About: ... the serpent-snapping eye ... was composed for trumpet, percussion, piano and 4-channel tape. The phrase quoted in the title
comes from The Quarterdeck chapter of Moby Dick. … The work is 19 minutes long, divided into three, roughly equal sections. … the structure … is based upon various series of gradually expanding and contrasting durations… the shape of each component instrumental phrase parallels one of three models used to program the computer in synthesizing the sounds that appear on the tape. Thus, the models for electronic sounds find a second, more flexible expression in the activities of the live performers.”
