Abstract
Whisper, Speak, Sing is a string quartet which seeks to explore the affect of spoken\r word using instruments. The poem Alice, Bewildered, by A.E. Stallings was broken down\r into its phonetic components and recontextualized into sounds that a string quartet could\r reproduce. No text remains from the poem and no formal structures within the work were\r derived directly from the poem. The composer’s rhythm of speaking the poem derived the\r formal elements of the piece. This leads the ensemble to play with atypical (extended)\r techniques, some of which were derived directly by the composer. Primarily these\r techniques focus on creating the initial attack sounds produced by the human voice. Vowel sounds were interpreted as pitch materials at the digression of the composer. The sonic space seeks to create the atmosphere of the poetry in the mind of the listener, bridging the gap between physical and mental soundscapes.