| $20.93
new to stock as of
june 22nd, 2009
threads:
electro-acoustic-composition
musique-concrète
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| | | ina-grm (france) #ina c 2013 cd gilles racot “subgestuel • diffluences • phonophonie” compact disc - subgestuel (21:59) 1991
- diffluences (22:39) 1994
- phonophonie (20:07) 1998
| 2000 release ; three pieces spanning the 90s by gilles racot, a member of the grm since 1983 ...
while the squeaky-clean “virtuoso” pianisms of “diffluences” aren’t exactly my cup of tea, the psappha-esque “subgestuel” mixes free-form concert percussion with subtle electronics in an interesting way ...
“phonophonie,” written “to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of musique concrete” is arguably the most appealing entry here, paying hommage to “classic” electronic music studio technique while simultaneously bringing said into the “contemporary” (read: syter) age ... |
| | subgestuel
21'59 - 1991
homage to the work of the painter zao wou-ki for six percussionists and electroacoustic sound (commissioned by radio france and ina-grm) premiered on 28 mars 1992 in a radio france concert given by percussions de strasbourg
when i emerged from childhood i was deeply affected by the works of certain contemporary painters. they marked the beginning of my education in the visual arts and, in a far more personal way, became guidelines and represented an intersection where other areas of the imagination and awareness, such as that of music, confronted each other and merged together.
the space and pictorial light in zao wouki's work, its play with transparency, fluidity, opacity, textures, emptiness and the energy the paintings suggest had a major influence on the direction my early musical compositions took and doubtless remain, albeit subconsciously, my guidelines.
the title clearly has its roots in the painting style of the master and in the choice of percussion instruments whose playing techniques are particularly physical. even though subgestuel may not be an exact equivalent of the master's works the piece, nevertheless, evokes certain artist's gestures; varied ranges of pitch with different intensity of energy that are concentrated, lashed, whipped, nervous, separated, scraped and smoothed out, "light, broad brush strokes".
the initial aim in writing the percussion parts was to move away from their role of "percussive" instruments and to compose in such a way as to render the sound more flexible, fluid and melodious. one of the aspects of work on the sound of the electroacoustic parts involved accentuating and forcing the instrumental writing beyond the technical possibilities of the instruments, such as the speed at which certain passages were played, reducing harmonics, the line of phrases, etc ..
subgestuel is the second work written in homage to the work of a painter, the first being noctuel (1987) for bassoon and electroacoustic sound in homage to the work of pierre soulages. following the example of these two painters, who incidentally were close friends, the two compositions are very different in terms of the basic
sound material and concept, even to the extent of being exact opposites and representing two complementary aspects of my work : one revolves around energy and movement while the other is an in-depth exploration of sound material. |
diffluences
22'39 - 1994
for piano and electroacoustic sound (commissioned by the french state). premiered by jean-marie cottet on 31 january 1995 in the radio france "festival presences".
“ ... the river's joy is not in reaching the lake, but in coming up against rocks. "
albert jacquard (la legende de la vie - the legend of life)
in general the electroacoustic sound in diffluences only slightly transforms the original instrumental material. the extremely dense writing of the sound of the piano, that is sampled over its own sounds, creates mutations in registers beyond the reach of the pianist's hands; for example certain forms of sound are arpeggios of complex piano material reduced to thousandths of a second, harmonic reductions create chords comprising over fifty elements, etc.. these ideas change from extreme fluidity to granular tremulousness and gyrating trajectories, discovering textures that reveal the "other" piano as if the "real" piano is charged with the energy of its twenty tonnes of string tension, in expectation ...
the difficulty of remaining close to the original sound of the piano and within the limits of what is technically possible to play on a piano forms part of the project to discover solutions to composing that are sufficiently powerful and that benefit from studio experience to enable the musical fabric to be concentrated within the realms of the electroacoustic world.
the relationship between the instrument and the electroacoustic sound is not a standard concerto one, but rather an inseparable combination, a hive of pianos from which emerge the pivotal voices played by the musician.
the title "diffluences" refers to two aspects of work, of writing and sound processing where, from the conception through to the realisation of the project, it proved necessary to create the balance between these two aspects of writing to energise them in their various combinations and oppositions : "coming up against rocks". |
phonophonie
20'07 - 1998
electroacoustic (commissioned by the french ministry of culture to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of musique concrete) premiered on 10 april 1998 : son-mu grm radio france.
to françois bayle
"phonophonie" : the sound of sound, sounds using sound as compared to "symphonie" : the unification or a collection of sounds.
this exclusively electroacoustic piece follows on from subgestuel and diffluences and demonstrates my continuing obsessions and requirements in instrumental composition and electroacoustic composition, for example breaking down harmonics, exploring textures, etc ..
the principle raw material of phonophonie is made up of a small number of instrumental sounds from which a large number of the mixed sounds grow, treelike, by branching. these original sounds refer to the symphonic universe and consequently a small section of the orchestra is used : flute, bassoon, trumpet, strings and several percussion instruments. a synthesis was nevertheless necessary to produce certain mass sounds and highly dynamic passages. more radically, the composition of music that is purely electroacoustic examines and treats sound material and operates at the very nerve of the sound, its texture, level of tension and the energy of its contours to obtain sound, the typology of which is gradually freed from its original form, and to eventually attain a "perfect" acoustic after undergoing various stages of transformation.
the phonetic repetition in the title, which is similar to a stammer, is a light-hearted reference to a liking for repetition or the pleasure of returning to previous experiences that constantly tease the composer or his fascination for certain sound creations he composed (or dreamt of composing) previously. this leads to him rewriting, albeit subconsciously, similar sound creations. in the present work the composer is disturbed by the recurring illusions of speed, tense sources of strength, troubled multitudes, threatening storm clouds, organic manifestations with, in addition, the use of play in which textures and vigorous side-long impacts are induced.
gilles racot |
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