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1. Ondrej Adamek: Cercle des rythmes vitaux (2003) 15m22s mr_2004-1.1 | 18392 |Composer: Ondrej Adamek Ritual, invasion 2. Theodore Lotis: Underwater Theories (2002) 15m34s mr_2004-1.2 | 18393 |Composer: Theodore Lotis Premiere: October 20, 2004, L’Espace du son (Brussels, Belgium) “When I look through the density of the water, at the paving in the depths of a swimming pool, I do not see it in spite of the water and its reflections. On the contrary, I see it through the reflections, because of them. If these deformities, these stripes of the sun were not there; if I were glancing at the paving’s geometry without the interference of this flesh, then I would stop regarding it the way it really is; there, where it really is: beyond every identical space.” —Maurice Merleau-Ponty, L’œil et l’esprit (Eye and Mind), 1964 The sonic world of Underwater Theories combines electronic sounds created by software synthesizers, with acoustic instruments, such as human voice and doublebass treated by the software Max/MSP. Although my original intention was to explore and emphasize the “rivalry” between electronic and acoustic, or “concrete,” sounds, surprisingly, these two sonic worlds were blended together in a concordant way, creating sonic environments where no confrontations between artificial and natural exist. [ii-08] Underwater Theories was realized in 2002 at the composer’s studio in London (England, UK) and premiered on October 20, 2004, during the 11th festival L’Espace du son in Brussels (Belgium). Underwater Theories was a finalist at the 3rd Biennal Acousmatic Composition Competition Métamorphoses (Brussels, Belgium, 2004). It has been recorded on the compact disc Métamorphoses 2004 (MR 2004, 2005). 3. Martin Bédard: Check-point (2003) 14m12s mr_2004-1.3 | 18394 |Composer: Martin Bédard Check-point is first-and-foremost a metaphor for night… A statement between reality and fiction. It depicts possible locations, convincing landscapes. A piece based on the dialectic of time and space, Check-point is specifically a discourse of form and structure. A series of crystallized moments leading to the final destination… A point you cannot go beyond. 4. António Ferreira: Evidence of Things Unseen (2003) 10m42s mr_2004-1.4 | 18395 |Composer: António Ferreira Electroacoustic or acousmatic music is an established aesthetic that one can define as admitting any sound as potential compositional material, frequently referring to acoustic phenomena and situations from everyday life. Most fundamentally of all it relies on perceptual realities rather than conceptual speculation to unlock the potential for musical discourse and musical structure from the inherent properties of the sound objects themselves. Using both the reconstructing powers of our memory and the tension between reproduction and abstraction, acousmatic music still has a critical potential regarding our aural relation to the world. Evidence of Things Unseen is both an aural reminder of the evocational power of sound in a society too much flooded by images and a gentle critique of the consequent reduced time span attention. This is in part motivated by the barrage of sound bites produced by audio visual industry — an industry that uses much the same technology and the same techniques used to produce this piece. Playing on this slight irony, this piece uses dramatic gestures, pitch distraction tactics and virtual space, an invitation to go from “this” side of the acousmatic curtain into music, from embodied experiences into intentional, poetic experience. 5. Elizabeth Anderson: Les Forges de l’invisible (2002-03) 13m50s mr_2004-1.5 | 18396 |[2 movements] 8-track tape Composer: Elizabeth Anderson Les Forges de l’invisible is inspired by the spirit of the 18th century English poet, engraver, and visionary, William Blake who often wrote of the indestructibility of innocence, the necessity of seizing life and the awakening of the imagination. Many instances of dual imagery also can be found in Blake’s poetry. Among the examples in his poem The Tyger are the twin instincts of destruction and creation, the former a necessary prelude to the latter. I was immediately struck by Blake’s philosophy, in particular with the place he accorded to the concepts of imagination and duality. From this came the idea of transposing these notions onto the electroacoustic canvas, which, in its endless malleability, is ideally suited to their transmission. In the first movement the listener is invited to promenade through a world of almost entirely transformed sounds which alternate between diaphanous webs and moments of almost violent force. The second movement centres on the concept of the forge and the duality inherent to its function: melt down in order to reconstruct. Some of the sounds for Les Forges de l’invisible were created during a residency at the CCMIX near Paris with the support of Le service de coopération et d’action culturelle de l’ambassade de France en Belgique. I am also grateful to Thomas Gardner for providing me with opportunities to record his playing of the violoncello. These recordings were, additionally, a base for sound exploration. The sound material was developed in the composer’s personal studio in Brussels, Belgium. The octophonic mix was completed in the studios at City University in London and in the studio Akousma at the Academy of Music in Soignies, Belgium. Les Forges de l’invisible received an honorable mention in the V CIMESP 2003 (international electroacoustic music compeition of São Paulo) in 2003. 1. Robert Normandeau: Hamlet-Machine with Actors (2003) 15m58s mr_2004-2.1 | 14029 |16-track tape Composer: Robert Normandeau Commission: VNMS Premiere: October 11, 2003, Scotia Bank Dance Centre (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) To Marc Béland Adapted from the music composed for the play Hamletmachine (1979) by Heiner Müller (1929-1995), staged by Brigitte Haentjens in Montreal in 2001. The actors were Marc Béland, Céline Bonnier, Annie Berthiaume, Louise de Beaumont, Gaétan Nadeau, Line Naud, Guy Triffero, and François Trudel. The music was omnipresent during the play, one hour and fifteen minutes of music. Around thirty different themes were used. For the concert version, I reworked every sound and recomposed every sequence to produce an autonomous work. For the first time in a while, I used electronic sounds in the piece. And to this musical material I added the sounds made by the actors, as recorded in three documents I shot: two rehearsals — the rehearsal building, as anyone can hear, was located in an industrial neighbourhood — and the show of the first public performance. By doing this, I have the feeling that I preserved not only the musical material of the play, but also its spirit, thanks to the sonorous presence of the actors. The music, like the play, tries to describe the oppression society exerts on Man, the representation of taboos—including sexual taboos—through the show and the end of art. [xii-04] Hamlet-Machine with Actors was realized in 2003 at the composer’s studio and premiered on October 11, 2003 at the Scotia Bank Dance Centre, Vancouver (Canada). Hamlet-Machine with Actors was commissioned by Vancouver New Music Society (VNMS). The work was finalist at the 3rd Métamorphoses Biennial Acousmatic Composition Competition (Brussels, Belgium) in 2004. 2. Apostolos Loufopoulos: Erevos (2002) 11m08s mr_2004-2.2 | 18397 |Composer: Apostolos Loufopoulos The title means darkness, dusk in Greek. In ancient Greek and Roman (Erebus) mythology Erevos is mentioned as a place between the earth and the underworld, a place where day and night went in turns. The work reveals a world of imagination, in wich relationships and analogies differ from the reality. The idea of the piece refers to a journey between “natural” and “supernatural,” which is presented in the musical context through the combination of recognisable and non-recognisable sounds. Throughout the work, nature adopts different colours and characters: its materials are sonically placed in unfamiliar territories, while they are successively combined, revealing hybrid forms of matter and life. Erevos was completed in September 2002 at the composer’s private studio and at City University Electroacoustic Studios in London. 3. Nicolas Bernier: … sans quoi les imperméables jaunes existeront… (2004) 8m00s mr_2004-2.3 | 17281 |Composer: Nicolas Bernier … sans quoi les imperméables jaunes existeront… (… without which yellow raincoats would not exist…) is based on organic and impulsives movements while learning. It is born from an ongoing desire to plunge in things that I dislike and ovoid simplicity. I like calm, soft music with long static track. This piece is an attempt to avoid this direction. And so I plunged myself in a tight montage with well articulated movements. The inspiration come from childhood. The yellow raincoat (“imperméable jaune” in French) is the symbol of childhood, a symbol of the games and of the excitement of jumping both feet in a puddle of water. [i-07] 4. Vera Ivanova: Panic, Melancholy (2002) 11m12s mr_2004-2.4 | 18399 |Composer: Vera Ivanova Panic (5:12) stands on the border between “serious” electroacoustic music and its exaggeration. It reflects the way of living in today’s metropolis with its rush hours, lack of time and noise pollution, its everyday stress and loneliness. The result? Panic. The initial material of Panic is the filtered beginning of my Night Music for large ensemble. The first two bars repeat throughout the piece, each time transformed through different filters and plug-ins, disappearing in the end, leaving pulsating sine waves as a shadow. The main sources of the piece are graphic patterns used as filters for the Metasynth software, transforming graphic images into sound objects and filters. Melancholy (6:01). The title reflects the mood of the piece; it is a lyric composition based on the pre-recorded voice of Judith Caplan (UK, Soprano). The voice samples were transformed in different ways. Certain partials of words were extracted to create new spoken letters and vowels, as well as rich textures (or ‘fields’) of voices. The two sung notes, E and D-sharp, are repeated throughout the piece. These are the ‘central interval’ of Melancholy (the Major seventh), unstable by itself, but not dissonant. The interchange of these two notes creates a balancing effect, associated with a children’s ‘seesaw.’ 5. Saburo Ubukata: The Fragment of Glass (2004) 8m27s mr_2004-2.5 | 18400 |Composer: Saburo Ubukata The tale which drifts the interval of reality and non-reality. The glass sound is the motif of piece which serves as the undercurrent. A variation is carried out the glass sound, it appears frequently, and it leads music to 2 part form as a result. The relation nature of reality and non-reality is made distorted soon. electrocd.com [va]: Métamorphoses 2004: track detail |
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