John Moran (composer) - Compositional Techniques

Compositional Techniques

Although much of Moran's works have contained what could be called "traditional" music (or "underscoring", which often simulates orchestral passages by use of synthetic generated sounds), the main emphasis in composition for Moran has always been so interwoven with specific actions called for in the work's narrative, that it would be impossible to separate his compositions from the action and staging they have been designed to correspond to. For example, when a character in the work is seen to walk, the footsteps of the performer seen on stage are intended to be (silent, and) in exact synch to a recording (or rather, many recordings) of the character's footsteps in the work's soundtrack. Likewise, the voices of the characters have also been pre-recorded and presumably edited in similar detail. The environments of his dramatic scenes have been constructed likewise. For example, when a character stands or sits using a chair, there are a myriad of separate sounds (or "samples" as they are called) which construct the event, defining not only the action, but the nuance of its specifics: is it a wooden or a metal chair? How heavy or light is the character using it? What is the nature or emotion of the character as they interact with it?

Accompanying the majority of Moran's works, have been overhead maps of the works staging, including what position on stage the event occurs. This has been done so that the sound(s) appear to emerge from where the performers are seen on stage (i.e., left, right, near or far). Performers in these works are then expected to memorize highly complex sequences of action, wherein each movement is performed in exact adherence to the composition.