Lieux inouïs

Unheard-of Places
IMED 9802
1998

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Radio // Lieux inouïs
Lieux inouïs
Jeu: Les règles du jeu, 8m22s [excerpt]
Track 1 from Lieux inouïs
CD: empreintes DIGITALes (1998) IMED 9802
15 August 2000
By Steve Benner in Amazon (USA), August 15, 2000

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“… there is not a single uninteresting moment on this disc, which is absolutely captivating from start to end.”

This 1990 release from DIFFUSION i MéDIA (on the empreintes DIGITALes label) represents the first disc entirely devoted to the works of Canadian acousmatic composer Robert Normandeau. The five works presented here span Normandeau’s output from 1985 thru 1989 and represent, in the composer’s own words “[virtually] the only [works] I have chosen to present publicly after more than ten years of full-time work.” That statement attests more to Normandeau’s humility and modesty, than to any shortcomings he may have as a composer.

Indeed, there is not a single uninteresting moment on this disc, which is absolutely captivating from start to end.

Its title, Lieux inouïs, (“Unheard-of Places”) is a reference to the unique aural landscape that Normandeau’s pieces inhabit and the surreal imagery they evoke. He calls his particular approach to acousmatic ‘Cinema for the Ears’ and so it is no surprise that the works on this disc — derived entirely from computer-processed real-world sounds — are constantly conjuring up dramatic moments in the mind’s eye of the listener. And the composer handles it all with such consummate mastery. Who else but Normandeau could so seamlessly join massed choirs singing Pérotin’s Viderunt Omnes with the sounds of pneumatic drills; or mix the chatter of children playing with the clatter of railroad trucks?

For ears unaccustomed to this genre, probably the most easily approached work is the 12-minute acousmatic masterpiece Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck) (1987). This work constantly oscillates “between pure sound and meaning, without ever resolving to one or the other,” thus providing endless suggestions and hints but no solid facts (rumours, in fact!) of life around the Place de Ransbeck (home of Annette Vande Gorne’s studio Métamorphoses d’Orphée, where the piece was produced).

The slightly longer Matrechka (1986) is a more abstracted work, with its complex sound-world (of largely undiscernible origin) unfolding by degrees, each of its sections revealing another within it, like the nest of Russian dolls of its title. The 15-minute Mémoires vives (“Vivid memories,” 1989) provides another mostly abstracted vision, this time of the composer’s musical heritage, evoked by the reworking of (recordings of) fragments from other composers’ music for the Requiem Mass. The sparkling 24-minute work Jeu (“Play,” or “Game,” 1989) that opens the disc is ample testimony to Normandeau’s ability to exploit the inherent punning (i.e. ‘play on words’) connotations that his source material offers. Finally, Le cap de la tourmente (1985), which closes the disc, is a dark and brooding 7-minute ‘movement’ from the much longer Musique holographique, which accompanied an exhibit of sculptures with holograms (holosculptures) by Georges Dyens.

blogue@press-347_6 press@347_6
31 December 1999
By Dwight Loop in Earwaves (USA), December 31, 1999

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“… fantastic cinematic experimentalism.”

Remixed and remastered this classic of electroacoustic music is fantastic cinematic experimentalism.

blogue@press-326_5 press@326_5
8 November 1999
By Irving Bellemead in Splendid E-Zine (USA), November 8, 1999

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Normandeau has a very good ear for finding interesting sounds and […] how to combine them effectively”

Last week George Zahora reviewed a CD of Normandeau’s recent compositions. This week we take a peek into his past with Lieux inouïs (Unheard-of places), a CD of five electronic works from the mid-to-late 1980s. Much of Normandeau’s music falls into the “acousmatic” genre. Roughly, acousmatic music is electronic music that seperates sounds from their sources, and often exploits sounds for their inherently interesting qualities rather than any symbolic or narrative meaning they might have. In Normandeau’s sound-world this means that we’re treated to a wide range of sounds, from processed choirs to chugging trains to bleep-bloop electronics to slamming doors and bouncing balls.

Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck) (Rumors) is a light, fluid piece that plays with organic sounds that are just on the edge of recognizability. Matrechka is full of darker and more electronic sounds, which are constantly evolving. Mémoires vives takes existing requiems (from Ockeghem, Gilles, Berlioz, Mozart, etc.) as its starting point, and subtly weaves them into an ethereal, mysterious new requiem. Jeu (game or play) explores some of the many uses of the French word Jeu. It’s similar to Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck) in that it’s a mix of many recorded sounds presented in such a way that you’re never quite sure what you’re listening to. The final piece, Le cap de la tourmente is again darkly electronic — I imagine it as the sound of someone pounding slowly on a huge electronic metal barrel. Normandeau has a very good ear for finding interesting sounds and then figuring out how to combine them effectively, and the compositions on this CD never get bogged down in the electro-murkiness or loooooooooooooooooong time scales that sometimes turn people off to this sort of electronic music. It’s a fine disc “pour le novice ou l’expert.”

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1 July 1999
By Henry Schneider in Henry Schneider (USA), July 1, 1999

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“… a good introduction to the genre.”

Lieux inouïs is a digitally remixed reissue of Normandeau’s 1990 debut release. Normandeau is one of Canada’s premiere electroacoustic composers and Lieux inouïs is a collection of five compositions recorded between 1985 and 1989. The order on the disc is from newest to oldest. The opening composition Jeu is 24 minutes of sonic cinema based on different uses of “jeu,” French for game or play. This is a playful piece utilizing somewhat realistic and often unrecognizable sounds that metamorphose every one to two minutes. Jeu has a distinct Stockhausenian feel with its use of multi-layered sounds. In fact excerpts of Stockhausen’s Hymnen appear along with children at play, jazz music, crashing chairs, jack hammers, etc. The next composition, Mémoires vives, is Normandeau’s study of a requiem. Etheral choirs accelerate and spin in and out of hearing alternating with electronics and sampled acoustic instruments. This is an interesting piece that can at times sound coldly sterile and then warmly engaging. Stepping back now to 1987, the third composition is Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck), an electroacoustic piece best thought of as an acoustic analogy of a rumor. Again, a collage of elusive sounds that scurry away as you try to study and identify them. It does have some similarities to Pink Floyd’s Several Small Species… The fourth composition is Matrechka. Just like the nested Russian dolls, Matrechka is a series of musical unveilings revealing smaller and more interesting “dolls.” The disc closes with the oldest and shortest composition Le cap de la tourmente. This is a piece of drones that cycically sweep across the sonic space alternating appearances and disappearances of the sculptures is was composed to accompany. Lieux inouïs is a diverse collection of fairly accessible electroacoustic music and is a good introduction to the genre.

blogue@press-315 press@315
3 December 1998
By Dominique Olivier in Voir (Québec), December 3, 1998

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“La perfection technique et la «musicalité» intrinsèque de ses œuvres le placent d’emblée parmi les plus grands…”

L’art acousmatique trouve en Robert Normandeau, l’un de ses représentants les plus admirables. La perfection technique et la «musicalité» intrinsèque de ses œuvres le placent d’emblée parmi les plus grands, ce qui n’a cessé de se confirmer ces dernières années. Les plus grands prix internationaux couronnent son travail minutieux, presque maniaque. À preuve, cette version «remixée» de Lieux inouïs, un disque paru en 1990. L’art de Normandeau y est accompli, nous ouvrant la porte sur des mondes inconnus, entièrement issus de l’imaginaire du compositeur. Un voyage.

AVIS: Le texte reproduit ici est extrait du site de Voir et est protégé par la Loi sur le droit d’auteur du Canada. © Communications Voir Inc, 1999

blogue@press-288 press@288
29 November 1998
By François Tousignant in Le Devoir (Québec), November 29, 1998

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Reprenant en ses propres mots le «qui dit quoi à qui» du Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM), Robert Normandeau publie des œuvres de jeunesse, celles qu’il avoue juger toujours assez bonnes et représentatives de son travail pour continuer de vivre sur la place publique. Dans le monde de l’électroacoustique, trop souvent aveuglement tourné vers la nouveauté technologique, il est bon de se retrouver en face d’une musique qui, même si parfois datée techniquement, n’en garde pas moins une valeur intrinsèque importante: celle du désir—et du potentiel surtout—de communication.

Les lieux dont il est question ici sont les lieux non explorés de l’oreille, ces endroits que l’imagination poétique de Normandeau suscite, tente de créer, levant un voile sur un univers de sens que le dialogue avec sa musique voudrait provoquer. La question de la perception réside alors plus dans «qu’est-ce que je, auditeur, veux prendre avec moi pour en faire quelque chose et partager cette découverte avec le compositeur qui m’en a ouvert le chemin? À quel carrefour nous rencontrerons-nous?».

Cela semble ardu? Pas vraiment. On entend dire souvent de la musique «moderne» qu’on n’y comprend rien. À bien y penser, au fait, que comprend-on d’une symphonie de Haydn? En appliquant les mêmes stratégies perceptives aux deux répertoires on obtient des réponses souvent identiques même si le plus nouvel objet parait plus irréductible à l’analyse usuelle, ou que sa non-familiarité — donc sa non-conformité à un code culturel établi et accepté — nous le rend moins sympathique.

C’est uniquement question de préjugé que la musique de Normandeau, après quinze minutes d’écoute attentive, va rapidement réduire en miettes. Cela ne veut pas dire qu’il faille tout aimer. La poésie séductrice de bien des trames sonores ici présentées va convaincre bien des récalcitrants tout en laissant bien des adeptes froids.

C’est que Normandeau s’applique délicatement, tout au long des œuvres, à trouver la cohérence psychologique du tissu acousmatique, ne jouant jamais le jeu de l’agression per se, préférant aller plus loin dans les sombres ombres du sens en devenir. Mémoires vives en est le plus bel exemple a mon avis.

Je n’ai qu’un seul regret: cette musique si vibrante en salle avec l’orchestre de haut-parleurs perd un peu de perspective, ainsi réduite aux deux canaux de notre limitative stéréophonie domestique. Je préfère ce regret au silence.

blogue@press-284 press@284

Other texts in

  • Circuit #3:1 (Québec), March 1, 1992
    “Une oreille aux aguets, un style robuste, une pensée chaleuleuse très bien servie par une habileté technique qui sait se faire oublier. À écouter d’urgence.”
  • Le Musicien québécois #2:3 (Québec), July 1, 1990
    “Si vous êtes un explorateur à la recherche d’aventures cosmiques hallucinantes…”

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