30/01 – 06/02/2012

h.20.30 Auditorium San Fedele

Aphex Twin
White Blur 1 (from Selected Ambient Works II 1994)
Hangable Auto Bulb (from Hangable Auto Bulb 1995)

Autechre
Fol3 (from Quaristice 2008)
SonDEremawe (from Quaristice 2008)

Bernard Parmegiani
De natura sonorum (1975)

Première série:
1 Incidences/Résonances
2 Accidents/Harmoniques
3 Géologie Sonore
4 Dynamique de la Résonance
5 Etude élastique
6 Conjugaison du timbre

Deuxième série :
7 Incidences/Battements
8 Natures éphémères
9 Matières induites
10 Ondes croisées
11 Pleins et déliés
12 Points contre champs

Inauguration of the Acusmonium Sator in San Fedele. Two currents of electronic music from the last forty years are combined: acousmatic music and Intelligent Dance Music. In the seventies, electroacoustic music with a concrete and acousmatic matrix did not receive a favorable look in the environment of the new avant-garde of post-Webernian derivation. Paradoxically, the non-academic electronic music groups of the nineties, coming from the Tecno and House galaxy, found a source of inspiration precisely in acousmatic music, in particular in the works of Bernard Parmégiani, author of impressive topicality for the strength of the sound rhythmic system and timbre and for the formal coherence of the compositions. Bernard Parmégiani’s De natura sonorum is a cornerstone of electroacoustic music. These are 12 studies on the nature of sound and on the relationships between them.

De Natura Sonorum, Bernard Parmégiani
Musical journey towards the knowledge of sound in two parts. In the Première Série, instrumental sounds (recorded) are mixed with electronic sounds (rarely concrete sounds). Timbres are at the center of Parmegiani’s research, sounds of tabla, flutes, organs and something similar to the didjeridoo appear. The Deuxième Série is more conceptual, in which concrete and electronic sounds dominate, to create a sort of synthetic duplicate of the real world shown in the first series. An enigmatic work, with a notable use of resonance and continuum effects on which almost instrumental figurations emerge.

“With De Natura Sonorum, a new phase of my production begins, after trying to connect the sound material to the form of its evolution. I dwell on the writing of sounds, these sounds of which the ink, one could say, is extracted from all the subjects that I try to combine, compare, with the aim of observing nature” B. Parmégiani

The first series is made up of five movements, most of which bring electronic and instrumental sounds, and less often concrete ones, into relation, generally in couples.
I lncidents/Resonances brings sympathetic resonances of concrete sound events with processes that allow variable continuousness (prolongation of sound) of electronic sources into controlled play. The “incidents” arc opposed to punctual “accidents” of the second movement.
2. Accidentals/Harmonics often very brief events of instrumental origin arc brought in to modify the harmonic timbre from the continuum that they undercut or on which they are superposed. Elsewhere, the placing with pitches reduced to a minimum creates a zone of attention to other phenomena generally masked by the melodic form applied to the instrumental play.
3. A Geological sonority resembles flying over a landscape in which the different “sound’ levels will emerge on the surface one after the other. Electronic and instrumental sounds become confused in fusion, seen from such a height
4. Dynamic of the resonance is a microphonic exploration of a single sound body that is made to resonate by means of different types of percussion
5. Elastic study juxtaposes sounds coming from the different “playing” of elastic of instrument skins (gold-beaters skin, zarb) and vibrating strings and different instrumental gestures analogous to this “playing:’ but created by the use of electronic generators of white noise.
6. Timbre conjugations last movement of this series uses the same material to apply rhythmic forms on a continuum of which the timbre is in continual variation
‘The second series falls back on electronic and concrete means whilst the instrumental sources only appear in a fleeting way.
lncidences/pulsations is a son of recall of the first movement and leads very rapidly to’
8. Ephemeral nature interplay of short-lived instrumental and electronic sounds rather more individualised by the form of the internal trajectory than the material itself.
9. Induced matter just as molecular effervescence creates transformations of state, it would appear that the different stages of the sound material’s states here are products of each other, as if by induction 10. Intermixed wavelengths the audible vibrations of pizz interfere with the waves that we imagine “visible” like water droplets on a surface of the same material,
11. Full and free can he listened to as a study of the damped energies of bodies set into motion then rebounding. Such are the hollow “bubbles’ and the points bringing into relationship the heaviness of some, and the very fine movements of others,
12. Points versus fields here we have the idea of perspective of different sound themes that weave a sort of field network. imprison the repeated punctuated elements of the foreground and absorb them progressively so as to give free reign to the fields and melodic sound that opens out.