Robert Normandeau: Clair de terre: track detail

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Clair de terre

Robert Normandeau

Clair de terre

[Earthlight]

empreintes DIGITALes | IMED 0157 | 2001

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1. Malina (2000) 15m02s imed_0157-1.1 | 13831 | ISRC CAD500114390

MP3 Real

Composer: Robert Normandeau

Commission: IMEB

Premiere: June 17, 2000, Festival Synthèse (Bourges, France)

To Brigitte Haentjens

At the origin of the work is a play — an adaptation from the 1971 novel by Ingeborg Bachmann (Austria, 1926-73), Malina — presented in Montréal in September 2000.

The stage adaptation, a poetic reading of Bachmann’s novel, makes use of the unsaid, silence, and atmosphere in a way that allows the music a place that it seldom enjoys in theater. It became clear from the beginning that the ideal instrument for this meditation was the shakuhachi. As the work progressed it became increasingly evident that the music would have to be an omnipresent element in the play. The absolute confidence that the director showed me on this question allowed me to develop the music through a creative process similar to the one I use when writing concert music.

I want to thank Brigitte Haentjens, without whom this music would not exist, for commissioning the work, certainly, but above all for the confidence that she showed during its creation. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the entire production staff of Malina. Finally, my special thanks goes to Claire Marchand for her playing of the shakuhachi, the truly fascinating instrument that provided the sole and unique material for the work, and for which she adapted the techniques of modern flute playing, her principal instrument.

Malina was realized in the studios of the Institut international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges (IMEB, France) and in the composer’s studio in 1999-2000 and premiered on June 17th, 2000 during the Synthèse festival (Bourges, France). Malina (the concert piece) was commissioned by the IMEB (France).

2. Erinyes (2001) 20m08s imed_0157-1.2 | 13832 | ISRC CAD500114400

MP3 Real

Composer: Robert Normandeau

Commission: Sonorities with support from the National Lottery of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

Premiere: May 5, 2001, Sonorities Festival (Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK)

To Anne-Marie Cadieux

At the center of this work is the voice. The voice, but without words — only onomatopoeias, as recited by the actors in Electra by Sophocles (in a production by Brigitte Haentjens that was presented at Espace GO in Montréal in April 2000) for which I composed the music. In Greek mythology, the Erinyes were guardians of human life whose duty it was to pursue and punish wrongdoers. They were known as “the keepers of the shadows.”

The principal sound treatment was designed to bring out the primitive nature of the voice—the interior resonance that is so deeply rooted in the human unconscious. This treatment is called “freeze.” At first glance this may seem absurd, given that music is something that exists in time, but the computer allows the composer to stop time. Voices can be ‘frozen’ and thoroughly explored from within. Erinyes is the fourth piece in the Onomatopœia cycle (the three preceding pieces being Éclats de voix, Spleen, and Le renard et la rose).

Erinyes was realized in the composer’s studio in 2001 and premiered on May 5th, 2001 at the Sonorities Festival in Belfast (Northern Ireland). The work was commissioned by the Sonorities Festival with the financial support of the National Lottery of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. The recorded voices are those of actors Marc Béland, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Anne Dorval, Denis Gravereaux, Andrée Lachapelle, and Christiane Pasquier and director Brigitte Haentjens. Thanks to Michael Alcorn.

Clair de terre (1999) 36m00s imed_0157-1.3 | 13833 | ISRC CAD500114410

Ouverture [Overture]; Cadre étroit (espace clos) [Narrow Frame (Close Space)]; Couleurs primaires et secondaires [Primary and Secondary Colors]; Mobilité des plans [Camera Mobility]; Montage rythmique [Rhythmic Editing]; Montage métaphorique [Metaphoric Editing]; Durée des plans [Duration of Shots]; Clarté (éblouissement) [Brightness (Dazzling)]; Taille des plans [Proportion of Shots]; Couleurs ternaires [Ternary Colors]; Micro-montage; Obscurité [Darkness]; Cadre large (espace ouvert) [Wide Frame (Open Space)]

Composer: Robert Normandeau

Premiere: December 10, 1999, Rien à voir (6), Réseaux, Ex-Centris (Montréal, Québec)

A photograph of the Earth taken from space probably best epitomizes the second half of the twentieth century. It situates our planet in space in a way that makes it clear that the Earth is not at the center of the universe. Our place in space leads to a state of unbalance that is reflected in the way we see the world. This new perception in turn influences our artistic expression. Electroacoustic music was born just slightly more than fifty years ago, at about the same time that first photograph of the earth was taken. This has brought about a considerable change in how we (artists) make and how we (the audience) hear.

This work is divided into twelve movements that systematically explore elements of the grammar of cinematography that have been transposed into the language of electroacoustics. Preceded by an overture — Ouverture — each of these twelve movements are composed of a soundscape, an object’s sound, the sound of a musical instrument, and vocal onomatopoeias. All of these sound elements are drawn from the sound bank that I have built up over the last ten years.

Clair de terre was realized in the composer’s studio in 1999 and premiered on December 10th, 1999 during the Rien à voir (6) concert series produced by Réseaux at Ex-Centris in Montréal. The work was realized with the financial assistance from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. Some passages in the work are drawn from music or sound elements composed for plays and the radio. Thanks to André Corriveau, Jean-François Denis, Monique Desroches, Julien Grégoire, Brigitte Haentjens, Odile Magnan, Denis Marleau, Lorraine Pintal, Jacinthe Potvin, Rober Racine, Claire Savoie, and Claude Schryer.

3. Ouverture (1999) 6m12s imed_0157-1.3.3 | 13840 |

MP3 Real

Composer: Robert Normandeau

4. Cadre étroit (espace clos) (1999) 2m31s imed_0157-1.3.4 | 13841 | ISRC CAD500114420

Composer: Robert Normandeau

5. Couleurs primaires et secondaires (1999) 2m59s imed_0157-1.3.5 | 13842 | ISRC CAD500114430

Composer: Robert Normandeau

6. Mobilité des plans (1999) 3m09s imed_0157-1.3.6 | 13843 | ISRC CAD500114440

Composer: Robert Normandeau

7. Montage rythmique (1999) 2m28s imed_0157-1.3.7 | 13844 | ISRC CAD500114450

Composer: Robert Normandeau

8. Montage métaphorique (1999) 1m48s imed_0157-1.3.8 | 13845 | ISRC CAD500114460

MP3 Real

Composer: Robert Normandeau

9. Durée des plans (1999) 2m25s imed_0157-1.3.9 | 13846 | ISRC CAD500114470

Composer: Robert Normandeau

10. Clarté (éblouissement) (1999) 2m57s imed_0157-1.3.10 | 13834 | ISRC CAD500114480

Composer: Robert Normandeau

11. Taille des plans (1999) 3m03s imed_0157-1.3.11 | 13835 | ISRC CAD500114490

Composer: Robert Normandeau

12. Couleurs ternaires (1999) 2m09s imed_0157-1.3.12 | 13836 | ISRC CAD500114500

Composer: Robert Normandeau

13. Micro-montage (1999) 30s imed_0157-1.3.13 | 13837 | ISRC CAD500114510

Composer: Robert Normandeau

14. Obscurité (1999) 2m09s imed_0157-1.3.14 | 13838 | ISRC CAD500114520

Composer: Robert Normandeau

15. Cadre large (espace ouvert) (1999) 3m40s imed_0157-1.3.15 | 13839 | ISRC CAD500114530

Composer: Robert Normandeau

Robert Normandeau: Clair de terre: track detail

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