This piece was composed with the intent of giving the performer the greatest possible freedom in interacting with the electroacoustic accompaniment, while still keeping that accompaniment “composed”. This was accomplished by the player through a foot switch attached to one of the computer’s joystick ports. The performer triggers various sections of the score at his discretion, allowing for exact synchronization without the use of a stopwatch. At various points in the work real time stochastic processes are employed by the computer, which “improvises” along with the performer. Pneuma was commissioned by Joseph Petric through the assistance of the Ontario Arts Council.

Source: CEC / Concordia Archival Project (CAP)