Fragments

Bagshaw, James ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1555-3129 (2026) Fragments. [Composition]

Abstract

The output, ‘Fragments’, is a site-specific higher-order Ambisonic music composition, created on the 29.4 channel speaker array within Lilla Salen concert hall at the Royal College of Music (KMH), Stockholm. The work further investigates the relationship between fixed speaker array design and spatial perception, investigating compositional decision-making in a site-specific context. Research Process: The research was undertaken through a practice-as-research methodology during a compositional residency at KMH Stockholm. The work was composed directly within the resident 29.4 higher-order Ambisonic loudspeaker environment, utilising the GRM Tools Atelier Sound Plugin as the primary source of sound synthesis, as well as on site recordings of a grand piano. The room design and speaker array arrangement, and their associated spatial resolution and diffusion characteristics and acoustics, were treated as integral compositional parameters. Continuing investigations into spatial motion, localisation perception, spectral density and distribution, the piece presents spatial form specifically composed in reaction to the space in which it was created. This approach further investigated systems and spaces as active components in shaping musical structure and form. Research Insights: The output contributes insights into site-responsive spatial music composition by investigating a further site-specific context of HOA composition, specifically in a longer, more explorative ambient form. The research piece displays the composer’s response to the large speaker array, orchestral performance, and site-specific decoding and articulation, further investigating the thesis that compositional decisions in higher-order Ambisonics are not format-neutral, but are shaped by the physical and technical properties of specific listening environments. The work further extends existing discourse in spatial audio by positioning site-specificity as a central compositional concern within Ambisonic practice. Dissemination: The composition was presented during a residency listening session at Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm (KMH) in February 2026.

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