used to compliment the live saxophone quartet. As I was working with this material, it seemed to me that the slow chorale in the opening played in tandem with the electronic component evoked a type of futuristic form of plainchant.”
- Daniel Wohl