Revised in 2021.
Instrumentation
4 saxes / 3 trumpets / 4 trombones / violin / e. gtr / e. bass / pno / drum set
Soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones and bass trombone; amplified or electric violin; electric guitar and electric bass in drop-D tuning; piano; drum set.
The score recommends individual microphones and ensemble amplification where possible. A conductor is specified separately from the 16 players.
Performance considerations
Progressive-metal guitar and drum experience is preferred, not mandatory.
Drum set
Kick drum with double pedal, snare, 3 toms, hi-hat, ride, splash, crash and china cymbals. The score gives this as a minimum setup and permits expansion and adaptation to the player’s kit.
Listen / Watch
Official music video
Recorded by the Hard Rubber Orchestra on Iguana (2022, Redshift Records). The featured official music video uses the commercial recording audio.
Scores & Performance Materials
Program Note
source code noun: Computer program written in a high-level language which is converted into object code or machine code by a compiler. Source code is the only stage where a programmer can read and modify a computer program.
In musical terms, then, the written score represents the source; the performers act as the compiler, converting it into the sound (‘object code’) that reaches our ears.
Poetically, this piece is perhaps one of my most explicit attempts at writing contemporary progressive metal music for a non-metal ensemble. The musical language of metal is, in a real sense, the source code behind my artistic persona, and here is presented in relatively pure form – a sure sign that I’m long past caring about academia’s allergy to music with tunes and grooves.
Also, besides being brutally heavy, Source Code is brutally difficult to play. I was hoping to make the players sweat. Don’t worry, they can handle it.
My deep thanks to John Korsrud and the Hard Rubber Orchestra for commissioning this piece and taking on the challenge of playing really un-jazzy music.
—HS
Commission and premiere
Commissioned by the Hard Rubber Orchestra with support from the Canada Council for the Arts. Premiered May 25, 2019 by the Hard Rubber Orchestra, John Korsrud conducting, at the Wong Theatre, Vancouver.