Sonorous Landscapes I and II
for 4-Channel-Tape (2005)
First Performance:
Saturday, April 9, 2005, 3:00 p.m.
University of Florida Center for the Performing Arts Black Box Theater (link)

Program Notes

Sonorous Landscapes I and II

The idea following Sonorous Landscapes is to create artificial and imaginary landscapes of sound. There is no conscious attempt to simulate the sonorous impressions of any visual “natural” landscape – although at some points of the piece the associations may be something inevitable – rather than an idea of contemplation of the sound as a real or imaginary image.

The world of the electronic sound can be unimaginable loud or (un)perceptible quiet. Infinitesimal small and immeasurable big. The conscience of this inhumane dimension of the electronic allows an immense collection of possibilities, sometimes in dimensions beyond our normal or usual perception.

In this piece nothing happens. There are only a few contrasts. Transitions form one state to the other. Small processes. Linearity. One sole line.

Technical Description

Sonorous Landscapes was composed using a particular type of Grain-Synthesis. The peculiarity of this synthesis is that you may have so many samples as you which and apply to each one of them different transformations. The common parameters of the Grain-Synthesis so as transposition, amplitude, grain-duration, space, reverb (and so on) may be differently applied to each sample or group of samples. The result is a polyphonically structure that exists in one sole line. This synthesis was implemented with recursive techniques using Lisp/OpenMusic and Csound.


About the interpretation of Sonorous Landscapes


- Landscape I and II are two pieces that should be played together.
- The first piece and the second are separated by a pause of only 4 seconds.

Duration:
Landscape I     0 - 6:22
Landscape II     6:26  - 12:40
(At the tape the piece starts at 0:10)

- Landscape I is VERY quiet and Landscape II is VERY loud. Try to adapt the general level at the concert room so that both stay at the boundaries of perception – almost nothing, and really loud but without being violent (without hurting).
- You may use a subwoofer at Landscape II to accent the low frequencies at the last 3 minutes of the piece.
- At Landscape II you may reduce some high frequencies if you think it is too aggressive, depending on the room you are and on the mood.



Loudspeakers:


    1 (FL)            2 (FR)


           



    4 (RL)            3 (RR)