Duration: ca. 8′
Instrumentation: Clarinet quartet
Score
An underdetermined system is an early experiment in composing performer-directed pieces. In it, a long chorale is divided into sixteen segments. Then, each segment in each part is independently expanded into one to sixteen timeframes. The performers are presented with branching and collapsing paths through these segments, and this branching is designed in such a way that all four parts end together and progress through the segments at different rates.