As both TRAPPIST-1 and The Flowering Desert were occasionally composed simultaneously, the strategy of data embodiment used in the first impacted the composition approach in the second. This can be seen in the second scene of The Flowering Desert, where there is a clear intention to showcase the rotation of the system as a process in a similar manner. This responds to the central idea of the scene: the helplessness of the planet Pantele against its Mother Star, which only cares about its own almost infinite process of burning hydrogen into helium and the generation of heavier elements at its core. In this case, the composition strategy of data embodiment is adapted to the instrumentation by distributing the musical material between the instruments placed in a circular arrangement. This engages as well with the site-specificity of the piece, as it was composed to be performed in planetariums (Example #9).
Similarly, several moments of the four Mélodrame sections in The Flowering Desert also showcase the rotation of the system using the embodiment of data strategy. This musical display is used, in this case, to depict the point of view of the scientist observing and discovering the planetary system, which narratively informs these sections. In these sections, I used the harmonic material associated with the character of the Measurer[34] to differentiate it from the harmony associated with the Mother Star used in Example #9. A clear example of the use of data embodiment in relation to the narrative in the Mélodrame sections can be found in Mélodrame 2. At one point (bar 47), the Measurer says, looking at the sky in the observatory of La Silla, “let me experience this moment a little more”. This sentence triggers a section using the data embodiment strategy with the harmony associated with the Measurer (bars 54-66), associating the observation of the night sky in La Silla with the observation of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system (Example #10).
Although the representation of the data is not as precise mathematically in these last two examples as in the electronics of TRAPPIST-1, the use of the domed space of the planetarium with the instrumental ensemble positioned surrounding the audience helps to create a similar immersive experience that delivers tangibly the concept of the rotation of the planetary system to the audience. This is enhanced by the visuals projected in the dome, which also focus on rotation.
Example #9
Embodiment of data adapted to The Flowering Desert. The instrumental ensemble and the chorus are used to depict the sempiternal rotation of the system. The character Pantele stands against the Mother Star (chorus).
Example #10
Embodiment of data adapted to The Flowering Desert. The instrumental ensemble represents the TRAPPIST-1 system being observed by the Measurer (marked in blue in the score). The harmonic material associated with the character (Figure 1) is distributed in the ensemble in a circular arrangement using the rhythmic material derived from the rotation of the planetary system of TRAPPIST-1 (Table 5).