This exposition explores how different technologically mediated presentations of guitar sounds work as materials to form an acousmatic electroacoustic composition. By juxtaposing processed guitar recordings with computer-generated realizations of guitar sounds, this work considers how composition can be used to engage with changing interpretations of instrumentality and liveness that stem from new music technologies. This includes the notion that such concepts can be an integral part of a sound work that uses fixed media.

A combination of highly unusual extended playing techniques with open intabulated notation makes the solo guitar work Tellur altogether unique in Tristan Murail’s catalogue. When placed in the broader discursive context of Murail’s compositional philosophy, this unique configuration of elements causes a quandary. The composer aims to integrate “the totality of sonic phenomena” into his compositional language, and within this context he maintains a traditional view of musical authorship.