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piste@nor_2-1
To Martine Blain
The primary visual imagery of the title (Bursts of Voices), the fragmentation of the voice into little shatters, is augmented by the connotation of anger — a child’s sudden anger which appears like a tornado, to disappear just as quickly. The voice is of an 11-year-old child who wholeheartedly joined in the game of recording dozens of sounds from the Dictionnaire des bruits by Jean-Claude Trait and Yvon Dulude. The work is divided into five sections which represent childhood ‘states’ and a corresponding sonorous parameter. These different sections are presented one after the other in concert, or separately when broadcast on radio.
Éclats de voix was produced at the composer’s studio and at the Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM) in Paris from recordings of the voice of Marie-Hélène Blain. It was premiered on September 26, 1991 in stereo by CKUT FM in Montréal. Éclats de voix was commissioned by CKUT with support from the Canada Council [for the Arts]. The present version is a stereo recording of 14-track sound diffusion realized at The Banff Centre for the Arts (engineers: Antonio Oliart and Stephanie Rogers; assistant: Jennifer Lewis) in July, 1993. The piece was awarded the 1st Prize by Jury and tied for the Public’s Prize at the 2nd Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot (Arras, France, 1991) and recorded on the compact disc Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot 1991 (NOR2). It was also awarded a Mention at the Stockholm Electronic Arts Award Competition (Sweden, 1992), an Honorable Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria, 1993) and a 1st Mention at the Bourges International Electroacoustic Competition (France, 1993).
Les objets obscurs was composed during an intense period in studio C at GRM in Paris the summer of 1991. Since I was invited to do a piece at this very honorable institution, it came natural to do something that related closely to the historical tradition represented by GRM. Concept as well as material and compositional methods lies within the basic framework of the classical “musique concrete”. The piece is through its lyrics self-explanatory, but some background information may be at hand anyway. Les objets obscurs (The hidden objects) is a set of riddles partly describing the physical object producing the sounding material, partly describing some aspect of the musical content of each movement. The answer to these riddles may be found in each of the four movements. It works like this: a short text is read (in french) presenting the riddle, immediately followed by a movement (i.e. the musical equvivalent of the riddle). Each movement is based upon sounds and transformations of sounds produced by one single everyday object (like a chair, a glass or similar). One movement-one object. In the end of the last movement the “solution” of all the riddles is presented. These answers, however, sets up a new “inner” riddle, to witch no answer is given.
[source: reseauxconcerts.com]
On the Meta incognita where I landed one day, several laughs, iridescent in the silence, blend with the wind and the accents of the shamanic drum…
[i-95]
Realized in 1991 with the support of the grant Villa Medicis hors les murs. Premiered on November 29, 1991 in Arras (France) during the Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot, Méta incognita was relased on the compact disc Prix international Noroit-Léonce Petitot 1991 (NOR 2) in 1992.