Graphème

Sixth annual volume of Graphème, the publication of experimental and graphic music scores edited by the Berlin collective smallest functional unit. It gathers works by twelve composers, all presented to be played.

Ellie Ballantine's Descending with Sycamore times a meditative fall to that of a sycamore seed. Majella Clarke's Transmission takes its score from a satellite image of the Beni River in Bolivia, and Non-Local Walks by Carla Zaccagnini, Amilcar Packer and Søren Kjærgaard connects people in different places. For the first time QR codes are embedded in the scores, in Doyoon Yoon's HiBarbie and in Preservation Reference Area by Louise Devenish and Aaron Wyatt. The series grew, in the editors' words, out of a discussion in a Berlin flat about composition and publishing, the dominance of Western classical notation and the gatekeeping around it. Their guiding principle is that every score must be playable: some pieces need very specific circumstances and instruments, others are open to anyone, including performers without formal training, without losing complexity.

Published by smallest functional unit, November 2026.