Splectra is an elegant, virtuosic harp solo embellished by subtle digital processing. Each of the work’s two sections (one echoing the other in structure) gradually expands a simple rising motive, becoming harmonically richer by adding pitches related to its opening note’s (low C) harmonic series. The composer writes, “Digital processing of the acoustic tones emphasizes the harp’s upper frequencies, presenting a timbral analogue to the piece’s harmonic structure.”

Splectra is performed by Los Angeles harpist and new-music champion Alison Bjorkedal. The design and realization of the digital processing was a collaboration between Robert Carl and Matt Sargent.

“Carl’s Splectra is as unified and diverse as his whimsically multifarious title suggests, and he could find no better collaborators than composer and sound designer Matt Sargent and harpist Alison Bjorkedal to bring his vision to fruition. . . . It is a real joy to hear Carl’s melodic invention as lines form from the places where tone and line converge. Tempo and rhythm are delightfully unpredictable from the outset. . . . The harmonic, melodic and rhythmic intricacies of this slowly evolving masterpiece would be enough, but Carl and Sargent add a layer of processing, or is it better to say that the processing blooms from each note? It’s all very subtle in the first section, making itself known only on strategic pitches and at key moments, but in the second section, it creates a parallel harmonic layer. The timbres draw no further attention to themselves than necessary as they blanket Bjorkedal’s already subtle timbral counterpoint with nasally shimmering sonorities. They provide simultaneous commentary and development as they swell and ebb, each note complex amassing its own overtones and enriching the already sumptuous harmonic landscape. . . . There are so many discs that I review and never audition again, which speaks not so much to any lack of quality but to their becoming too familiar too quickly. Not so with Splectra, whose deceptive simplicity yields deep satisfaction every time I play it.” (Fanfare magazine)

“The harp possesses a very broad timbral dynamic and, in the right hands, can be an extraordinarily expressive instrument; when set outside of ‘conventional’ genre boundaries, the imagination’s the limit. On Splectra, composer Robert Carl, aided by fellow Cold Blue alumni Matt Sargent, seek to stretch the innate characteristics of the harp via some discrete digital processing and an innate sense of melodic drama. As performed by Alison Bjorkedal, this two-part composition comprises another of Cold Blue’s short but sweet EPs, a format that label owner Jim Fox takes particular pride in; conciseness seems to be the better part of valor. In this case, Bjorkedal’s colorful performance highlights the sharp tension and release inherent in the harp’s taut strings. Divided in two sections, Splectra Part One reflects the carefully wrought, more spacious prepared piano works of John Cage, as small clusters of stately notes roam blissfully within the soundfield. The shorter Part Two revels in its cousin’s systemic melancholy, punctuated by sudden, more emphatic handstrikes and coarser tones. The digital embellishments are subtle in their execution, but bring just enough resonance to make this a notable, compelling work.” (Darren Bergstein, Downtown Music Gallery Newsletter)

“Splectra by Robert Carl … is a two-movement work for solo harp that’s performed splendidly by Grammy-winning harpist Alison Bjorkedal; describing it as a solo work is accurate, yet the application of digital processing (overtones generated via a Max software patch designed by Carl and, wouldn’t you know, Matt Sargent) expands on the instrument’s sonorities so much that the recording can in certain moments seem to involve more than a single performer. Both movements build on simple rising motives, such that pitches relating to its opening note’s harmonic series are added and thereby enhance the harmonic richness of the sound design. The work’s lower-register beginning lends the material an initially brooding character, but soon enough dramatic contrasts between higher and lower plucks make for an engrossing presentation, especially when the sustain generated by the processing creates a layered effect that makes the music all the more bewitching. Bjorkedal’s realization of Carl’s material is virtuosic but not self-indulgent, the harpist’s energy focused on bringing the piece to fruition as the composer intended. As accomplished as the work itself is, this recording of Splectra rewards as much for the magical sound of the harp and Bjorkedal’s remarkable rendering of the material.” (Textura)