Program note

Fulgurite is an 8-channel acousmatic piece in 3rd-order Ambisonics, commissioned by the Studio für Elektroakustische Musik Berlin (SEM) and premiered at the Akademie der Künste Berlin (AdK). This piece, along with two other works composed within a similar time frame, forms the concluding section of a cycle entitled "Klangmaße". The compositional approach in this cycle centers on the accumulation of distinct microsounds, employing contrasting parameters among aggregated grains to shape discrete sound objects with recognizable, characteristic features. These sound objects coalesce into larger sonic masses that continuously diverge from or converge with one another.

The term Fulgurite refers to a vitrified form of soil, sand, or rock produced by lightning strikes. When lightning strikes the ground, it heats, melts, and fuses the surrounding sand and soil, forming a rare and amorphous mineraloid. The rapid fusing and subsequent quenching of the surface leaves behind a distinctive, thin, garbled coating composed of glassy to fine-grained, porous material. The mineralogical title of the piece, while drawn from geology, does not suggest any data sonification or a geological model within the context of algorithmic composition. Rather, it reflects an idiosyncratic and interactive paradigm for shaping sonic material.