Environment in Electroacoustic Music Composition

By:

Vanessa Sorce-Lévesque

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Sheffield Faculty of Arts & Humanities

School of Music, Department of Composition

16th of October 2018

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Eversincebeforethisresearchwasevenmadepossible,AdrianMoore’squickresponsivenessandhisappreciationofmywork,alongsidehispersistentlysupportingandwelcomingattitudetowardmycontributionstotheUniversityofSheffield,undoubtedlyhelpedmefeelconfidentandvalidatedasarelevantanduniqueresearcherofelectroacousticmusic.Hiscolleague,myprimarysupervisor,AdamStanović,hasprovidedme,duringthisentire4-yearjourney,withinvaluable advice and support, along with outstanding research guidance, with insightfulchallengestomyideas,constantlypushingmetobringoutthebestthatIcanfindwithinmeandwithinmyresearch.

I am also extremely grateful to thosewhohave helpedme financially, andwithoutwhosefaithfulcontributionsandpatiencewithme,thisresearchprojectcouldhavebeenforcedtobeabortedatseveralpointsduringtheprocess.Theyare:

• LeFondsdeRechercheduQuébec|SociétéetCulture(FRQSC),whohasbeenfundingmyresearchsincethesummerof2016;

• Aidefinancièreauxétudes,Québec(AFÉ),whograntedmeaccesstograntsandloanswhichsupportedmysubsistencebetween2014and2016;

• VéroniquePoirier,who,asmylocalMP,wentasfarastomeetwithaministertolegallydefendmyaccesstosuchgrantsandloans;

• FannieDionne,averydear,long-termfriend,whohelpedmegetbackonmyfeetaftera severe burn-out, and helped me achieve the independence necessary for theimmensejourneyahead;

• TheSwedishCouncilfortheArt’sInternationalMusicgrant,whichsupportedingreatpartmy two-month residency at the Visby International Composer’s Centre in theautumnof2016;

• Erasmus+, who supported a three-month long residency at the Electronic MusicStudiosofStockholm(EMS)between2017and2018;

• TheGladysHall continuation scholarshipwhich I received in 2015 from theMusicDepartment,andwhichwascrucialinthesupportofmystudentstatus;

• The Learned Society Fund, who supportedmy participation at a workshop on thesubjectofspatialisationatMusiques&RecherchesinBrussels;

• MoKS,whohostedmystayandprovidedmewithperdiemsforsixweeksinMooste,Estonia;

• IreneMuñozFuentes,thepersonwhosharedmyhomeformostofmystayintheUK,andwithwhomIhavesharedsomanydeeplymeaningfulmoments;

• FortunaMonte,whoreachedouttomewithoutbeingasked,andhelpedtocoverformytuitionfeesatatimeofseverehardship;

• Andofcourse,mymother,Anne-MarieSorce,whohasunfailinglysupportedmyeverymove,whohasmademajor sacrifices in order to be able to supportmewith suchpersistence,andwhohashadincessantfaithinmyworkandintheideasthatIstrivetobringforward.

Ialsowishtoextendmygratitudetotheseveralinstitutions,collaboratorsandmentorswhoshowedinterestinmyworkandwhoprovidedmeaccesstoawealthofinvaluableexperiencesandknowledgeduringthisresearch:

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• TheUniversityofSheffieldSoundStudios(USSS),wherealargepartofmyportfoliowasrealised;

• TheUniversityofSheffieldMOOCsTeam,whobroughtme todiscoverSheffield, itscultureandcommunities,throughtrulyinspiringandcreativeprojects;

• AnnetteVandeGorneatEspaceSenghorforMusiques&RecherchesinBrussels,withwhomIhavelearnedagreatdealabouttheacousmoniumtraditionintheEuropeancontinent;

• TuulikkiBartosik,whofirstcametomyhouseforaprivateconcert,andwithwhomIhaveworkedonseveralmusicalprojectseversince,amongstotherstheoneatMoKS,inEstonia;

• Sten Melin at Visby’s International Composer’s Centre, who provided me with anoutstandingcomposingspaceandarrangedformetomeet,andevencollaborate,withanumberofSwedishmusicians,inVisbyandStockholm;

• ThestudentsatVisby’sTonsättarskola,whoshowedsomuchinterestinmymusicandwithwhomIstillkeepcontact;

• The Stockholm Saxophone Quartet, who provided me with an incredibly rich andcreativesoundbanktoworkfrom;

• The Canadian Electroacoustic Community (CEC), who introduced me to the verypleasantandlivelyelectroacousticcommunityinMorelia,Mexico;

• TheCanadianCouncilfortheArts,whofundedthisvisit;• ColinFrank,whowasabsolutelydedicatedtohisworkandwithwhomIhavehada

verypositivecollaborationthroughAvalanche;• MartineSvanevik,withtheteamofAvalonLARPproductions,whobelievedinmywork

andwaseagertocollaborateinaninnovativeway;• TheElectronicMusicStudiosinStockholm(EMS)anditsentirestaff,whohostedme

inanoutstandinglywelcomingway,andwhogavemeaccesstoanincredibleamountof freedom, resources, and a thoroughly pleasantworkplace, andwhohavebeen amajorcatalystinmysuccessfulintegrationandlifeinSweden;

• Konstmusiksystrar,aSwedishWomenComposer’sinitiative,whoprovidedmewithan inspiring, safe and supportive environment to exchange, meet other womencomposers,andtobebold;

• UNM(YoungNordicMusic)Festival,whoprovidedmewithanincredibleamountofinsight within the world of new music in the Nordic Countries, and who entirelysupportedmyparticipation;

• Mygrandmother,NivesMassera,whohasbeenasourceofinspirationsincemyveryfirst moments in this life, and whose story is one of great strength, courage, anddevotion.

Iamalsoprofoundlygratefultoanumberofcloseonesandtruefriends,mostlywomen,whohavesupportedme,oneithersideof theAtlantic, throughout thischallenging journey,andwhostillemotionallysupportmeandinspiremetoshinetothisday:AudreyEmery,BénédicteBérubé,AnnieBjörkman,DanielaDahl,MathildeCôté,GabrielLedoux,VincentMagnoux,CécileGallant, Célina Jane Lévesque, Édith Beauvais-Sauro, Anouk Brisebois, Nick Orsini, AsiaPietrzyk,andagreatmanymore.

Finally,IaminfinitelygratefultoVéroniqueRouleau,whohasbeensupportingmesincetheveryfirstdayofthisresearch,notonlyasabrilliant,talented,marvelous,anddearfriend,but

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foralsoforherconstantenthusiasmandauthenticinterestforwhatIhavebeenresearchingin those past years, and for her truly invaluable feedback and some of the deepest, mostrelevantinsightsIhavereceivedalongtheway.

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Table of Contents PORTFOLIOOFMUSICALWORKS 7ABSTRACT 8

INTRODUCTION 91.ÉCLATSDEFEUX 111.1PHYSICAL&CULTURALENVIRONMENTS 111.2IMPORTANCEOF(FIELD)SOUNDRECORDINGSANDTHEIRIMPACTONMEANING 131.3WRITINGTECHNIQUES 161.3.1Abrieflookatthefirstsegment:impactandsustain 161.3.2Segment2:LayeringandBuild-up 171.3.3Anoteoncontrastingwritingtechniques 18

1.4STRUCTURE&FORM:CONTRASTINGENVIRONMENTS 191.5ORIGINALTOMODIFIEDTOPOETICENVIRONMENTS 201.6CONCLUSION 21

2.OMEGA3 212.1SITE-SPECIFICCOMPOSITION:PHYSICALENVIRONMENT 212.2WORKINGWITHTHEPERFORMER:CULTURALENVIRONMENT 242.3EXCHANGESBETWEENELECTROACOUSTICANDLIVEPRACTICES 272.4REVISITINGTHEPIECE:FORMANDSTRUCTURECHALLENGES 282.5PERFORMANCEENVIRONMENT:FROMSITE-SPECIFICTOPORTABLE 282.6CONCLUSION 29

3.ANALMOSTABSTRACTEXPERIENCE 303.1CONTEXT:ARESIDENCYINVISBY 303.2SOUNDSOURCES:CREATIVERECORDINGS 303.3AFORMDETERMINEDBYCONTRASTS 313.4FORMDESCRIPTION 323.5THEPARTICULARITYOF5.1 333.6ANALMOSTABSTRACTENVIRONMENT 343.7CONCLUSION 36

4.EXERCITIUMARITHMETICÆOCCULTUMNESCIENTISSENUMERAREANIMI 374.1COMPOSITIONPROCESS 374.2ONTHEANECDOTE 394.3CHOOSINGBETWEENLIVEANDFIXED 404.4SCORINGTECHNIQUES 414.5MULTIPLICITYOFENVIRONMENTS 424.6CONCLUSION 43

5.BORDERCROSSING 445.1IMPLICATIONSOFLARPFORMAT 455.2INTERNALSPACE:FIELDRECORDINGS,SYNTHESIS&PLACE 455.2.1Metaphorical(Emotional)EnvironmentOrPlace 465.2.2FieldRecordingsandNon-ReferentialSoundsWithinComposition 46

5.3EXTERNALSPACE:PERFORMANCESPACE&GAMINGENVIRONMENT 485.3.1PerformanceEnvironment 495.3.2GamingEnvironment 50

5.4FORM&NARRATIVE 515.5CONCLUSION 54

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6.RÉSISTANCE 546.1CULTURALENVIRONMENT:MEMORIESANDHISTORY 556.2MATERIALITYASENVIRONMENT:FROMARTEFACTTOSTYLE 586.3CONCLUSION 59

7.AVALANCHE 607.1AMULTI-LAYEREDFORM 607.2INFORMATIONOVERFLOWASANUNDERLYINGÆSTHETIC 627.3STYLISTICAPPROACH 637.4PARTICIPATIONOFTHELIVEINSTRUMENT:OPENFORMAPPROACH 677.5CONCLUSION 69

8.CONCLUSIONSANDFURTHERQUESTIONSONENVIRONMENT&PERFORMANCE 698.1DIFFERENTTYPESOFPERFORMANCEFORDIFFERENTCONTEXTS 698.1.1ÉclatsdeFeux&Résistance:theTypicalAcousmaticEnvironment 698.1.2Omega3:Site-SpecificEnvironment 708.1.3BorderCrossing:AGamingExperience 718.1.4AnAlmostAbstractExperience:TheCaseofMulti-ChannelSurroundSound 728.1.5Exercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimi:WithorWithoutInstrumentalists 728.1.6Avalanche:MultiplicityandExcessofEnvironments 72

8.2CONCLUSION&CONCEPTSTOFURTHEREXPLORE 73ANNEX 75PROGRAMMENOTES 751.ÉclatsdeFeux 752.Omega3 753.AnAlmostAbstractExperience 754.Exercitiumarithmeticoccultumnascientissenumerareanimi 755.BorderCrossing 756.Avalanche 767.Résistance 76

LISTOFPERFORMANCES 761.ÉclatsdeFeux 762.Omega3 773.AnAlmostAbstractExperience 774.Exercitiumarithmeticoccultumnascientissenumerareanimi 775.BorderCrossing 776.Avalanche 777.Résistance 77

BIBLIOGRAPHY 78DISCOGRAPHY 80

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Portfolio of Musical Works

FoundonMemoryStick

Allworksareinwavformatat24bit48kHzresolution.TheyareallstereoexceptforAnAlmostAbstractExperience,whichis5.1onaninterleavedfile.

1. ÉclatsdeFeux(2016) 10’072. Omega3(2016) 16’443. AnAlmostAbstractExperience(2017) 11’114. ExercitiumArithmeticæOccultum

NescientisSeNumerareAnimi(2018) 12’5. BorderCrossing(2018) 10’106. Résistance1(2018) 10’7. Avalanche(2018) 23’

ExercitiumArithmeticæOccultumNescientisSeNumerareAnimiandAvalanchehavescoresforoptional instrumentalists and are presented in their own folder. Exercitium ArithmeticæOccultumNescientisSeNumerareAnimialsopresentsscreenshotsoftheprojectforvisualaid,towhichthereisareferenceinthetext.

1Onemayrefertohttps://youtu.be/9F7tEnN6QnkforanexampleofaperformanceofAvalanchebyColinFrank;althoughitisnotacompletelydefiniteandaccuraterepresentationofthepiece,itprovidesoneexampleofhowtheinstrumentalistmaygoaboutperformingthepiece.

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Abstract

ThisPhDiscenteredaroundadiscussiononsomeofthedifferentnotionsofenvironmentinelectroacousticmusic,supportedbyaportfoliooforiginalcompositions.

Sevenoriginalelectroacousticcompositionsareproposedinthisportfolio.TheseareÉclats de Feux,Omega 3, An Almost Abstract Experience, Exercitium Arithmeticæ OccultumNescientisSeNumerareAnimi,BorderCrossing,Résistance,andAvalanche.Eachworkpresentsaparticularapproachandcontexttothemusicwhichaffectthewaysinwhichenvironmentismanifestedwithinandaroundthecomposition.Allpiecesarestereo,except forAnAlmostAbstract Experience, which is in 5.1. Two of them, Exercitium Arithmeticæ OccultumNescientisSeNumerareAnimiandAvalancheincludeanoptionalinstrumentalistcomponent.

Acentral,overarchingnotion,presentthroughoutthisportfolio,isthatofphysicalandculturalenvironment.Thesedistincttypesofenvironmentareexploredatlength,throughthelensofthisvariedmusicalportfolio,coveringfixedmedium,stereo,multi-channel,live-derivedand game-related. This diversity in formats informs my evolving understanding ofenvironmentinelectroacousticmusic,andsuggestsdifferentperformancesetups,whichareexploredasaconclusionofthisresearch.

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Introduction

Thecentralpartofthisdoctoralthesisisaportfoliooforiginalacousmaticcompositions.Theseworks,includedintheaccompanyingmemorystick,areinvariousformats,includingstereoandmultichannel,buttheyareallintendedforlisteningoverloudspeakers,andperformancethroughdiffusion.Thisaccompanyingwrittendocumentintroducesthevariouspieceswithintheportfolio,drawingattentionto:1)thesourcematerialsusedwithintheircreation,2)thevariouswaysinwhichthosematerialsweredevelopedduringtheactofcomposition,3)theapproachtostructureandform.Atthesametime,thediscussiondrawsattentiontoacentralthemethatrunsthroughouttheworksincludedintheportfolio;eachpiecepresentsmaterialsand/orformsrelatingtotheenvironment.Takenasawhole,thesevariousapproachestotheenvironmentconstituteabroadworkingmethodthattypifiedtheauthor’sowncompositionalvoice. Although primarily evident from the compositions themselves, this accompanyingdocument highlights some of the many ways in which the term environment has beenconsideredandunderstoodthroughoutthecreationofnewworks.

Thevariouschaptersrelatetothevariouspieceswithintheportfolio.Thus:

Chapter1 focusesuponÉclatsdeFeux. Itstartsby introducingthenotionsofphysicalandculturalenvironmentwithinelectroacousticmusic.Alongtheway,certainkeytermsrelatingtoenvironmentareintroduced,alongwitharangeofsourcesthathavepreviouslyexploredtheideaofenvironmentwithinthefieldofelectroacousticmusicandthatdiscusssurroundingideas, such as soundscape and cultural studies. It concludes with an exploration of theinteractionbetweenenvironmentandæstheticmusicalchoices,andhowtheseoverlapandinteract.

Chapter2discussesOmega3,whichhasasite-specificcomponent.Therefore,weconsiderhow environment manifests itself in this context. This chapter considers the interactionbetweenphysicalandculturalenvironments,andexaminesthechallengesofrevisitingapiecewhichwasfirstdesignedforaliveperformanceenvironment.Itconcludeswithanexplorationoftheimpactsofitssite-specificityonthemusicalcontents.

Chapter3addressesAnAlmostAbstractExperience,a5.1surroundcomposition.Thischapterexamines the unique specificities of the 5.1 format, and how it is treated differently as acomponentofphysicalenvironment,andhowitaffectsthemusicalcontent.Itdiscussestheuseofalmostexclusively instrumentalmaterial,andhowthisproducesadifferentsenseofenvironmentwithinthecompositionaltogether,andconcludesonadiscussiononthegreaterformofthepiece.

Chapter 4 considersExercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi,whichincludesmultipleliveperformers.Here,weconsiderthepresenceofanecdoteandtheatricalitywithin themusical environment of amixedmusic piece,which can be performedwith orwithout instrumentalists. It discusses scoring techniques and, ultimately, how varyingperformancecontextsaffectitsenvironmentandhowthepresenceofinstrumentalistsmayaffectthemusicalcontent.

Chapter5focusesuponBorderCrossing,whichwascomposedintheveryuniquesettingofLive-ActionRole-Playing(LARP)andthereforeexploresseverallayersofenvironmentwithin

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compositionandespeciallyduringperformance.Itdiscussestheinteractionbetweenmusicandspaceandhowphysicalenvironmentimpactstheperceptionofmusic.Italsoconsidersdifferentlayersofculturalenvironment,andexaminesbothitsinternalandexternalspace.

Chapter6,whichfocusesonRésistance,exploresthemesofdocumentationandæsthetisationofmaterials. It uses cultural environment to aliment poiesis and echoes different culturallayersofsocietythroughthepresenceofculturalandhistoricalartefactsandhowtheyrelatetoenvironmentinelectroacousticmusic.Itshallexploretherelationshipwithpersonalandcultural content, and how the cultural environment informs the product. Finally, it shallexamine the materiality of the original sound sources as a comment on its culturalenvironment.

Chapter 7 addresses Avalanche, which explores the overabundance of information andintricatemeshesofenvironments,aswellashowtheyinteracttogether.Withinthescopeofone mixed media piece, there are reflections on different themes relating to excess ofinformationandtheneedtomakeæstheticchoicesinthecontextofmusicalcreation.

Chapter8shall,asafinaloverview,gooverthismusicalportfolioandexaminethepotentialpossibilitiesforperformanceandhowphysicalenvironmentmaybeaffectedbyoraffectthemusicbeingperformed.Itshallexplorethepossibilitiesofinteractionbetweencomposedandperformedphysicalspacewithinelectroacousticmusicandmakesomesuggestionsastohowonemayapproachthiswithinmyportfolio.

Inconclusion,thiswrittendocumenttiestogetherallofthevariouswaysinwhichnotionsofenvironmentmightbefoundintheportfolioofaccompanyingcompositions.Althoughthesearenotintendedasacomprehensivetaxonomyoftermsandconcepts,oranexhaustivelistofhownotionsofenvironmenthavebeenexploredelsewhere,thedocumentdoesconcludewithcertain overarching ideas about the future use of environmental materials both withincomposition and performance; key themes which have been explored and discussedthroughoutarebrieflysummarized,andideasforfurtherresearchinthefieldofenvironmentinacousmaticmusicarepresented.

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1. Éclats de Feux Thefirstcompositioninthisdoctoralportfolio,ÉclatsdeFeux(10’07),isastereoacousmaticpiececomposedbetween2014and2016attheUniversityofSheffieldSoundStudios(USSS).Thetitlereferstotheimpressivebonfirenightsand,seemingly,endlessfireworksencounteredduring the first few weeks immediately following my arrival to the UK. ‘Shards of Fire’,translated into English, also represents the extent to which one’s life may be completelychangedwithasingleactoftravel.

ThroughthepresentationandanalysisofÉclatsdeFeux,IaimtointroducekeyconceptswhichI have explored in this composition portfolio. This will include the importance of fieldrecordings,writingtechniqueswithinelectroacousticmusic,howthepresenceofenvironmentinformsstructureandform,andhowthoseenvironmentscangofromtheiroriginalstatetoapoeticone. 1.1 Physical & Cultural Environments Myinterestinenvironmentalsoundsincorporatesboththeirphysicalandculturalnotionsofenvironment.Inthissection,weconsiderthesimilaritiesanddifferencesbetweenthesetwoterms,andthispavesthewayforadiscussionaboutÉclatsdeFeux, inwhichbothof thesenotionsmaybeencountered.

The physical (acoustic) environment, most often referred to as ‘space’, has been widelyresearched and discussed in the field of electroacoustic music2. For example, Smalley’sspectromorphology3 directly follows the description methods found in Schæffer’s typo-morphology4,listingphysicalpropertiesandclassifyingthemingrids.Forthepurposeofthisthesis, I will define the physical environment as the acoustic surroundings of sound.Manifestationsofthisinthesounditselfmaythereforebethesenseofspace,ofroomorofcontainer,forexample.Theremayalsobeinstanceswherethelimitsofthesesurroundingsseem tobe somewhatproblematic todefine. Consider these twoparagraphsbyR.MurraySchafer:

Community can be defined in many ways: as a political, geographical, religious or social entity. But I am about to propose that the ideal community may also be defined advantageously along acoustic lines.

The house can be appreciated as an acoustic phenomenon, designed for the first community, the family. Within they may produce private sounds of no interest outside its walls. A parish was also acoustic, and it was defined by the range of the church bells. When you could no longer hear the church bells, you had left the parish. Cockneydom is still defined as that area in East London within earshot of Bow Bells. This definition of the community also applies to the Orient. In the Middle East it is the area over which the muezzin’s voice can be heard as he announces the call to prayer from the minaret.5

2Anumberofwell-knownresearchersinthefieldhavepublishedawealthofmaterialonthesubject.These include, for example,Barrett, Bayle, Casey, Chion,Harrison,Merlier,Oliveros, and Smalley tonameafew.3Smalley,D.(1997).Spectromorphology:explainingsound-shapes.OrganisedSound,2(2).4Schaeffer,P.(1966).Traitédesobjetsmusicaux(1977ed.).Paris:Seuil.5Schafer,R.M. (1977).TheSoundscape:OurSonicEnvironmentand theTuningof theWorld, InnerTraditions/Bear&Co,p.215.

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Here,Schaferaguesforthedeterminationofcommunitiesbytheirsonicproperties.Ofcourse,intheexampleofdetermininguptowherethechurchbellsareheard,thedelimitationwillbeextremelyvariable,dependingonamultitudeoffactors,suchasweather,urbanism,thelevelofsonicactivityinthearea,withoutmentioningthelistener’shearingcapacities,health,andattention, amongst other things. In other words, physical environment in sound andconsequentlyelectroacousticmusicmaybemeasuredtosomedegree,withapproximateandvaryingdelimitations.

Paul Rodaway offers additional information, especially in regards to the social aspect ofsoundscape,inhisdefinitionofit:

The soundscape is the sonic environment which surrounds the sentient. The hearer, or listener, is at the center of the soundscape. It is a context, it surrounds and it generally consists of many sounds coming from different directions and of differing characteristics… Soundscapes surround and unfold in complex symphonies or cacophonies of sound.6

This, again, supports the idea that thepresence of the listenerhas a strong impact on thereception,andthereforeperceptionofthesoundscape(orsonicenvironment).Interestingly,Schaferalsomentionstheideaofcommunity;thisis,arguably,animportantaspectofcultural,ratherthanphysical,notionsoftheenvironment.Unlikenotionsofthephysicalenvironment,whichmay be understood through relatively straightforward ideas and concepts, culturalnotionsofenvironmentaremuchmoreambiguous.AccordingtoJeffLewis,professorofmediaandcultural studiesatRoyalMelbourne Institute of Technology, culture can be defined assuch:

Culture […] is constructed out of consonant and aggregating meanings that are shaped in relation to a given social group’s values, ethics, interests and ideologies. Culture may become evident in the material text (speech, image, sound, words) and in practices (human actions, audience behaviours, and so on). However, […] culture is also dynamic and replete with disputes over meaning and various claims for meaning primacy. New meanings are shaped in terms of ceaseless interaction of humans and their diverse communicational forms. […] this dynamic contributes to the transfer, implosion, creation and re-creation of meaning.7

As we can see from this statement, culture is seen as being dynamic and ever-evolving.Assumingthatthisiscorrect,itisimmediatelyclearwhywemighthavemoretroubledefiningculturalenvironmentalnotionswhencomparedwiththeirphysicalcounterparts;theformer,unlike the latter, cannot be so easilymeasured. Furthermore, since culture is always in aprocessofcreationandre-creation,itsidentificationishighlysubjective.Indeed,onepersoncan,andoftenwill,havevariousdifferentreadingsofthesameculturalenvironment;suchisthecomplexityofsoundsthathaveastrongculturalleaning.Thisreliesalsoonaperson’sownexperiencesandmemories,andwithmemorycomestheideaofplace.

Asanoteontheconceptofplace,itisworthtakingalookathowKatharineNormandescribesit:

Whereas space is delineated by extent (even if infinite), a place begins and ends with a relationship between the perceiver and the perceived. So, I measure

6Rodaway,P.(1994).SensuousGeographies.LondonandNewYork:Routledge.7Lewis,J.(2008).CulturalStudies:TheBasics(2nded.).London:Sage,p.6.

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whether there is sufficient space for my new piano against the sitting room wall, but the place where I bought it is defined by lived experience.8

Thus,forme,theideaofplaceisverymuchalignedwiththeunderstandingthatcultureisadynamicprocess.Muchlikeculture,placeisshapedbyexperience,mostlikelybroughtandunderstoodthroughthelensofacommunity.

In summary, I considerphysical environment,or space, tobe thephysical surroundingsofsound. These surroundings are definedby acoustic principles and can also have clear andunclear boundaries. Cultural environment, however, is a social context,manifested in text(suchasdefinedabovebyLewis:speech,image,sound,words)whichcarriesmeaning.Withinelectroacousticmusic,itisafluidsurroundingofsoundwhichismoreeasilyunderstoodviathepresenceofacommunityoragivensocialgroup9.

1.2 Importance of (Field) Sound Recordings and Their Impact on Meaning Asacomposer,Ivaluetheuseofvariedsoundsourceswhencreatingelectroacousticmusic.Inthiscontext,fieldrecordingsoccupyaparticularlysignificantpositionwithinmywork;notwofieldrecordingsareeverthesame.ThisisnottheonlyreasonwhyIchoosetousefieldrecordings; unlike sound synthesis or studio recordings, field recordings usually garnerinterest for their (almost always) recognisable environmental cues; field recordings offertracesofbothphysicalandculturalenvironmentfromtheverystartofacompositionalproject.

FieldrecordingsareattheheartofÉclatsdeFeux.TheoriginalideaforthisworkstemmeddirectlyfromtheabundanceoffieldrecordingsIhadgatheredandthatinspiredmetohavethesesoundsasthemainexpressivecontent.Duringthegatheringoffieldrecordingsforthispiece, Iwas interestedinboththephysicalandculturalaspectsofenvironmentsthatwereencountered.Asageneralrule,twofactorsguidedmychoiceofsounds:theirsonicpeculiarityandtheirprovenance.Thesonicoriginalityfoundinthesedifferentrecordingswasimportantfor creating a diverse stock of sounds, whereas their provenance contributed to createmeaningandpersonalpoiesis.

Givenwhatissaidabove,itisperhapsimportanttoclarifymyvisionofmeaningandpoiesisinthecontextofelectroacousticmusiccomposition.Meaning,forme,happenswhenthereisanassociation of ideas or a connection between two experiences. For instance, in a givenelectroacousticpiece,theiterationofonesalientsoundobjectcancreatemeaninginsidethemusical form. Whilst field recordings already create their own part ofmeaning by beingconnectedtoapreviousexperience,Igivethemmoremeaninginthemusicalcontext,byusingpatterns,creatingsalience,andusingsomeofthesekeysoundsasformalmarkers.AtthestartofÉclatsdeFeux,forexample,wehearasignificanteventintroducedat0’16.Thissoundeventis fairly complex; ithasanervousenergy, a complexspectralmassandavaryingdynamicprofile.Assuch,itissomethingofasalientsound,occupyingmuchoftheforeground.Itlasts

8Norman,K.(2012).ListeningTogether,MakingPlace.OrganisedSound,17(3),pp.257–267.9Assuggestedabove,community(or,inLewis’swords,agivensocialgroup)isalargeaspectofculture.Asitturnsout,communityisalsoamajorpointofinterestinmycompositionalapproach.Throughoutthis thesis,wewillobservesomeof thediverseoccurrencesof community in theproposedmusicalworks. For instance, the geohistorical Estonian communities presented inOmega 3 are completelydistinctfromthegamingcommunitiesinvolvedinBorderCrossing.AsfortheirpresenceinÉclatsdeFeux,itisexpressedthroughavarietyofenvironmentalsoundrecordings,whichIwilladdressinthenextsectionofthischapter.

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until0’30,butreturnsat0’43,then0’54,3’13,andsoon.Inthiscontext,repetitionpunctuatesdifferentsegmentsofthepiece,thereforecreatingmeaningbyassociationandcoherenceinthemusicallanguage.

Anotherwaytocreatemeaningwouldbe towrite insuchaway thatanemergingmusicalpatternevokesanextra-musicalreality.Anexampleofthisisfoundat1’56,whenoneoftheauditorystreams10featuresasoundobjectwithacomplexmasshavinganiterativebehaviourina regular rhythmicalpattern.Asa cultural experience, this is reminiscentofmechanicalsoundpatterns,particularlythatofthetrain.Thisisanassociationofideasthatcanbecreatedregardlessoftherebeinganactualrecordingofatrainusedasmusicalmaterial.Asamatteroffact,itmightevenbecomemorepracticaltousealabel(suchas‘train’)toidentifythissound,rather than constantly referring to it as an abstract sound, or by reference to its physicalproperties.

Aswehavejustseen,itispossible,withtheuseofabstractsoundobjects(asinnothavinganimmediaterecognisablesource-bonded11nature),toinvokenotionsofenvironment.Infact,thisispossiblewiththeuseofanytypeofsound,providedthatitcreatesaclearreferencetotheexperienceofanenvironment.However,theeffectisnotautomatic.Forexample,theideathatahighlytransposedsyntheticsoundmighttriggerthememoryofabirdchantdoesnotnecessarily imply theunderstanding of awholenewenvironment.After all,music has theabilityof creatingsurreal constructs inwhichdifferentmusicalobjectsmayormaynotberelatedtoknownenvironments.Furthermore,evenwhenthesesounds(forexamplethebirdchant) may be instinctively linked to known environments, their presence in a musicalconstructmightnotimplytheentireenvironmentfromwhichtheycouldhavebeenextracted.

Consequently,foranenvironmenttobesuggested,thereusuallyneedstobeimpliedthetraceofanenvironment,beitrealorconstructed.Thiscanhappendirectly,forinstancewhenafieldrecordingclearlysuggestsaspace(forexampletheacousticqualitiesofanurbanparkoranartgallery).Withothertypesofsoundobjects,itcanbetheuseofasoundprocessingeffect(forexampletheuseofareverberatingeffectbasedonimpulse-response,oramathematicaldelay).Inothercases,itcanhappenbywayofmusicalconstruct,especiallywhenthereisthepresenceofaforegroundinteractingwithabackground.Moreoftenthannot,thelistenerwilltendtointerpretthisasaformofdepthoffield.This,ofcourse,canbeanentirelyconstructedand therefore poetic environment, which does not automatically refer to a known

10 Concept taken from Bregman, A. S. (1978). Auditory Streaming: Competition among alternativeorganizations.In,Perception&Psychophysics,3(5),391-198.Theconceptofauditorystreamismuchlikethatofamusicalline,butismorethanphrasings.Itisfocusedonthepresenceofdifferentsoundobjects in timeandhowthey interact tocreateapolyphony.This term iswidelyused, inFrenchas‘courant auditif’when relating to different levels ofmusical lines, especiallywithin the tradition ofelectroacousticmusic.Thereasonwedonotsimplyusetheterm‘musicallines’isthat‘streams’implythepossibilityofvariouschangingtypesofvoices,affectedbydifferentsoundobjectsaggregatedintothesevoices.Often, theyaredifferentiatedby theirplace in the spectrumand theirbehaviour.ThisexplainsBregman’soriginaluseoftheideaof‘competition’amongorganisations.

11Smalley,D.(1994).DefiningTimbre,RedefiningTimbre.ContemporaryMusicReviewVol.10,Part2.London:Hardwood.

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environmentand thus,will likelybe tocreatepersonalmeaningaccording to the listener’sexperiencesandactasametaphoricalenvironment.

Yetanotherway to createmeaning, forme, is intrinsically related toa composer’spoiesis.There are some approaches within electroacoustic music that favour giving importanceprimarily,ifnotsolely,tothesoundmaterial’splasticityandsonicattributesinordertomakeæstheticdecisions(forinstance,DeNaturaSonorumbyParmegiani12orÉvidencematérielle13byHarrison).Inmycase,however,Ivaluethemomentofrecordingasanexperienceinitself.During,andfollowing,theactofrecording,Istarttobuildanarrayofreferenceswhichconnectsoundstotheiroriginalcontext.Idonotfeeltheneedtocommunicatethesameexperiencetolisteners,nordoIseekanykindofnarrativeformrelatedtosuchexperiences.Idohopetoconveyasenseofwonderwithmychoiceofsounds.Bythis,Isimplymeanthatsoundobjectsare more than mere abstract materials: they intentionally carry information about theircontext, and if that context can inspiremy personal poetry (i.e. poiesis), then it is worthexploringthroughtheactofcomposition.Moreover,whenthereis,infact,aconnectiontoaspecificsocialgrouporcommunity, itbecomes,forme,evenmorerelevanttohighlightthepresenceofthatcommunitybyincludingitinmyexpressiveprocess.InthespecificcaseofÉclatsdeFeux;severallocalsoundsareheardthroughoutthepiece.Hereareexamplesoftheseinthefirstminuteofthecomposition:

- 0’00:theintroducingsoundistakenfromanairpumpinaKelhamIslandgarage;- 0’10:thebellstruckatthatmomentisoneheardattheNationalMuseumofEmergency

ServicesinSheffield;- 0’16: thesustainedgrainypitch introducedhere is fromArgentSteel,asteelworks

companynearFurnacePark,Sheffield;- 0’20:thevoiceofthemanisthatofaworkeratArgentSteel;- 0’50:themelodicbellsarefromanMBTA14SubwaystationinBoston.

These sounds carry a particular meaning for me; they are unique in their acousticmanifestations.However, theyareultimately connected to several ofmyownexperiences.More specifically, they reflect my own experience as a traveller from North AmericadiscoveringNorthernEngland.Itgivesmepoeticinspiration,andprovidesæstheticdirectiontothecomposition,regardlessofwhatisultimatelyreceivedandreadbythelistener.

Whilstthesesoundscarrymeaningforme,theiroriginalcontextisnotnecessarilytheprimaryfocus ofmy interest. If I were primarily interested in their original context, then I wouldprobably decide to compose soundscapes. There is, of course, nothing wrong with thesoundscapetradition.However,sincesoundscapeisoftenlinkedwithacertainpoliticalstance(ofwhichacousticecologyisastrongbranch)ittendstogivemorevaluetonon-urbansounds,which,frommyperspective,makesitdifficulttoconnectwithcommunities.Forverysimilarreasons, Luc Ferrari has mentioned that he was not comfortable with being labelled a‘soundscapeartist’:

I’ve always felt awkward about the term “soundscape” because of its association with an ecological stance. Murray Schafer or Pierre Marietan conducted

12Parmegiani,B.,(1975).DeNaturaSonorum[Vinyl]Paris:INA-GRM.13Harrison,J.,(2000).Évidencematérielle[CD]Montréal:empreintesDIGITALes.14MassachusettsBayTransportationAuthority

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soundscape experiments where there was the least amount of noise pollution, outside of any reality with regard to the modern soundscape, which nobody can imagine without the sounds of highways, planes, railways, etc. You can’t romanticize the silence of yore, which was certainly invaded by dreadful noises: carts, horses, etc. […] As for me, what I’m trying to render audible is the city or the country with the tractors, the traffic, the background noise of phone lines, the people on the sidewalk, the music coming out of the open doors of shops—everything that makes up our urban or rural environment.15

Inmuch the same line of thought, I have interest in communitieswhich contribute to thesurroundingculturalenvironment fromwhich thesoundsare taken.With this inmind,weshallnowexamineÉclatsdeFeux,payingparticularattentiontothewritingtechniquesusedwiththesesamesoundobjectsforthispiece.

1.3 Writing Techniques InordertodiscussÉclatsdeFeux,Ihavedivideditsformintosevensegments:

1. 0’—1’072. 1’07—3’333. 3’33—4’404. 4’40—5’305. 5’30—7’106. 7’10—8’017. 8’01–10’07

Eachsegmentcontainsanumberofphrases,builtupondifferentwritingtechniques.Thesetechniquesaremostoftenchosenaccordingtothematerialthatisfeatured.Bychoosingtodiscuss its writing techniques, I wish to demonstrate how, in my approach, the originalmaterialaffectstheoverallmusicalresult.WhilstIdonotthinkthatitisnecessarytoanalysethewholepiece,alookatthefirsttwosegmentsshouldhelptounderstandmycompositionalprocesswithinÉclatsdeFeux,andsomeofthewaysinwhichtheconceptofenvironmentismanifestedthroughout.

1.3.1 A brief look at the first segment: impact and sustain ThefirstsegmentofÉclatsdeFeuxmainlyusesacontrastbetweenimpactandsustain.Soundeventscarryingimpactsareheardat0’,0’02(airpump),0’10(airpumpcombinedwithbell),0’16(endofbellsoundcontrastingwithactive,high-frequencycomplexmassderivedfromfireexplosions),0’42(low-spectrumthunder-likeimpact),0’58(low-spectrumimpactderivedfrom metallic object), 1’06 (high-spectrum impact derived from metallic object). Thoseimpactsareusedaspivotingevents todirect the focusof thepiece, introducingadifferentsoundmaterial(whichoftensuggestsaspecificenvironmenteachtime.)Inotherwords,theseimpactshavethe functionof interruptingthediscoursetochangetheperspective fromthepreviousenvironmentalsoundobjecttothenext.

Betweenthefirstandthesecondimpact,onehearsasuddenchangeofenvironment.Withinthe first second, after the first airpump impact, there is the expositionof the soundof anoutdoor scene, which is quickly replaced by an indoor soundscape (reverberating voices

15Caux,J.(2012)AlmostNothingWit;hLucFerrari:InterviewswithTextsandImaginaryAutobiographiesbyLucFerrari,BerlinErrandBodiesPress,p.109.

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indicateaclosedspace)afterthesecondimpact.Thisisthenbrieflyinterruptedbythebell’ssustained tone, which creates an effect of suspension (by not revealing a new realistic16environment immediately). The suspension is extendedat 0’16withnervous and complexsoundssuperposedtoanother tone.Hintsofacommunityaregivenwhenaman’svoice isheardat0’20.Thesustainedsoundshaveadensely-filledspectrumandthusmakeitdifficulttopictureaclearenvironment.

Theenvironmentchangesoncemoreat0’44,afterthenextimpact.By0’47,lesscomplextonesareheardand,withtheirlackofmidandhighspectralqualities,thesesuggestagreater(oratleastwider)environment.

Thisenvironmentisalsodiscontinuedatthemomentofthelastimpact,at0’58,whereevenlower-pitchedtonesareintroduced.Notunlikethebell’ssustainedtone,thereishere,onceagain,aneffectofsuspensioncreatedfromametaphoricenvironment.

1.3.2 Segment 2: Layering and Build-up Afterthefinalimpactofthefirstsegment(0’58),thewritingstylecompletelychanges.Inthisnew section,we do notmove quickly fromone environment to the next. Rather, a slowerdynamiccanbeheard.Thiscontrastswiththeprevioussegmentandintroducesaflowwithinonemainmetaphoricenvironment,inwhichcuesarenotsomuchspontaneouseventsastheyareconstructsbuiltoveralongerspanoftime.Moreover,theenvironmentscreatedaremuchmorepoeticthaninthefirstsegment,wherepiecesoforiginalfieldrecordingscanbeheard.Insteadofswitchingfromoneclearreferencetoarealenvironmenttothenext(evenwithadded, obviously foreign sound objects, such as the active complex mass almost entirelymaskingthesteelworksat0’16), theprogressionsherearemuch lessclear-cut. If the firstsegmentwasessentiallypresenting ‘snapshots’of fieldrecordedenvironments loadedwithinformation,thesecondsegment insteadproposes juxtaposingslowerevolvingelementsofrecordedenvironments,whichmaymakeitmoredifficulttoestablishaclearreference.

Forexample,theprolongedresonancefromtheimpactat1’07fadingintoamelodyofwhichthe timbral contours blend with that same resonance sound blurs the realistic quality ofanythingwhichcouldbetakenasthedirectacousticsoundscaperecordingofanobservablephysical space.The changeof landscape isbroughtbyæsthetic association, anartistic andarbitraryconnectionmadeasapersonalcompositionalchoice.ThisæstheticapproachisquitesimilartothatusedbyFrancisDhomontinEspace/Escape.Inthispiece,forexample,thesoundofavehicle’shorn(1’56”)isextended,throughreverberation,andblendedwithasustainedpianochord,usingasource-bondedmaterialwithinalargelymetaphoricenvironment.Inthiscase,insteadofhavingthepurefunctionofreferringtoaknownenvironment,itcontributestothemusicalconstructalreadyinplace.

Even though acoustic elements suggest the idea of a room (such as the distant-soundingsqueakat1’52,andthevaguelyreverberant,processedmalevoicewhichseemstobeheard

16IwillmakeapointtomakeitclearherethatIusethetermrealisticnottorefertotheunrecognisablequality of the bell’s sound, but rather that if there is a perceived environment, surely it is not therepresentationofamaterialspaceinwhichonemayphysicallyenterorleave.Itwouldbemuchmorelikelytobeaculturallyconstructed,poeticplaceorthesonicmetaphorforanenvironmentwhichhere,wouldbemoreakintodreamsthantodirectlyrelatableenvironments.

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through a train station PA system at 1’59), the environment ismuchmore of anæstheticconstructthantherealisticrepresentationofanexperiencedphysicalspace.

Withinthisconstruct,musicalevolutiontakesplace,withslowbuild-upsinwhichthelowerauditorystream(sustainedbasetonesorsimplemelody) ispresent throughout. Itappearsclearly for the first time at 1’19, where the bell melody emerges from the previousreverberationtrail.Itsmelodicprofileisalsoaguidingelementforeventsaffectingtheotherauditorystream.At1’46,whereoneofitsmelodyphrasesconcludes,anewsoundmaterialisheard:alowfrequency,complexmass,withaniterativerhythmicalpattern.Thispatternfadesoutasthebaselinere-emergesintheforeground,whichrevealsthebellmelodyonceagain.

At2’22,anewauditorystreamentersasthebaseline(bass-likesoundsatthelowerendofthespectrum)goesevenlower.Thisstreamalsohasarhythmicalpatternandacomplexmass, but has a great deal more mid-high frequencies, which cause it to take over theforeground.Additionalrhythmicalmaterialappearsat2’28and, fromthenon,streamsarepiledupontopofeachotherwhilstthebaselinegrowsintimbralcomplexityandamplitude.By2’42,previouslyintroducedmaterialsarethenheardatthesametime,withthereturnofthefirstsegment’sbellresonanceat2’46.By3’,streamsaremultiplied,fillingthespectrumand creating a dense musical moment. More and more materials are added, almostexponentially, toaccelerate thebuild-upand lead toa final, essentiallywhitenoise, sound,concludingona singlehighpitch fadingaway ina complex (as inhavinga complexmass)reverberation.

1.3.3 A note on contrasting writing techniques Using these twodistinctwriting techniquesachieves two things.Firstly, it createscontrastbetweenthetwosegments,inanefforttokeepthemusicengaging.Secondly,itintroducestwodifferentimpressionsofenvironmentwithinthemusic.Whilstsoundmaterialsmaybeusedin both segments (such as the bell melody and the bell resonance), the effect is entirelydifferentfromonesegmenttothenext.

In the first segment,mostof thedynamically sustainedpartsare identifiable recordingsofspaces;theyarelargelyunprocessed,andthereforepartiallyidentifiable.Thiscreatesaneffectofmultiple‘windows’,bywhichmanyenvironmentsarequicklyintroducedandsetthetoneforthepiece:adiversityofspacesandplaces,withaconsciousanddeliberatechoicetousesource-bondedandrecognisablematerial.

Thesecondsegmenthasamuchmoregradualwritingstyle.Whereinthefirstsegment,therewouldbealmostasystematicflippingthrough‘windows’ofdifferentenvironments,heretheenvironment evolves progressively. The build-up is much steadier, juxtaposing differentauditory streams to create an environment which is much less readily identifiable. Thetransitionsarefluidandoverlongerperiodsoftime,withbridgingsoundmaterial(suchasthereverberation tail at 1’07) instead of sudden events (such as segment 1’s air pump). Thiscreatesanevolvingsenseofplaceratherthanspace,fluidandfleetinglikeamemory.

Thisiswheretheimportanceofculturalenvironmentbecomesdefininginmycomposition.IhavevividmemoriesofbeingexposedtocommunitiesaroundSheffield,havingrecentlyleftNorthAmerica.Thisisexpressedinamuchmoreeventfulwritingstyleinthefirstsegment,whilstthesecondisconsiderablylessactive,exhibitingqualitiesofameditativeintrospection,introducingadream-likestatewithsoundsofmyownpersonal,moredistantmemories.

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Asmentionedabove, Idonotwishtorenderaudiblespecificsoundscapes,but Idowishtoexpressdifferentæstheticideas.InthecaseofÉclatsdeFeux,themainideawasthetravelfrommyoriginal home to anewone.Thewriting techniques serve to express this, through thecontrastbetweenthefirsttwosegments.Differentmaterialsmayhaveresultedinasimilarapproach to this form. However, the materials chosen, and their cultural provenance(environment),haveobviously influencedhowtheywereultimatelyusedand theiroveralleffect.

In the next section of this chapter, we shall consider how the overall use of contrastingsegmentsaffectstheformofthepiece,andhowenvironmentandmusicbothinfluenceeachotherinmycompositionalapproach.

1.4 Structure & Form: Contrasting Environments Havingestablishedtwoformsofæstheticenvironmentswithinthefirstandsecondsegmentsof thispiece, I shallnowbrieflydiscuss the restof thepiece toexplain its structure in thegreaterform.

WhenlookingatthedynamicprofileofÉclatsdeFeux,itispossibletofindaninternallogic;theuseof certainenvironmental recordingsand theconstructionofmusicalenvironmentsintertwine.Keepinginmindthatsegment1washighlyeventful,frequentlyswitchingbetweenscenes,andthatsegment2hadamuchslowerbuild-up,Ishallbrieflygoovertheremainingsegmentsofthepiece:

- Segment3(3’33)continuesthesuspension,butusessoundssimilartothosefoundinthefirstsegment,re-introducingthembeforeafinaleventwhichcreatesaswitchofenvironments;

- Segment4(4’40)goesbacktothewritingstyle foundinsegment1butwithaddedlayering;

- Segment5(5’30)startssuspensefulbutquicklyopensupintolayeredactivesounds;- Segment 6 (7’) starts with active sounds which progressively diminish into a

meditativestate;- Segment7(8’01to10’07)opensuptoanoutsidesoundscapejuxtaposedwithabstract

musicallines.

Withoutgoingintoexcessivedetail,whathappensmostoften,fromonesegmenttoanother,isapushandpullbetweenactive,fast-pacedwritingandstatic,slowdevelopment.Mostoftheeventfulsectionshaveeasilyrecognisablesounds,orsoundscapes,suchastheairpump/childvoicesinthefirstsegment,machinery/childvoiceinsegment4,andmachineryandhumanvoices in segment 5 (although, here they can be often masked by other active sounds,especiallythecomplexhigh-midmass).Withinsegments2,3,6,and7,whichhaveatypicallymore meditative style, abstract sounds dominate, although they are not exempt fromrecognisablesounds,suchasthetrain-likemotionat7’33insegment6ortheobviousmalevoicesthroughoutsegment7.

Thisinformationreinforcesthetendencyobservedintheprevioussection,wherethefirsttwosegments involved different writing techniques, and the overall style expressed differentenvironmental ideas derived from themusicalmaterial itself. The final result is neither acomplete, direct reproduction of a soundscape, or an absolutely abstracted musical

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environment. The content informs the container and vice-versa. For example, clear-cutchangesinsegment1wereinspiredbytheaggressivequalityofeventschosen(suchastheairpumpsound).Thesoundsinbetweenthosechangesdidnot,otherwise,specificallyorientmetoward one or another writing technique or style. Rather, this technique was helpful forconveyingasenseofstimulationcausedbythesoundmaterialswhichbringpowerfuldynamicchanges.Inthesameway,themelodicandreverberatinglow-spectrumbellsofsegment2ledme to use amore progressivemusical build-up. This, in turn, helped conveymy personalpoiesis; a sense of introspection, a connection to inner memories, contrasting with thepreviouslyrelentlesssuccessionofstimulatingexperiences.

Whilstwehaveseen,inthissection,howsubjectandforminformoneanother,Ishallbrieflydiscuss,inthenextsectionofthischapter,someofthedifferentstatesofenvironmentsusedthroughoutmymusic.TheideasbelowarenotmerelyapplicabletoÉclatsdeFeux,butalsototherestofmyportfolio.

1.5 Original to Modified to Poetic Environments Aswithmyothercompositions,ideasofenvironmentappearindifferentformsthroughoutÉclats de Feux. In this case, unprocessed field recordings act as a trace of the originalenvironment,whichisbothphysicalandcultural,actingasbothsubjectandform.RarelydoIusefieldrecordingswithoutprocessingthemorintegratingthemwithotherelements.Thisisbecause, asmentioned above,my goal is not to compose soundscape or otherwise renderaudible the original experience of an environment20. Instead, original environments andsubjectsareoftenconnected,Idoliketouserecognisablepartsofthosefieldrecordingsinordertoanchorthepiecetoitsorigins.

WhilstIliketokeepglimpsesoftheoriginalacousticenvironmentspresentinmyrecordings(suchasinthefirstsegment),Ialsobelievethatprocessingsuchsounds,asonemightwithanyothersoundobject,issignificantinthecontextofcomposition;itgivesmeawiderpalettetochoose from,butcanhelpwithbridgingabstractsoundswithmoreobviouslyrecognisableones.Forinstance,themelodicbellsofthesecondsegment,whilststillrecognisable,havebeendampenedandmodifiedtoblendmoreseamlesslywiththeprevioussound(areverberationtail).Thisallowsmetogofromaneventwhichwouldotherwisehavenoconnectionwiththeintroduced sound (bells) and blend it into an organic progression toward the nextenvironment(segment2).

Culturalandphysicalenvironmentareembeddedintheoriginalfieldrecordings.AlthoughIam deliberately modifying the originals, a trace of environment remains as the sound istransmutedtoadifferentstate.Thebellsinsegment2areagoodexample;anotherexamplecould be the initial bell’s resonancewhich reappears throughout the piece (first at 0’11),sometimesstretched,sometimesreversed,yetanothercouldbethefilteredvoicesthroughoutsegment7.ThatIprocessthosesounds,combinedwiththefactthatthesesounds(whetherintheiroriginalorprocessedform)areusedtocreatenewenvironments,producesapoetry,aconsequenceofmypersonalæstheticchoices.

20Iwouldliketonoteherethatevenwiththedirectreproductionofthephysical,acousticrealityofthatenvironment,theculturalandpersonalexperiencewhichtookplaceatthetimeofrecordingiscreatedintoamemory,andthereforeisanever-evolvingprocess.Thisiswhy,ultimately,inmyview,thereisnosuchthingasanaccurateandtotalrepresentationofanygivenenvironment.

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This poetry is what results from unexpected associations or sonic images that would nothappenifitwerenotthroughmusic.Throughtheprocessofcomposition,Iamabletocreatenew,poeticenvironments,whichareneithersoundscapesnorcompletelyabstractedmusicalforms.Consequently,anewmanifestationofphysicalenvironmentemerges,andanewlevelofmeaningisproduced.

1.6 Conclusion Using Éclats de Feux as an example, this chapter has discussed the importance of fieldrecordingsinmycompositionalpractice,howconsideredhowtheserecordingsareusedwithsomeofthedifferentwritingtechniquesthatIemploy.Thisinturninformsthecontentandtheformofmycompositions.Duringabriefdiscussiononthedifferentstatesenvironmentcanhave,fromoriginaltomodifiedtopoetic,itwasnotedthatfieldrecordingsretaintheirphysicalandculturalqualities.Inthenextchapter,weshallhavealookatOmega3,apiecethatinvolveda site-specific environment and a live performer, and again observe related ideas aboutenvironment.

2. Omega 3 Omega3(18’18)isastereo,acousmaticpiececomposedanddesignedtobeperformedon-siteatanoldlinseedsortingfactoryintheMoosteparishofEstonia.Theprojectstartedoutduringa residency offered by MoKS21; an artist-run space where I was collaborating with a liveaccordionperformer(TuulikkiBartosik22).GivenTuulikki’sbackgroundintraditionalfolkand,crucially, improvisationwithin folk, theworkwas initially designed to be performed live,withinthefactorycomplex;thepiecewasdesignedtoallowvariousactsoffreeimprovisation.Followingthisinitialstage,Isubsequentlyrevisitedtheroughlycomposedparts,tocreateastandaloneacousmaticversionofthepiece.Accordingly,asisdiscussedbelow,thispiecewasdesignedwithaspecificenvironmentinmind,determinedbytheartisticresidencyandthesubsequentreworkingoflocationrecordings.

Thischapterconsidersthepresenceofphysicalenvironmentwithitssite-specificqualityandhowculturalenvironmentismademoreobviousthroughthecollaborationwithalocalliveperformer.Itgoesontodiscussthechallengesthatcameoutofreworkingapiecepreviouslydesigned to be a live performance, and adapting it to be a standalone acousmatic piecealtogether.Itconcludeswithadiscussionsurroundingitsportable formatandhowitssite-specificqualitiesimpacteditsmusicalcontents.

2.1 Site-specific Composition: Physical Environment BeforeIfurtherthediscussioninwhichIdistinguishphysicalandculturalenvironment,Ishallconsiderimportanttostressthateventhoughonemightapproacheachconceptindividually,theyareextremelydifficulttoseparate,becauseoneimpliestheotherandviceversa.Notionsofphysical environmentare surelydefinedbyculturalperspectivesprovidedbya culturalenvironment,inthesamewaythataculturalenvironmentcanhardlyexistwithoutitsphysicalreality.Notonlydotheyneedeachother’spresencetobeunderstood,theyalsoconstantly21MoKS.,(©2018).[Viewed27September2018].Availablefrom:http://moks.ee22Bartosik,T.(©2018).[Viewed27September2018].Availablefrom:http://tuulikkibartosik.com

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interactandinfluenceoneanother.Physicalandculturalenvironmentsrelyoneachothertobedefinedandshapeeachother’sexistence,inthesamewaythataparishcanbedefinedbyacommunity’ssoundingchurchbells.Inasimilarlineofthought,considerthisreflectionmadebyCatharinaDyrsseninArewestillpretendingthatspacesareboxes?23:

Through sound we share the everyday experience referred to by Michel Foucault as heterotopias: multi-layered, changing states in time and space, unique, complex configurations that vary in relation to the environment and can be opened and closed with differing degrees of accessibility. […] Thus every place is both an inter-space, an in-between-space, and many different places, where the private and the shared, the physically close and distant, the acoustic and the visual are all over-layered. A backdrop of urban noise, with all its sound artefacts, including traffic, ventilation systems, escalators, the buzz of cafés, muzak, advertising messages, etc., is often a surge of sounds with a blurry relationship between foreground and background, and with unclear boundaries in public spaces between the visual and the audible, the individual and the collective, the separate and the inter-related.

The very fact that somany ideas cohabit in such a limited amount of text underlines thecomplexityoftherealitiesevoked:environmentsexistinamultiplicityofrealities,physical,cultural, collective, individual,andsoon. I foundDyrssen’spointespeciallyrelevantasshestartsoffwithsoundasareferencepoint.Thisreflectsverywellmyexperienceasacomposer:thesound,whichisaresultofmymusicandatraceoftheenvironmentsfromwhichitcomesandwhereitismanifested,informsonandinteractswiththosesaidenvironments.Therearecomplexramificationsineveryvariantoftherealityofsound,andwhilstIamawarethatitmightberiskytoapproachthemfromseparateangles,Ihavealsocometotherealisationthatthe notion of cultural environment has not been discussed nearly to the same extent asphysical environment (i.e. space)within the electroacousticmusic literature. Furthermore,whilsttheimportanceofcultureandcommunitieswithinthetraditionofelectroacousticmusichasalwaysmoreor lessbeenonthefringeofthemainfocusof interest,whichis,afterall,music, issues surrounding community, culture, and cultural appropriation are all found intopicaldiscussions.Forthesereasons,Ibelievethat,inordertobeuptodatewithourglobalreality,itisimportanttoincludeanddiscussthenotionsofcultureandcommunitieswhilstreflectingonartistictopics.

IamwellawarethatifIamtoobserveasite-specificcompositionthroughthelensofphysicalandculturalenvironment,itisnearlyimpossibletoseparatethetwo.However,forthepurposeofpracticality, I have chosen to associatemainlyphysical environment to the locationandculturalenvironmenttothecollaborator.Thishelpsmeorganisemyideasinawaythatmightmakethemmorereadilyidentifiable.Forinstance,itisobviousthatalinseedsortingfactory,foundinthewoodsofSouthernEstonia,nexttoasmallvillagewhichhasrootsthatlinktoancient Livonia, German estate investors and Latvian trade, constructed under the USSR’sreign, has cultural implications. However, that standpoint was not my first focus as acomposer,whenIfirstapproachedthecompositionofOmega3.Inmyexperience,theculturalaspects became much clearer through interacting with Tuulikki. Having had next to noexperiencewiththeEstoniancountrywhenIstartedthecompositionofOmega3,whatwasimmediatelymostobviouswasthephysicalenvironment.Notonlythat,buttheveryfirstthing

23Dyrssen,C.(2007).Arewestillpretendingthatspacesareboxes?,inLARM:Frommouthcavitytolaptop:thesoundofNordicart,KabusaBöcker,p.23-27.

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Ididduringthisprojectwastorecordsoundsonsite.Thereverberationandresoundingmetalstructuresof the linseedsortingfactorywere, inmyimmediateunderstanding,muchmoreprominentlytheresultofaphysicalenvironmentthanthatofaculturalenvironment.Itisonlylater,throughinteractingrepeatedlywiththeperformer,whohasyearsofhistorywiththatlocation,thattheculturalaspectsweremademuchmoreobvious.Withthisbeingsaid,IshallnowgoontoexaminesomeofthephysicalaspectsofOmega3throughitssite-specificquality.

Thelinseedfactory,anancientbuildingintheEstonianmunicipalityofMooste,sitsdeepinthewoods,surroundedbyderelictobjects.Manyoftheseobjectsarefeaturedduringtheinitialstagesof thecompositionalprocess; justasonemight improvise ina recording studio,weexploredthevarioussonicpossibilitiesthesefoundobjectsoffered,asapointofdeparture.Indoing so, the factory environment was almost always audible: substantial reverberation,resonatingmetalstructures, low frequenciesemphasisedby thesizeof theroomandevensoundsfromtheforest(suchasthewindintreesorbirdssinging)werealmostalwayspresent.As the bank of recorded sounds grew, the Estonian factory environment became anincreasingly prominent part of the composition, imposing its spatial character upon thematerialsthatwereselectedand,ultimately,employed.Atfirst,itseemedasthoughthismightbecome something of a restriction, narrowing the spatial content of the work, and thuspreventingcomplexityordiversityinthisregard.Infact,however,thefactthatthevarioussoundswereall recorded in the samephysical spacehasanenormousbenefit; the soundsemployed were immediately connected through the spatial similarity and, far from arestriction,thisdirectedsomeofthemanywaysinwhichIapproachedsoundprocessingandmanipulationand,crucially,thelarge-scaleformofthepiece.

In terms of actual musical material, the sounds which were directly available in thatenvironment,apartfrombeingimpressedbytheenvironmentalsignatureofthegivenspace,wereobtainedfromobjectsreadilyaccessibleinthefactory.Thoseobjectsweremostoftenfactory-relatedtools,suchasmetallic(nails,brushes,frames,poles,machinestructures)andwooden(boxes,planks,brooms, tablesurfaces,blocks)objects. Thosearesoundelementswhich,inthispiece,tendtofillthegreaterarcsoftheformalstructure.Whenused,thesesoundmaterials are mostly layered and with a lot of dynamic activity, thus not immediatelycontributing to the general dynamic profile in the sense that they often describe micro-gesturescontainedinthelargerphrasesandform.Suchelementscanclearlyberecognised,almostnon-processed,forexample,at6’10wheremetallicscrapingsoundsinteractwiththeabrasivehigh-pitchsound,arrivingsuddenlyandforcefullytocreateachangeinenergy.Thehigh pitched material is regular, monolithic and steady in its development; the shorter,spectrally complex, scraping sounds help to support the otherwise static material at theforeground.Withthosetimbrallycomplexsoundscomesarhythmicalpattern(stillat6’10),supportingthegeneralenergeticprofileofthesection.Whiletheseinternallayershavetheirown,distinct,energeticdevelopments,theyarenotsufficientlyprominentsoastotakeoverthelarger,heavierstructureimposedbytheundisturbedandplainhighpitch.Itisonlywhenthisonefadesawaythatthestructurebecomesmoreinfluencedbytherhythmicalmaterial,whichbecomes foregroundedaround6’40.Thus,between6’40and7’04,ambiguitybrieflysets in exactly at themomentwhen thishigh-pitchedelementweakens.This is temporarythough,as it comesbackquitenoticeablyafter7’04 toreinforce itsstability,until it finallydisappearsassuddenlyasitappeared.Thismakeswayforadifferentsectionaltogether.Thissectionofthepiece(between6’and7’)isagoodexampleofsoundsoriginatingfromthetype

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ofobjectsavailableon-site.Thesoundoftheroomitselfcanbeheardthroughoutthepieceatvaryinglevels,butrarelyisitasimpleroom‘colour’,inthesenseofauniquereverberationthatitwouldgivetothesoundsofthepiece.Therearehintsoftheoriginalspacewherethesoundsweretaken,forexampleattheverybeginning,whenbirdsareheardsingingaswellaswindintreeleaves.Therearealso,attimes,instanceswherethehumanvoiceiscolouredbyaresonanceofthemetalstructuresitisheardthrough,suchasthevowelsresonatingat14’35or the traceofareverberationaroundthehigh-pitchedvoiceat15’10.Yetanother,maybemorepureinthesensethatitisnotprocessedasmuchandisaccompaniedbylesssurroundingsounds,aminute laterat16’20, isanexampleofthosestructuresshapingthesoundofthevoice.However,asthewritingofthepieceitselfisbasedonaconsiderableamountoflayers,thusmakingitsstylealsoenvironmental,itmaybedifficulttodiscernclearlywhicheffectisinfacttheonedrawnfromtheoriginalsiteitself.Thisisaparticularityinmystyleofwriting:Itendtouseseverallayersandmaketheminteractwitheachother,aswasthecasepreviouslywithÉclatsdeFeux.AsIhavediscussedthisapproachinthepreviouschapter,Ithoughtitbesttoexplore,withOmega3,conceptswhichwerenotpreviouslydiscussed,suchassite-specificcompositionandworkingwithaliveperformer.

Insummary,thephysicalaspectoftheenvironmentwhichwasthesetoftheconceptionofOmega3isacombinationoftheroomimposingitsacousticspaceandthesoundingobjectsreadilyavailableinthatspecificspace.Thoseobjectsalonearenotdefiningintermsofformaldecisions,butgiveadistinctqualitytothepiece,whichcontributesinanchoringit intothesettingofthelinseedsortingfactoryofMooste.Inthenextsectionofthischapter,weshallseehowthecollaborationwiththeperformerinformsonthepresenceofculturalenvironmentsurroundingOmega3.

2.2 Working with the Performer: Cultural Environment TuulikkiBartosik,whojoinedmeinthecompositionprocess,isaperformerofimprovisedfolkmusic, alternating between the accordion, voice24, and kannel25. Early in the collaborativeprocess, itbecameclearthatherinstruments,backgroundandperformanceabilitieswoulddeterminealargepartofwhatwasultimatelyaccessibleandusablewithinthecomposition.

Theaccordionisverywell-knownwithinfolkcontextsand,asaconsequence,Istrivedtoavoidclichéswithinthefinishedpiece;Ilookedforsoundswhichwerenottypicaloftheinstrument,either because they are impossible to hear without amplification, or simply because theinstrumentwas not originally designed to produce such sounds. For example, at the verybeginningofthepieceacomplexsoundmass,resemblinga longbreath, isaccompaniedbysomecracklingsoundobjects.Thebreath-likesoundisderivedfrommovementsofairintheaccordionasitispulledopenandpushedback,withoutanynotebeingplayed.Thisisafairlyrecognisablesound,occasionallyheardwithinfolkperformance.Byrecordingitwithaclosemicrophonetechnique,Iwasabletomakeuseofcertaincharacteristics,tothepointwhereitbecameaforegroundingauditorystream.Thecracklingsoundswereproducedbyfoldingthe

24Tuulikkiwasmostlyusingakulning technique,which is a typically Scandinavianvocal techniqueoriginallydevelopedinruralregionsforthefunctionofherdinglivestock.Rosenberg,S.(2014).Kulning–anornamentationofthesurroundingemptiness:abouttheuniqueScandinavianherdingcalls.(R.U.Music,Ed.)VoiceandSpeechReview,8(1),100-105.25 Estonian traditional instrument using plucked strings; comparable to the zither. Rüütel, I. (n.d.).Kannel.(O.U.Press,Ed.)Retrieved1017,2017,fromGroveMusicOnline:http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/L2232552

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fabricofthebellowsasairwasbeingdrawninandoutoftheinstrument.Insuchsounds,Isawan opportunity to provide an instrumental correspondence to the various creaking andcracklingsoundstakenfromthefactory.

Anotherexampleisthefaint,high-pitchedsoundsthatappearthroughoutthepiece,butareparticularlypresentat7’15.Thismaterialismelodic,andthereforenotcompletelyalientotheinstrument, but extremely quiet within the mix. If those sounds were meant for liveperformanceinsteadofbeingencodedonfixedmediawithinadeterminedaudiomix,suchmaterialswouldhavehadtobeproducedontheaccordionloudenoughtoprojectwithinthespace(whichwasfairlylarge),andthiswouldhavepresentedsomethingofachallengetotheperformer. In this particular case, however, it is amplified as soon as it is performed, andpresented over an array of loudspeakers26. The piece is thus built upon sound materialsproduced by the accordion, without being restrained by the normal conditions of liveperformance.Thisgavemeaverywidepaletteofsonicnuancesandsubtletieswhilearrangingthedifferentauditorystreamsandthinkingoftheoverallmusicalidea,whilestillincludingtheliveinstrumentintheperformance.However,asitisnow,theacousmaticversionofthepieceincluded in this portfolio is not a simple recording of her performance and a previouslycomposedpartonfixedmedia.Mostofthemusicalmaterialproducedbytheperformerduringtheliveperformancehasbeenrecordedseparatelyandreusedinthefinalmix,whichisablendbetweenthealreadyfixedpartandthenewlyaddedsounds.Thespecificapproachtothisworkisfurtherdescribedinthenextsectionsofthischapter.

Inadditiontotheaccordionmaterials,Tuulikkiproducedarangeofimprovisedvocalmelodiesusingkulningtechniques.Thisspecificvocaltechniquedrawsinfluencefromlifeonthefäbod(seasonaldwellings, similar to theScottish shieling,usually locatedaroundmountainsandforests),partofaScandinavianMiddleAgesfarmingsystem;kulningwouldbeusedbywomenofallagesasaherdingtechnique.Thevocaltechniqueofkulningtypicallyrequiresawoman’svoice,asitreachesusuallylong,sustainedhighpitches,whichareproducedloudenoughtoproject across pastures, for the function of herding livestock. It may, at times, soundmelodicallydramatic,asituseshalfandquarter-tonesandthuscreatesmelodictensions.Inthe context of Omega 3, there are some melodic patterns, but the timbre is really whatinterestedmethemost;thisiswhyitoftenappearsasasustainedpitch,suchastheoneheardat15’30. Incidentally,at thatmoment in thepiece, it ispartofseveral layers, inwhich theresultingsustainedsoundismuchmorecomplexthanonlythesoundofahumanvoice.

Inmanyrespects,thiskindofvocalmaterialseemstocontrastthefactorysetting,withtheformer suggesting an open countrysidewilderness,whilst the latter suggests an enclosed,man-madeformofmanufacturing.Forthisreason,thevoicealmostalwaysappearsfaraway,wovenintothespatialmix,inasortofdream-likeeffect.Itisworthnoting,however,thattheoriginal recordings were also heavily affected by the physical environment of the factoryspace;notonlybecauseofthespace’sacoustics,butalsobecauseTuulikkiusedmanyofthefactory’sstructurestomakehervoiceresonateinthespace.

Withinthispiece,thekannel,aninstrumentwhichislocaltoEstonia,servedtocreate(oratthe very least evoke) a cultural environment. For this reason, the instrument is rarely26Iwillnoteherethatevenifthepieceisperformedoveranarrayofloudspeakers,itisoriginallystereo.Itwassimplydiffusedoverseveralloudspeakersinorderforittofillthespaceofthefactory,whichwasconsiderablylarge.

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performedsolo,orplayingmelodies27.Infact,itisnotrecognisableuntilitsfirstappearanceat10’45.At thatmoment, it isheard in thebackground,maskedby thepresenceofaveryactive, powerful and compact stream in which there are several nervous, as in eventful,elementsbeingheard.Itisonlyat10’48thatthekannelfinallymovesintotheforeground,withitsaccentuatedresonations.Here,insteadofdevelopingamelody,ittriggersasmallsequenceofchordsbeforesuddenlybeingrelegatedagaintothebackgroundbyamuchmoreabrasivesonic event at 11’. There is anotherbrief kannelmoment, at 11’11, before it is oncemoreinterrupted by an impulse which dominates themusical discourse from 11’17. Sounds ofkannelstringsareheardoneminutelaterat12’25,wheretheyarebarelydistinguishedfromtheenvironmentalreadyestablished.Indeed,theirfaintpresencetendstoeasilyblendinthemix, especiallywith thealreadysustained immersivevocalpitch,whichoccupies thesameregister.At13’18,therearestillhintsofkannelchords,againwithoutthembeingextremelyprominent. During the 15th and 16thminutes, its presence is implied by subtle hints,withsoundsechoingchord-plucking,suchastheonebarelyheardat14’40. It thenreappearsat16’20,asanaccompanying layeruntil theend, fadingaway toward17’50,where thevoicetakesoverandconcludes.

Byincludingsoundsofthekannelinthepiece,Iattemptedtoappropriateitsmaterialformyownmusicmaking,beingawarethatitmayeasilycreateanalmostanecdotalreferencetoitsfolkloric tradition. Instead of drawing attention to these obvious cultural references, Iattempted touse these concrete, referential elements in ahighly-personal, unconventionalway.Ofcourse,theoriginalculturalenvironmentisstillpresentthroughcertainrecognisablecues (such as the timbre of the accordion, voice and kannel) but by using them in moreunconventionalways,andbydistortingtheirinitialrealitieswithelectroacousticprocessingtechniques,Ihaveaimedtomakethesoundsmyown.ThisisinthesensethatIhaveworkedwithobviouslyculturalmaterial,andwhilstculturalenvironmentiscentraltomyapproach,Idonotnecessarilyneedtoconstantlyobserveitthroughalookingglass.Itspresencemaybeaffectingmycompositionwithoutithavingtobemadeobviousateverymoment.Intheend,however, therearestill tracesofculturalenvironment,andwhilstOmega3wascomposedentirelyinEstonia,itisnotsaidthattheEstonianculturalenvironmentwasmoreimportantthanmyveryownculturalenvironment(asinmyownexperiencesasacomposer).

Themusical environment ofOmega 3 is the result of amix of different cultural elementsinteracting with each other and creating different referential layers. Overall, this gives asurrealqualitytothemixofsources,sometimesestablishingcontradictingimages(i.e.openwildernessandclosedfactoryspaces).Withthissection,Ihaveattemptedtoidentifysoundswhichhaveahighlyculturalconnotationbydefinition.Theaccordion,voice(usedwithkulningtechnique)andkannelallhaverootsinlongmusicaltraditionswhich,intheparticularsettingofEstonia,haveshapedtheuseandsoundoftheseinstruments.Whilsttheymostundeniablyhaveaphysicalrealityandthusexistalsowithinaphysicalenvironment,theirculturalqualitymight be themost telling in terms of understanding the presence of cultural environmentwithinOmega3.

27Ishouldaddherethatthiswasapersonalæstheticchoice,inthesensethattheculturalenvironmentmighthavebeenevokedbytheculturalnatureofthekannel,whichistypicaltoEstonia.Inthisparticularinstance,themanifestationofculturalenvironmenthappenslargelythroughtheuseofmanycharacteristiclayers,suchasthekannelandthepreviouslymentionedkulningandaccordion.

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2.3 Exchanges Between Electroacoustic and Live Practices AsTuulikkigenerallyworkswithfolkmusic,herpracticerarelyinvolvestheuseofmusicalscores.Instead,sheusemelodiesandharmoniesthatareexploredanddevelopedthroughactsofimprovisation,withinabroadlyflexiblemusicalform.Forthisreason,whenthetimecametowritethefirstversionofthepiece,wedecidedtohavealoosemusicalform,withafixedelectroacoustic part. This influenced my writing style, because instead of immediatelydeterminingfinalform,Ihadtoconsiderhowinteractionsbetweenrecordedsoundsandtheliveperformermightworkwhenusingthreedifferentinstruments.Eventually,weagreeditwouldbebestiftheelectroacousticpartwasnottoodense,allowingtheformtobreathewhilstgivingsomemomentsofrespiteforTuulikki,especiallywhileshewasimprovising,shehadtobemindful of her surroundings, and have time to switch between instruments. Often, shewoulddecideontheinstrumenttouseaccordingtohowtheenvironment(asinperformanceenvironment)wouldreacttothesoundingofeithertheinstrumentortheelectroacousticpart,or the two together.For instance, if theelectroacousticpartwouldbeatoneof its loudestpoints,itwouldbequestionabletousetheairysoundofthebellows(suchastheoneheardattheopeningofthepiece).Attimes,wemightalsodecidetomakethevoicesinteractormakeroomforasolooneitherpart.Asaconsequence,weadoptedalongerform,inwhichmusicalideasemergegradually,andinwhichdetailswouldbeaddedasstemsofthemainauditorystreams.Anexampleofthisistheopeningofthepiece:inperformance,Tuulikkistartedwithjust thewind sounds of her accordion; one of the faintest sounds that the instrument canproduce. In order to let it grow,we also needed to have it follow a delta-likemovement,horizontallyratherthanwithimpulses,whichwouldinterruptitsprogression.Thatsoundwasthen reintegrated in the electroacoustic part,which addedmore voices and thickened theexpressionof thewindwith other elementswhich contained a significant part of complexnoisesandbehavedinasimilarlydelta-likemovement.

Mostof thecompositionprocess involvedthe interactionbetweenmyproposedsounds,orsoundmoments,andherimprovisations.Asthemediumofacousmaticmusicdoesnotallowforveryefficientreal-timeimprovisationwithcomplexsoundprocessingandediting,Iwasmostoftentheonebringingsonicideas,developedmostlyfromourearlierexplorations,forher to improvise ‘with’. Understandably, there was an important role for listening in thecompositionprocess,similartothatwhichiscommonwithinaconcreteacousmaticapproach.

Eventually, we decided on amusical canvas which integrated fivemain parts, alternatingbetweenhorizontallyandverticallydevelopedsections.Forme,thecanvaswasawaytobeabletohaveadefinite(orfixed)electroacousticpartwithwhichIcouldworkinperformance,andfromwhichIwouldbeabletodiffusethepieceinconcertalongsideherperformance.Forher,thatsamecanvaswasanimprovisationguide,andawaytoknowwhattoexpectfromtheelectroacousticpartwithouthavingtosticktotoomanypreciseevents.Whilsttheforminitsoriginalstatehaschangedduringthere-writing,someofitsstructuralmarkersremain.Forinstance, the quiet opening and the gradual use of new sounds certainly remains. We gothroughseveraldeltasuntil,at6’06,asuddenandimportantbreakhappens.Here,thesoundis of a completely different nature and energy: it brings an aggressive high pitch with anoticeable rhythmpatternwhichwas not founduntil then. Thismoment lasts for about aminute,untilacalmersectionreappearsat7’15.Thisisatraceofhowthefirstformofthepiecewasdevised:withinthatcanvas,Tuulikkiwasawarethataquietpartwouldbegoingonfor the first fewminutes, and that therewouldbea suddenchangeafter the sixthminute,

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wheretherelikelywouldbesomewhatofanelectroacousticsolo.Whenthemorequietpartappears at 7’15, she would hear the opportunity to interact once more with the fixedelectroacousticpart.Furthermore,after8’,thekulningvoiceismuchmorepresent,indicatingthatshemightherselfperformkulningliveandinteractwithit.Obviously,asthecanvaswasusedmostlyasaguidefor improvisation, it isnotsaidthatthisactionwouldbeabsolutelypredictable.However,hermusical choiceswere likely tobe in response towhatwouldbefoundintheelectroacousticpart.Havingdiscussedinthissectionhowinteractingwiththeperformerinfluencedtheinitialformofthepiece,Ishallnowgoontodiscussthenextstep,whichwastorevisititandmakeitentirelyacousmatic.

2.4 Revisiting the Piece: Form and Structure Challenges Inlightofwhatwasmentionedabove,Ifoundmyselfengaginginalongprojectwithoutanyscore that I could identifyasmyowncomposition.That iswhy,once theperformancehadtakenplace,Idecidedtoharvestthevariousmaterialsusedwithintheperformanceinordertocreateanentirelyacousmaticwork.

Duringtherewritingprocess,Iwasconfrontedwithvariousformalchallenges:thecanvasthatwasearlierestablishedrequiredinteractionwithaliveperformer,whichInolongerhad.Thiscreatedobviousimbalanceswhich,evenifItriedto‘fillin’thelighteststreamsinthealreadywrittenelectroacousticproject,stoodoutbecauseoftheirimportanceandprominencewithinthestructure.Mostoften,itwouldbelarge,uneventfulsectionswhichweredesignedtomakeiteasierfortheperformertoparticipatewithoutbeingoverloadedwithmusicalinformationencoded in the electroacoustic part. Consequently, I had to rebalance thepiece, so that itsdifferentsectionswouldhavemoresatisfyingproportions.Whilstthepiecestilllargelyfollowsthe original canvas ideas, such as the slowly developed introduction, for example, I havereworkeditssectionssothattheywouldhavemorecomplexity,andthushopefully,amoreengagingquality.Forexample,theoriginalblowingsoundofthebellowsattheverystartofthe piecewere not integrated in the original, live performance version. In the acousmaticversion,notonlydid I integrate them,but alsousedprocessedversionsof that soundandlayeredthemwithothermusicalmaterials,suchastheseveralsoundobjectsheardat2’40.

Anotherway inwhich I have attempted to rebalance the form is bymaking considerablestructuralchanges,dividingupsomemomentsandmovingthemaroundintimetofindawaytobalancethemout.Someofthesechangesmightbemostrecognisableinthesecondhalfofthepiece,aftertheinitialintroductionoftheaccordionmaterialsandbeforethefirstformalbreakat6’06.Forinstance,thereareseveralswitchesintypesofmaterialsused:at8’32,thenat9’,at9’24,andsoforth.Someofthesematerialswerecreatedspecificallyfortheacousmaticversion.Thosematerialsaddedtotheexpressiveevolutionofthepiece,inordertohelpsustainaconstantrenewalinthemusicalideas,seeingastherewasnolongeraperformertointeractwith.

2.5 Performance Environment: From Site-Specific to Portable IntheliveversionofOmega3,wechosetomakefulluseoftheperformancespacebyplacingthe performer where the acousmatic part could not be placed; at the top of the factory’sstructures.Thearrayofloudspeakersavailablefortheperformancewasmostlyinstalledontheground flooralongwith theaudience.Therewasapossibility for theaudience towalkaroundthespace,buttheupperstructureswereoutofreach.AsTuulikkiwasplacedattheverytop,itgaveherperformanceaverydiffusecharacter.Moreover,theaudiencecouldnot

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see her, which created an almost entirely acousmatic experience. The sound of herinstruments,emanating fromthe topof theroom,showereddownto theground floorandblendedwith the fixedmedium inways thatmightnothavebeenpossible if shehadbeenlocated in the same space; such was the degree of reverberation achieved through thispositioning of the performer. In this respect, the first version was not merely a liveperformance.Itwasalsoasite-specificperformance.

Initially,itseemedasthoughitwouldbeimpossibletopresenttheworkelsewhere.However,theworkwassubsequentlyrevisitedandredesignedasanindependentelectroacousticpiece.Atthisstage,theouterenvironmentofthispiece(performingspace) losespriorityoveritsinnerenvironment(musicalcontent)28.Extractedfromitsinitialperformingenvironment,thepiecestillcontainsmuchofitsoriginalsubstance;sincethefirstversionwascomposed,fromthe outset, using electroacoustic music techniques, it contained numerous elements thatappearpurelyacousmatic.Strippingitfromitsliveperformanceaspectandbringingitbacktoa stereo formatobviously affected its relation to the environment.As such, it shifted fromenvironment-boundtoenvironment-creating29.Indeed,inastandardacousmaticperformancecontext, theenvironmentwill lessaffect therealityof thepiece thanthepiece inhabits theenvironment.Of course, both can influenceone another, especiallywhen it has todowithperception(theperformanceofanacousmaticpiececlearlywillnotgivethesameresultsinacathedral and in a small rehearsal room).However, the standard acousmatic performanceassumes that the piece to be performed exists on fixedmedium and therefore its contentdependsverylittleontheperformingspace—thatisexactlythereasonwhythepieceisfixedonamediuminthefirstplace.Consequently,Omega3wentfromsite-specifictoportableinitsacousmaticredesign.

2.6 Conclusion Omega3againexploredthemanifestationsofphysicalandculturalenvironment.Inthiscase,however, it considered how these notions of environmentmight occur in the case of site-specificliveperformance,andhowtheycanalsogofromcontainertocontent.Thisisobserved,forexample,withthepresenceofrecordedsoundobjectswhichareimpressedbythequalityoftheenvironmentinwhichtheyaretaken.Ultimately,theinitialversionofthepiece,whichwas performed in an environment, was revisited and rewritten into a self-containedenvironment.Wherethesite-specificqualityoftheworkhadanimpactonthecomposition,thesoundsthatweredrawnfromthatenvironment,inturn,becametheentirecontentoftheultimateacousmaticversionofthepiece.Inconsideringdifferentstagesofcomposition,andthedifferentfactorsintheprocess,wecontinuetoshedlightonmypracticeandexposetheintricate complexities of the notion of environment in electroacoustic music, and how its

28ThedistinctionmadehereisessentiallytakenfromChion’sconceptsofinternalandexternalspaceinelectroacousticmusic,suchasdescribedinthe1988article:Chion,M.(1988).Lesdeuxespacesdelamusique concrète.Musiques et recherches, 1. This is not to bemistakenwith Smalley’s notions ofinternalandexternalspace,whichsuggestthatinternalspacewouldbewithinasoundobject,andthatexternalwouldbetheenvironmentofthatobject,withinthecomposition.(Smalley,1997)29 This distinction is made in regards to its original state as a site-specific composition and as astandaloneacousmaticpiece.Asasite-specificcomposition,itisboundtotheenvironmentinwhichitiscreated.Asastandaloneacousmaticpiece,itcreatesanewenvironment,withitsownmusicalcontent.Thisenvironmentisthereforeportable,becauseencodedontoafixedmedium.

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differentmanifestationsmightbeapproached.Thiswillbefurtherexaminedinthechaptersthatfollow.

3. An Almost Abstract Experience Composed in theVisby InternationalComposer’sCentreStudioAlpha30,Analmostabstractexperience(11'11)ismyfirstmultichannelpiece.Reachingoutofmyusualcomfortzone,thispiececontrastswithmypreviousworks,boththroughthechoiceanduseofsoundmaterials,andthedecisiontoemployamultichannelformat.Analmostabstractexperienceisinspiredbyserendipityandsynchronicitywhileexploringtheideasofbalanceanddivergence.

Thischapterconsiders,forthefirsttimewithinthisportfolio,sourcematerialalmostentirelyof an instrumental nature, recorded in a studio, and how this affects the presence ofenvironment in themusic. It goeson todiscuss theparticularityof the5.1 setup,which isuniqueinthecaseofAnalmostabstractexperience,andthesolutionsfoundtoworkwithit.Itconcludeswithadiscussionaroundtheformofthepieceandwhatthemetaphoricalqualitiesoftheenvironmentitexpresses.

3.1 Context: A Residency in Visby Intheautumnof2016,IwasgiveneightweekstorealiseanewpieceatVICC’sStudioAlpha.Thisstudio,setup in5.1, invitedthechallengeofworking inmultichanneland,since Ihadnevercomposedinthisformatbefore,thiswasanidealopportunitytoexplorethemedium.HavingjustworkedwithTuulikki,andbeingfamiliarwiththekannel,Iwasquitesurprisedtoseethatoneofthestudentsfromtheschoolofcomposition31hadaverysimilarinstrumentwithhim.TheinstrumentturnedouttobeaGotlandslyra;alocaltraditionalinstrumentwhichisofverysimilarbuild:insteadofhavingafullsoundboard,ithasanemptyspacebehindthestrings,muchlikea lyre intheclassicalWesternsense. I immediatelythought itcouldbeagoodstartingpointtoexplorethesoundsofthatinstrument,seeingasinmypreviouspiece,Ihadmostlyusedaccordionsoundsandexploredlessofthekannel.Ithencameincontactwiththestudentandthis initiateda fruitfulexchangetoanextentwhich Ididnotexpect.Uponlearning that I was planning on recording one of the students’ instruments, many otherTonsättarskolastudentsbecamerapidlyinterestedinparticipatinginrecordingsessionsformyupcomingpiece.

3.2 Sound Sources: Creative32 Recordings Iwasveryexcitedbytheopportunitytohavestudentsparticipateinmyproject,andinvitedthem to improvise as much as they wanted, for as long as they wanted, with all of theinstrumentsthatinspirethem.Irecordedthemusingastereo(A-B)setupinStudioAlpha’srecordingbooth.Interestingly,thisledtomanydifferent,highlyoriginal,recordingsthathadtheirveryowncharacter.Formypurposes, thisprovidedawidebreadthofvariedsounds,

30 VICC (Visby International Composer’s Centre)., (©2018). VICC. [Viewed 29 September 2018].Availablefrom:http://vicc.se31GotlandsTonsättarskolaisacompositionschoolwhichcohabitswithVICCintheTonsättareshusinVisby.32Theuseoftheterm‘creative’herereferstothefactthatIapproachtherecordingstepalreadyasanopportunity to explore creative soundmaking. Instead of having predetermined ideas that Iwouldimposeonthestudents,Iwouldmoreoftenguidetheminabroadway,givingthemkeywordsorevencompletefreedomofexploration.

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enablingmetostart thecompositionalprocess.Evenso, the initialsourcerecordingswerelaterexpandedwhenVICCinvitedmetoanetworkingeventinStockholm.Atthisevent,Ihadthe pleasure of meeting the Stockholm Saxophone Quartet33, who immediately offered toproducesomerecordingsfromtheirworkspace.Theirsoundswereaddedtothecomposition,providingyetmorediversitytothesoundbankIhadalreadygathered.

ThesevarioussoundsthatIhadgathered,comingentirelyfromacousticinstruments,werenottypicalformycompositionalpracticeand,asaconsequence,Iimmediatelyfeltasenseofabstractionfromthemusic.Especiallyafterhavingbeenheavilydealingwithfieldrecordingsin several different environments, suddenly using strictly instrumental sounds, in a veryacousticallycontrolledroom,gavememuchlessofasenseof‘environmentaltrace’intheseparticular recordings. As I was not really dealing with musically unpredictable objectrecordings34,itwasmucheasier(thanwithfieldrecordings,forexample)toclassifythesoundsaccordingtotheirmusicalproperties,whichdidnotoftenchangewithinsubsequenttakesinrecording. Thismademy editing process verymethodical and unifying: there weremanyinstanceswhereIwasabletousethesamesoundprocesses,todevelopaverycohesivesoundbank. The sound bank had a few subcategories, and as in my previous works, I starteddevelopingthemusicaccordingtothecharacteristicsofthesoundsthatIhadcaptured,andthevariouswaysinwhichtheycouldestablishpointsofcontrastamongthemanydifferentvoices.

3.3 A Form Determined by Contrasts Oncetherecordingandmaterialprocessingstepswerecompleted,Ibeganbycreatingmusicalsegments,largelyfollowingthemusicalcharacteristicsfoundineachsoundobject.Thismeantthat,forinstance,iftwosoundshadasimilarsustaineddynamicprofile,itwasmorelikelythatI would try to musically associate them instead of keeping them separate. This is madeapparent,forexampleinthefirstsectionofthepiece,at0’35,whereseveralrhythmicallayersarejuxtaposedchieflyfortheirrhythmicalquality.Thisapproachistheoneonwhichisbasedmostofthesegment-buildingforthispiece.Consequently,beforemakingdefinitedecisionssurroundingaglobalform,Ifoundmyselfwithseveral,veryuniquelydefinedsections,distinctby their specific musical qualities, which were the result of the characteristically clearinstrumentalsounds,whichkepttheirstrongqualitiesevenwhenprocessed.

Thiscausedproblemswhentryingtoestablishanoverallformforthepiecewhichwasnot,atleastintheearlystagesofcomposition,easilyunified.Musicallyandinternally,eventscouldbeunusualandinteresting,butsometimeslackedasenseofdirectionbecausetheyledtosomanydifferentandeclecticmoments.Inotherwords,becausethedifferentsectionsweresostronglydistinct,aligningthemonenexttotheothermadethepieceseemlikeitwasgoingfromonescenetothenext,withoutanyclearpurpose.

The solution I found for thisparticularproblemwas todivide someof those sections intosmallerparts,thenredistributingthesepartsthroughoutthepiece.Indoingso,thiscreatedamoreconsistentblendofcharacteristicsandhelped increating linksbetweenthedifferent

33StockholmsSaxofonkvartett.,(©2018).StockholmsSaxofonkvartett.[Viewed29September2018].Availablefrom:http://www.saxofonkvartetten.se34Here,Iammainlyreferringtothefactthatobjectsrecordedforelectroacousticmusicmakingarenotexclusive to traditional instruments, and therefore are substantiallymore complex to describe andclassify.TheexistenceofSchæffer’stypo-morphologyunderlinesthispoint.

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sections of the piece. However, the risk that comes with this approach is that it has thepotential toannihilatethesenseofdiversityamongthevariousmaterials.Consequently, inredistributingthesmallerpartsofthesectionsthroughoutthepiece,Iwantedtoplacetheminawaythattheywouldgivecoherencetotheoveralldynamicprofileofthegreaterform.Ididthis,forinstance,byusingsomeofthedynamicimbalancescreatedbythecontrastsbetweenthesectionstokeeptheengagingqualityofthepiece.Anexampleofthiscanbeheardat4’52,where, afteradynamically calmsection is introducedwith lowamplitude soundsofvoice,someoftherhythmicalsoundsalreadyintroducedinthefirstsectionreappearsoastocreatea dynamic contrast and create a sense of novelty, even if it is done with already heardmaterials.Thisapproachwasusedthroughoutthelargerformalscaleofthepiece,whichwillbefurtherdiscussedinthenextsectionofthischapter.

3.4 Form description Ihaveidentified6unitswhichcomprisethelargerscaleformofthepieceaccordingtotheprominentmusicalmaterialfoundineachofthesesections:

0’00—3’20:Intro;

3’20—4’00:Vocal1;

4’00—6’00:Vocal2;

6’00—9’05:Winds;

9’05—10’30:SpectralOpening;

10’30—11’11:Coda.

Whilst the first two segments contrast in terms of their dynamic profile (one is mostlyenergeticandspectrallyfullwithhighdynamiccontourswhereastheotherismoreintimatewith one or two isolated voices and substantially lower dynamic contours), the third unitintroducesablendofmaterials;thisannounceswhatisexploredinsubsequentsections,andcreatesabridgebetweenthedifferentphasesofthemusical journey.Itstartsoffwithverysimilarmaterialtothatofthesecondunit(vocalsatlowdynamiclevels),andconnectsitwithprogressivelydivergingmaterials(windinstruments,whichatfirstareintroducedinlowerdynamics and mainly in the same mostly horizontal evolution, and progressively movetowardsamorecomplex,densifiedfabricofauditorystreams).

Startinginthesixthminute,thefourthunitretainssomeofthevocalsounds,butthesehaveclearly transitioned towards a less stable, more fragmented, rhythmical structure that isfurtherexploredasmoresoundsfromwindinstrumentsareintroduced.Thisleadstoamajordensification,andspectralopening,atunit5,wheretheaccumulationofrhythmical,complexmassandhighdynamicsoundsconvergeintoonemainprogressivedelta35,whichultimatelyreleasesat10’30.Atthispointacoda,consistingofresonancesofthepreviouseventsandof

35 The term ‘delta’ here is used in reference to the delta-likemorphology progression found in thedynamicprofileofthesesegments.AnnetteVandeGorne(2017)dedicatesanentiresectionofanarticleto the ‘delta’morphology in VandeGorne, A., (2017) Techniques d’écriture parmontage. In:Traitéd’écrituresursupport.Ohain:Musiques&Recherchespp.1-17.

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recuperationofearliervocalsounds,concludesthepiecewithahintofanopenspacetakenfromabriefsoundscape-likerecordingattheheartofVisby,nearthecathedral.

Thepresenceoftwosubstantiallycontrastingunitsatthebeginningofthepieceallowsfortheintroductionofawiderangeofsoundbehaviourswhicharelateronexplored.Thus,thetwofirstunitsintroducedthetwomainaspectsofwhatIwasworkingwithduringthewholepiece:spectraldensitywith fragmentedrhythmsand intimatespaces,alongsideslowerandmorerestrained dynamic movements. In that sense, it almost resembles the sonata form, withobviousdifferences:ThemesAandBexposedinunits1and2,abridgeincorporatingelementsofbothinunit3,adevelopmentinunits4and5andafinalcodainunit6.

3.5 The Particularity of 5.1 Unlike the creation of a stereo piece, the 5.1 composition process implies a surroundingplacementofthemusicalvoices,orauditorystreams.Unlikestereoworkswherepanningonlyinvolvesleftandright,5.1complicatestheprocessbyallowingformuchmoreelaboratethree-dimensionaltrajectories,whichrequirealotmoreworktoautomate.Wesuddenlygofromasoundplacementwhich is essentially only possible between two channels to five plus thesubwoofer.Itthereforerequiresonetothinkofthesoundnotonlyontheleft-rightaxis,butalsoonthefront-back,beingmindfulofthecenteranditssoloeffects,andfindingareasonablebalancebetweenthefrontsidesandtherearsides.ThewayIdecidedtodothiswastolistentoeachtrackindependentlyand,accordingtothesound(ormusicalvoice)whichwasheard,determinealocationintheroomandthelevelofprecisionitcamewith.Forexample,asoundwith a halo36, or an obvious reverberating behaviour, would tendmakeme place itmorediffusebetweenmorethanoneloudspeaker(asisthecasewiththeparticularlydampvoicesoundarrivingat3’18),andsoundswhichwouldbemoredefinedandcrisptendedtohaveverypreciselocations,followingspatialtrajectories(suchasthebreathsoundsat5’)similartowhatIwouldachievewithadiffusiononastereosetup.Asaresultofthis,Ihadaprojectfilledwithveryintricatemovementsandcomplexinteractionsbetweenvoicesinspace,asifdiffusionwas already decided. Unlikewith stereo diffusion,where Iwould only have twochannels tomanage,everyvoicehad itsownveryuniquetrajectory.Thissaid,becausethewritingtechniquesIusedwerebasedonlayering,similarlysoundingsoundswouldhaveverysimilartrajectories,withoutalwaysbeingatthesameplaceatthesametime.Thiswas,forme,anobviousandlogicalchoice,ifonlytopreservediversityinspace.Essentially,workingin5.1doesmake itmoredifficult thanworking in stereobecause I amdealingwith five (or six)channelsinsteadoftwo,butinmyparticularcase,asImostoftendealwithalargeamountofstereopanningalreadyencodedfromthepointofrecording,thisisnotusuallyascriticalofastepaswithmultipliedspatialaxeswithincomposition.Furthermore,asIoftenuselayeringwithinmycompositions,soundswhichhavealreadyacomplexandoftenirregularpanningcreate, almost by default, original panning effects, as there are unlimited possibilities ofcombinationsofsounds.Inthecontextof5.1,thisalreadyencodedstereopanningobviouslycanbeexpandedtothesurroundenvironmentandthusrequiresaconsiderableamountofattention.

36 This term is used by Michel Chion (1982), in which he refers to a ‘halo effect’ produced byreverberation,whichis(inhiswords)anextensionofthesound,andcreatesaneffectofasurroundingroom.In:Chion,M.(1982).Lamusiqueélectroacoustique.Paris:PressesuniveristairesdeFrance,p.57.

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Spaceisanotheraspectwhichisinterestingtoexploreinamultichannelpiece.Fromstudiotoconcerthall,eachgestureisamplifiedandstretchedinspace.Themaindifferencebetween5.1andstereointhiscontextisthatitisnoteasytomanagefivecompletelyindependentchannelsinahallwith(forexample)32loudspeakers:itisquiteunlikethinkinginpairsofloudspeakerswhichcanactasanchorsinadefinedspatialevolution.Withthismultichannelpiece,Ithoughtintermsofdividingthespaceingroupsofloudspeakerswhichwouldactasscenesratherthanpairs,wheretheentire5.1(oratleast5)canbeadaptedaccordingtotheperformancespaceitisin.

Having performed the piece in different venues, I had the opportunity to use differentapproaches.Insystemswithalargernumberofchannels,(insuchawaythatIhadspacetoduplicate the5.1 image), I tackled the space as a groupsof scenes. In order to keep somecoherence,Iwouldeithermovethesamegroupstogether,oralwayshaveapredefinedgroupofvoicesstableinthespace.Also,sincethe5.1formathasasurroundingquality,Iavoidedclear-cutandextremetrajectories,suchasaveryquickfront-backorcornertocorner.Similargesturesinheight,however,werelessproblematic,astheydonotimpactthesurroundeffectasmuchasathinner,morefocused(ex.front-back)movement.Thisledmetoprivilegelarge,slowmovementsmorethanImightwithstereopieces.Consequently,thediffusionitselfwasnotasmuchofanarticulate techniquerather thanaveryattentiveandcareful listening inorder to follow themusicwhilst constantlybeingawareof thespace.Themorevoicesareavailable, the more creative I can be in terms of my use of the space. This is due to thepossibility of anchoring somevoices in aparticular spacewithouthaving to goback to itsresourcestocreatenoveltyinperformance.Italsoallowsmetosetgroupsandslowlymakethefixedelementsevolvetodifferentscenes,inrelationtothearchitectureoftheperformanceenvironmentandthesoundimageswhichcanbebuiltandmodelledintoanoriginalspace.Thisevenallowsmetofocusmyattentiononspecificaspectsofthemusic,offsettingothers(forexample,theinternalenergies,thefunctionalandformalevents,orthetimbralqualitiesofthesound,andsoon).

3.6 An Almost Abstract Environment InthecaseofAnAlmostAbstractExperience,thephysicalenvironmentbecameverydiscreet,in largepart because of the nature of the original recordings. This is the first piece ofmyportfolio in which there is almost no distinguishable presence of a surrounding physicalenvironment,atleastencodeddirectlyinthesoundrecordings.TheonlyrecognisableelementofphysicalenvironmentisthatofthecityofVisby,whichverybrieflyappearsat10’56inthesoundofcathedralbells;theseareverymuchapartofthebackground,andaremostlyusedtosupportwhatishappeningintheforegroundwhilehelpingtocreatestabilityinthedecliningdynamics.

Asisthecasewithanypieceofmusic,aphysicalenvironmentiscreatedwithinitsowncontentorform.Thus,eventhoughsoundscape-likequalitiesarenotfoundinthispiece,itdoesnotlackinternalarchitectureandthisbecomesenvironment-likeasthepiecedevelops.InthecaseofAnAlmostAbstractExperience,therefore,theenvironmentisartificial,creatingmetaphoricsymbols,andimpressionsofadream-likerealityorsurrealevents.Inotherwords,Icreateenvironments,orevokeplaces,whenplacingsoundsinspace;however,thoseenvironmentsIcreatedonotreferbacktorealplaces:ratherIcreatesurrealenvironmentsorplaces,whichmaysoundfamiliar,inthesamewaythatdream-likeplacesfeelfamiliarwithoutinfactbeing

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exactlyreal,whilstsometimesalsobeingsimplyunrecognisable,ungraspable,shifting.Thisismadeclearfromthebeginningofthepiece:theveryfirstunitestablishesavarietyofdifferentsoundmaterials,whicharenotimmediatelyidentifiableasreferential,withtheexceptionofthe human voice and breath38. The breath,which opens the piece in an intimate, close-upsetting, is quickly juxtaposed with much larger instrumental sounds. These instrumentalsounds contrast the breath in terms of their wider dynamic range, fuller spectrum and,ultimately, the introduction of rhythmic patterns at 0'10. These new layers continue todevelop,untiltheemergenceofapluckedstringat0’23,whichcolourstheunituntilitsendat3’20.Asaresult,thereisaneffectofwidening,oropening;themonophonicbreath-likesoundsuggestsaclosed,localisedphysicalspace,whilstthemoreactive,broadersounds,bringingwith them multiple layers of auditory streams, suggest the arrival of a more substantialsurroundingenvironment.

ItisnocoincidencethatIrefertothesurroundingaspectofthisenvironment;theformatwhichwasusedforthispiece,5.1,isreferredtoassurroundsound,anditwouldseemthereforethatthis medium is more likely to encourage the environmental surround than its stereocounterpart.Thissaid, Inaturally tendtocomposewith layering techniques,andthesearecommon to both my stereo works and An Almost Abstract Experience. A key difference,however,isthevariouswaysthattheselayerswereinfluencedbythe5.1format.Inthispiece,I felt that eachmusical object was clearer, because it was isolated in its own channel. Inprevious pieces, such asÉclats de Feux, I wasworkingwith the layers in a limited range,encouragingmetodirectthedifferentelementsinsidelargerformalgesturesandstructures,unified by their grouped agogic. In An Almost Abstract Experience, however, the differentauditorystreamscouldbealotmoreindependentfromoneanother,andflowmorefluidlyfromone state to the nextwithout appearing to disturbmuch of the larger picture. Iwasthereforemoreinterestedincreatingdiverginglayersinordertofillupthespacethatwasnowconsiderablyextended(inthesenseofhavingmultipliedthepossibleaxesalongwhichthesoundcouldbeplaced,anditsthereforesurroundingquality).

Sincetherearematerialsofdifferentnatures,theunitshavebecomeenergeticallyandformallydifferent(as in theyarebuiltdifferently).Asaconsequence, theenvironmentalsochangesthroughoutthepiece.Forinstance,thesecondunit(3’20—4’00),whichstartsaftertheactiveanddiverseintroduction,presentsamuchmoresparseenvironment,withseeminglyonlytwoelementsatonce:thepluckedstringsandthevoice.Whilethesoundsareatalowauditorylevel, they do notmanifest in the same type of intimacy as the beginning. Here, they aredampenedbyreverberation,andtheirspectralqualitiesareblurredbyahalo(seepreviousreference)effect,suggestinganeffectofroom.Asecond,female,voiceappearstowardtheendofthisunit(3’46),onlytosupportthegeneraleffectofroomorperspective.Thisenvironment,muchdifferentfromtheonefoundinthefirstunit,createsastarkcontrastwiththeunitthathas just passed, thus suggesting a new space – implying a change of environment, andthereforemovement.

Thereisagooddealmoreambiguityinthenextunit,whichspansfrom4’to6’.Wearestilldealingwithfar-soundingvoices,butherethemovementsstarttoanimateanotherwiseslow-38Onemayargue,withreason,thathumanvoiceandbreathareindeedalsopartoftheinstrumentalrange.However,ashumanvoicehastheimmediatepotentialtobecomeextremelytheatricalrapidly,Iconsider it to be easily associatedwith anecdotal qualities. It is also amuchmore direct and clearconnectiontothesourceofthesound.

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pacedsegment.Thereisthesoundofhumanbreathtravelinginthespaceinquickgestures,mostoftentakingtotheforegroundbeforedisappearing.Towardstheendoftheunit,thesegesturesareincreasinglyaccompaniedbymorecomplexsoundsand,eventually,pitch(suchasthebell-likeresonancesheardinthebackgroundat5’).At5’20,thishasevolvedtothepointwhere thereare severalmusical lines, somerhythmicalandsomemelodic.At5’35,a clearrhythmtakesovereachstreamand,accordingly,thisremindsthelistenerofthefirstunit.Thebreathalsobecomesfragmentedintorhythms.

Whilstthefemalevoiceremainsuntiltheendoftheunitandbeyond,itsfunctioniseventuallychangedinthenextunit.Between6’and9’05,it isnolongerthemainpointoffocus,butaunifyingelementbetweeneveryothermusicallayer.Indeed,asnewauditorystreamsemerge,take form and increase the density of the phrase, the voice remains stable, even if notconstantlyheard.Wheneveraudible,however,thevoiceisatthecentreofeverything;itisnolongerfar-awayordreamlike.Rather,itbecomesareferencepointforeverythingelsethatishappeningaroundit.Ineffect,anenvironmenthasbeenbuiltaroundthevoice,ascanbemostclearlyheardat6’43,whereeverythingseeminglyfollowsthevoice’senergeticprofile.

Thisenvironmentexpands in thenextunit (additional layersareadded,spectrumis fuller,different rhythmical events are less synchroniseduntil theyare engulfed in a larger,morehorizontal gesture starting at 9’30). Some rhythmical events continue, however, and evensometimesreclaimtheforeground,suchastheoneat9’45.Evenso,theyaremuchlessdenselyorganised than they were before 9’30 and express a converging energy in which theirbehaviourcontributestothelargerdynamicprofilemorethantotheirinternalactivities.Thisleadstothecodaandfinalunitat10’30,wherethemusicallayerseventuallydissipateat11’,leavingasinglevoiceconcludethepiece.

Theconstantinterplaybetweendivergingenergies(meditativemomentsandthereferentialmaterial of the human voice) creates a tension between expressive ideas and surrealenvironments,orworlds.Humanvoices,integratedinthefabricofthepiece,suggestanalmostintangiblequalitytotheirpresence.Combinedwithabstractandnon-referentialsounds,theycreateunexpectedscenes,andthereforeexhibitsomewhatofanunrealquality.Asaresult,theentire piece is built upon a number of constructed environmentswhich vacillate betweenabstractandpoetic.Theseenvironmentsmostly relyon interactionsbetween thedifferentsonic elements and their expressivity stems from contrasts and spatial effects, such asreverberation,multiplicityoflayers,andspectralprofiles.

3.7 Conclusion Through thediscussionofAnAlmostAbstractExperience, I explored theartificial aspectofenvironmentswithinmycompositionalpractice,intheabsenceofsoundscape-likerecording.Iconsideredhowthe5.1formatplaysintothisconstructionandbrieflyconsideredhowsucha format might direct acousmatic composition and subsequent acts in performance.Instrumental sounds were the most prominent material within the piece, and we shallcontinuetodiscusstheirroleinacousmaticmusicwhenconsideringthenextpiecewithintheportfolio.

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4. Exercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi Thetitleofthispiecetranslatesas:“anunconsciousexerciseinarithmeticinwhichtheminddoesnotknowit iscounting”39.Thisdescriptionhasbeenappliedtothephenomenologicalexperienceofmusic40;theelusivequalityofmusicappearstomakeitreachtheunconscious,despiteitsphysicalmanifestationinsound.Thisgavemetheideaofanunconsciouscerebralcalculation that unravels a tension between the abstract, intuitively perceived, and theconcrete, measurable material of sound. This, to me, evokes a reality, especially manifestthroughelectroacousticmusic,thatIhavealwaysfoundfascinating:theideathatmusicisonlyreallymanifested asmusic through the format of sound, even though onemay be able toconceiveofitasanidea.Withtheacousmaticexperience,notonlydoesthemusicneedtobewritten(orencoded)inordertobeperceived,itcanonlybedoneinreal-time.

Inthisparticularpiece,allofthematerialisderivedfromrecordingsofasaxophonequartet.Theirsoundsaretransfigured,multiplied,layered,andultimatelycombinedtocreateanewsonic,surrealreality.Thisstereoacousmaticpiece,composedbetween2017and2018,startedwitharecordingsessionoftheStockholmSaxophoneQuartet.HavingpreviouslycollaboratedwiththeminthecompositionofAnAlmostAbstractExperience,Iwasinterestedinexploringfurther the interactions between instrumental sound recordings and electroacousticcompositionmethods.Giventhequartet’spronouncedinterestforliveperformance,Idecidedtocreateamusiquemixtepiece,allowingforthepossibilityofliveperformancetofollowinthefuture.Theresultingpiececanbeperformedaseitheranacousmaticwork,oralongsidethelive saxophone quartet involving a fixedmedia part. This is explained by the fact that thecompositionwasnotmadeintwoseparatestreams(i.e.scoreandfixedmedium)butwasfirstand foremost composed in a concrete manner, and the score was the result of the fixedmedium.

Thischaptershallgooverthecompositionprocessofthispiece,examinethepresenceoftheanecdotalandtheatricalelementsandhowtheyaffecttheformandobservethelinkbetweentheliveandthefixedversionsofExercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimi(12'26). It shall go on to discuss theway that this piecewas scored, and concludewith areflection surrounding the potential for its different interpretations and multipleenvironments.

4.1 Composition Process Thecompositionprocessforthisworkwasfairlysimilartootherpiecesofthisportfolio.MuchlikeinthecaseofAnAlmostAbstractExperience,Exercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimistartedwithasoundbankderivedfrominstrumentalimprovisations.Inthiscase,itwasamuchmoreunifiedsoundbank,asthesourceofallthesoundsthatwerecapturedoriginated from the saxophone quartet. In order to create the possibility of having a liveperformance,Idecidedtotreatthesoundsinaveryspecificwayfromthebeginning;Ihavemade an inventory of the original sounds that I recorded and kept them for direct

39Rasula,J.(2016).HistoryofaShiver:TheSublimeImpudenceofModernism,OxfordUniversityPress,p.67.40 In fact, Rasula lists a considerable number of authors and thinkers exploring philosophical ideasassociatedwiththisLatinphrase,including:Leibniz,Schopenhauer,Bely,ValéryandDebussy,amongothers.Eachofthesephilosophershaveusedconceptsrelatingtoconsciousnessandmathematicswhendescribingmusic(idem).

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(unprocessed)use in the composition.This allowedme tohave a sort of ‘audio score’41 inparalleltothecompletelyelectroacousticpart.

Whilst I conducted familiar steps of my composition process, such as sound editing andprocessing, I was conscious that the transformed materials would be used alongside theunprocessedsounds.Eventually,Istartedtogroupsoundmaterialsand,graduallybuildingupfromisolatedelements,Idevelopedanumberofmusicallycomplexsegments.InawayverysimilartotheoneusedforAnAlmostAbstractExperience,thewaythatIgroupedthosesoundswasbycategorisingthemfortheirmusicalqualities.Forexample,pitchedmaterialwouldhaveitsowncategory,whilstmaterialswithacomplexmasswouldbeadifferentone.Fromthesegroupings42,Ieventuallyassociatedsoundsfromsimilar-soundingcategories,andeventuallycreatedlargersegments.ItiswiththesesegmentsthatIstartedtohaveasenseofthemoreformallydeterminedstructureofthepiece.Atfirst,theelementsofvoiceandlaughterwerenotveryimportant,eventhoughtheystoodoutduetotheirverydramatic,almosttheatricalqualities.Whilethosetypesofsoundscanbetrickytouse,largelyduetotheiralmostcomicalnature,Irecognisedtheirpotentialandthusdecidedtostartexploringthem.

Thevoiceandlaughterrecordingsturnedouttobeparticularlyusefulinhelpingtodetermineaformforthepiece;whilsttheywerenotalwaysexposedintheiroriginalform,theycarriedsomuchmeaningthattheybecamefunctional.Inotherwords,thesesoundsnaturallyattractthelistener’sattention,andindoingso,theyappeartobeformallysignificant.Drawingfromthis,Idecidedtocreateverydistincteventsfromthesematerials,whichItreatedasformallysignificantelements.Sincetheydistinguishthemselvessovividlyandsharply,theyareboundtocreatecontrastswhenplacedalongside lessreferentialmaterial.Fromthesecontrasts, IidentifiedmomentswhichIthenusedasguidesthroughoutthemusicalform.Thus,thereisasustained contrast between vocal and instrumental sounds, which creates certain formalmarkersandindicatesacertaininterplaybetweenthetwolevelsofstyle(purelymusicalandmoretheatrical).

Thevariousideasmentionedaboveultimatelyguidedmethroughtheelaborationofthelarge-scale form of the piece, and keptmy attention on the performative potential of theworkbeyondthepurelyacousmaticversion.Asthepiecewascomposedinmostlythesamewayasthemajorityofmyotherelectroacousticcompositions(essentiallyinaconcretemanner),theworkflowstayedessentiallythesame,exceptfortheaddedstepofthescoreattheend.Astheinstrumental part was being composed following the original, unprocessed sounds, Iconstantlyhadanideaofhowitsounded.Whatwasdifferentintheprocess,thissaid,wasthatIwasmindfulinkeepingaconstantpresenceofunprocessedsoundsthroughoutthepiece,toensurethepresenceofamusicallayerthatcouldbeusedforliveperformancebythequartet.

Whilstthepieceisfilledwithenvironmentalmaterials,suchaslargespectraleventsoftenbuiltuponmanyauditorystreams,thereareconstantremindersoftheperformers;eitherthroughdirectplacementofunprocessedvocalmaterials,orthroughsoundswhich,despiteoriginatingfromfromthevoiceorlaughterelements,wouldbemoreprocessedandthustreatedlikea

41Here,Iwanttomakeclearthatthescoreisnotpurelyaudio,butthatthefirststeptoscoringthepiecewasfromthefixedmedium.Asthepiecewasthoughtoutinaconcretemanner,soundswereusedasaudiomaterialsfirst;onlylaterweretheyguidesforapaperscore.ThisshallbediscussedinmoredetailintheScoringTechniquessectionofthischapter.42Avisualreferencecanbefoundintheannex.

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part of an environment. In this way, the piece communicates a notion of ‘performativeenvironment’,whichissubjecttochangeateveryperformance;notonlybecauseofthespaceinwhichthepiecemightbeheard,butalsobecauseoftheoptionalpresenceoftheperformers,andbytheirinterpretationofthescore.

4.2 On the Anecdote Unlikepreviousworks,thereferentialoranecdotal43aspectofthispieceisnotinthesoundobjectitself,oreventhespaceinwhichitmayhavebeenrecorded,butintheanecdotederivedfromthepresenceofhumanvoice,whichisoftenverytheatricalandattimesevencomical44.Byallowingthosematerialstohavetheirveryownpresenceamongstothercomplexmaterials,I created a sort ofmultiplicity of semantic levels. In doing so, I am creating at least threereferentialcontexts:thefirstonewiththeunprocessed,possiblylive,saxophonematerial;thesecondwith all thederivativematerials thatoriginate from the saxophone recordings; thethirdwith the vocal theatricalmaterials,which do not refer to the instrument, but to theperformers.

The interaction between these three types of material creates something of a culturalenvironmentwithinthepiece,alongsideanartificiallycreatedphysicalenvironment.InmuchthesamewaythatithappensinAnAlmostAbstractExperience,herethephysicalenvironmentisbuiltupofmanymusicallayersandinteractingauditorystreams.Somespacesmaysoundfamiliarbecausetheyarederivedfromaknownmusicalmaterial(i.e.thesaxophonequartet),butarenotactuallyreal,suchasitwouldbe,forinstance,ifitwerethesoundscaperecordingofasaxophonequartetinagivenphysicalspace.Theculturalaspectofthisenvironment,onceagain,istheinextricableresultofmusicasaculturalproduct.However,inthiscase,thewaythattheculturalinformationistransmittedandreceivedisboundtobedifferent,becauseofthepresenceof(particularlytheatrical)humanvoicethroughoutthepiece.IfwithinOmega3andAnAlmostAbstractExperience,therewastheclearpresenceofahumanvoice,itwasmuchmoremusicalised(asinprimarilyunderstoodasmusicallines)thaninthecaseofExercitiumarithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi. Not because I did not intend, as thecomposer,tousethevoiceformusicalpurposes,butbecauseitissoloadedwithcomicalandtheatrical qualities that it is only natural for the listener to read in it not only a musicalcomponent,butalsohumanaffect(initspsychologicalsense).

Whilst they are, in essence, different types of sound materials (unprocessed saxophonematerials, derivative materials and vocal materials), they also tend to generate strongassociationsbecauseoftheirveryrecognisablecharacteristicsassource-bondedobjects.The

43Concerningthenuancebetween‘referential’and‘anecdotal’,Ijudgeitrelevanttomakeaprecision.A‘referential’ sound object refers to the perception of an external, known reality or idea, that hasimplicationsbeyonditsmanifestationwithinmusic(thevoiceoftherecordedperformersbeingonesuch example, because it refers to their reality as ‘vocal persons’, which goes beyond their role asinstrumentalists).Ananecdotalsoundobject,however, tendstohavemoreofanemotionalcontent;withoutnecessarilyestablishingaclearnarrative,itreferstohumanaffects(anexampleofthiswouldbetheperformers’laughter,which,notonlybeingvoice,impliessomeformofemotion).ThisiswhyIpreferredtheuseoftheterm‘anecdote’forthissection’ssubheading.44Thehumanvoicecouldherebetakenasasoundobject,butIwouldliketoreflectonthefactthattakenoutofcontext,humanvoicephonemes,whilststillveryreferential,donotautomaticallycreateanecdotalmusic.Inthiscontext,however,laughterandobviouslyexaggeratedtheatricalitiesmakethismusicalmaterial,inmyunderstanding,leantowardtheanecdotalquality,intherecordedsoundsfromthebeginning.

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vocal,theatricallayeristheonewhichmosteasilycatchesourattentionand,forthisreason,itwaschosenasacentralfigure,orguide,throughoutthepiece.Withoutwantingtogivethisvocal material an overwhelming prominence, I decided to see it as assuming structuralfunction: it initiates the piece, then influences the internal energies (for instance, somelaughter elements have an iterative quality to them that are replicated in rhythmicalinstrumentalsounds,ascanbeheardat0’20,andalittledifferentlyat3’08).Asisthecasewiththeeventat3’19,theybecomeusefulfortheorientationofthepiece.Withintheirappearance,Ijoinedmoreabstractmaterial,inseverallayers,soastocreateasenseofheavinessinthepieceindependentlyfromthelaughtermaterial.Thismaterialwasfirsttheretoguide,andnottoretainone’sattentionfortoolong.Thelaughtermaterialsarepresentuntil3’40.However,theyarenotaloneandareusedinamoremusicalway(interactingwithdifferentauditorystreams)thaninatheatrical45way.Forexample,thelaughterpresentedat3’52isimmediatelyre-representedinanacceleratedformat3’54.WhileIammindfulthatthetheatricalelementislikelytobeever-present,themusicalaspectofthismaterialcaninthiswaybesomewhatenhanced.Bylisteningtothemusicalcharacteristicsofthesoundwhichcanbemanipulated(pitch,space,timbre,amplitude,rhythm)andtakingthemintoaccountwhileprocessingtheoriginals, I can thus focus on its musicality in a somewhat isolated manner, making thedramaticqualitiesofthatsoundlessforegrounding.

Theinstrumentallysourcedsoundmaterialstakeonamuchmoreenergeticrolewithinthepiece:theyfillinthestructure,realisemuchofthegesturalcontentofthework,andcreateanimpression of space. This is particularly noticeable at around 4’10, where a saxophonerecording emerges, widens in spectrum presence, and is supported by a low-pitchedcontinuousrhythm,withelementsofmid-highpitchedandmelodicallyevolvinglayers.Whenthispartappears,thereisalmostinstantlythecreationofanewenvironmentwhichfollowsthewind-soundagogic46.Anotherexampleof this isat7’20,where theappearanceofveryobviouslaughtermovesintotheforeground,onlytobeengulfedbytheconstant,rhythmical,layersofinstrumentalsoundsthatwerealreadypresent.

The raw saxophone sounds mostly interact with, and complement, the instrumental andenvironmentalsoundingmaterials.Towardtheendofthefirstminute(around0’40),thereisaveryactivegroupofwind-likematerials,andthereisadistinctinteractionbetweenthoseandthesoundsofthelivequartet.Awayinwhichthisisidentifiableishowunifiedbothlayersaretoeachother.Theelectroacousticpartisobviouslymoreprocessed,includingelementsofblendedrhythms,filtering,andduplicatingofmusicallines.The‘live’part,however,isclearlysetinitsownspectralrange,rarelystrayingbeyondsothatitsoundslikeaconstant‘hiss’.Thiscreatesanimpressionofdepthoffieldtothepiecewhichotherwisewouldbepotentiallyquitedifficulttoachieve.

4.3 Choosing Between Live and Fixed AsImentionedearlier,recordingsofthesaxophonequartetwereusedthroughouttheentirepiece.Consideringthattheworkallowsforthepossibilityofliveperformance,Ihadtodevelop45WhenIsaythatthematerialsare‘nottheatrical’,Imeanthattheyareusedfortheirsonicqualitiesandmusicalpotentialratherthanfortheirdramaticqualities.Theyarereallyconsideredasmusicalvoices/layerswithinthecompositionprocessbeforetheyareatallconsideredforhavingadramaticpotential.46Theuseoftheword'agogic'herereferstotheinternalenergiesofthemusicorthesoundbeingheard,whichhaveaninherentdirectionality.

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amethodofcompositionwhichwouldgenerateafixedacousmaticpiece,andafixed-medium‘part’ that might be accompanied by the quartet in performance. This was achieved byapproaching the potentially livemusicalmaterials in exactly the sameway as Iwould theelectroacoustic elements; both were developed in recorded form, within the compositionstudio.Inthisway,thewritingprocessbecamequiteorganicinthatitwasnothinderedbyadoubledwritingprocess,asitwouldbeinthecaseofhavingascorewritteninparalleltothefixed-medium part. In this case, it was fully integrated at every step of the compositionalprocess.TheunprocessedsoundsweresimplyaddedtothestreamsasIwouldaddanyotherprocessedsound,andtheythereforeinteractinamoreseamlessway.Asaresult,thisallowsmetohavetheentireprojectinonesequence,andtoperformitinapurelyacousmaticwayifrequired.Italsobecomesrelativelysimpletoextractandbounceonlythelivesaxophonepartinordertosubsequentlynotateitforfutureperformance.Thismethodisfurtherdiscussedinthenextsectionofthischapter.

4.4 Scoring Techniques As we have just seen, the score takes its origins in the audio composition directly. Forreference,Ihavejoinedscreenshots47oftheprojectasitwasintheDAW.Thetopthree(Audio-1,Audio-2,Audio-3ofthe‘Overview’figure)tracksofthecompositionwerereservedfortheunprocessed,originalsaxophonerecordings.Attheendofthecompositionofthepiece,thesethreetrackswerebouncedseparatelyinordertohaveanaudiofilewhichwouldbeareferencefor the score towrite.Theparticularityof this score is thatmanyof the recordedoriginalsoundsweretheresultofanimprovisationsessionwiththesaxophonequartet.Theoutcomeofthisisthatmanyofthesoundscreatedduringthatsessionwerehighlyoriginalandoftenmade use of extended techniques for the instruments. Moreover, at all times were themembers of the quartet improvising all together, so I approached the quartetmore as aninstrument,ratherthanseparatingeachvoice.Anotherreasonfortreatingitlikethisisthatmost of the sounds which are found in the unprocessed part of the composition can bereproduced by any of the four instruments. Another point to consider was that as therecordings themselves, as well as the composition, usually have a broad quality (as insuggestinglargemassesratherthandelicateandprecisecounterpoint),Ididnotfeeltheneedforexacttimings(exceptfortwomoments,andstill,theyareoptional),aslongasthequartetwouldbeabletofollowthebroadercontoursofeachmusicalgesture.

Havingallofthoseobservationsinmind,Ibeganbyreferringmyselftotheaudiobounceoftheunprocessedsounds.As, likeImentionedearlier, Iwasapproachingthequartetasoneinstrument, I felt no need to differentiate the different saxophones, so I made one scoregroupingallofthemtogether.Although,bydefault,allfourarewrittenintheleftmargin,itismostlyforreference.Atnopointisthereanyinterventionreservedforoneinstrumentonly.Furthermore, as the sounds to bewrittenwere so unconventional, theywould have beenneedlesslycomplicatedtonotateonregularstaffedpaper,soIresortedtouselabels.AsIdidnotneedmuchprecisionintheinterpretationofthoseinterventions(and,Imightadd,thetoneofthepiece,derivedinlargepartfromlaughter,suggests,atleastinmyeyes,roomforfreedomandflexibility),Iplacedarepresentationofthosesoundsthroughoutascoredividedbytheminute.Thoseinterventionsaremostlyrepresentedbylabels,exceptatcertainpoints,whereI judged that basic symbolsmight help (amongst other things to represent style or as an

47Foundinfoldersincludedonmemorystick.

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interpretationguide).Manyoftheselabelsmaynot,atfirst,beeasytounderstandatfirstsight(for instance, ‘gagging into instrument’ at the end of the secondminute, or even ‘difficultlaughter (as if out of breath)’ at the end of the fourthminute). However, I do not believenotatingtheminanyotherwaycouldhavebeenmorehelpful.Therefore,Ihaveconcludedthatoneshouldatleastlistentotheaudiobouncematerialtakenforthescoreanditsintegrationintheentirepiecebeforeattemptingtointerpretit,inordertoreallyunderstandwhatisaskedoftheperformers.Thepaperscoreismoreofadetailedguideforliveimprovisationwiththepiecethananexactlistofinstructionsformusicalinterpretation.Idobelievethatifonehasheard the acousmatic composition, onemay have a good idea of the type of interventionswhich would be compatible with the piece. Furthermore, the unprocessed sounds are socharacteristicthatIamconfidenttheyareeasytomemoriseand,therefore,reproduce.

Insummary,asthepaperscorewasderivedfromtheaudiopartoftheunprocessedsoundcomposition,itcouldbesaidthatthe‘fullscore’requiresbothknowledgeoftheaudioversionandofthepaperversion.Thissaid,thepaperversionwaswrittenmostlytolightenpossiblelogisticalneeds:it ismucheasierandarguablymorenaturaltoimprovisealongsideafixedmediumbylooselyfollowinglabelsonapaperscoreusedforreferencethanitisfollowingalive,in-earrecordingofonepartofthecomposition,whilsttheotherpartisalsoheardatthesametime,inthesameroom,withloudspeakerspossiblysurroundingtheperformers.

4.5 Multiplicity of Environments As we have seen, Exercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi has thepotential to exist inmultiple forms. The first one, acousmatic, stereo, standalone and self-contained,withinwhich allmusical voices arepresent, andwhich canbeperformed in anentirelyacousmaticway,onaregulardiffusionsystem.Thesecond,whichaddsmultiples,isthepossibilityofhavingalivesaxophonequartetimprovising(followingadetailedguideorloosescore)alongsideafixedmedium.Here,everyiterationisboundtobe,evenifeversoslightly, different, and create a new version of the piece. Consequently, according to theperformanceexperienced,environmentsarelikelytobedifferent.

Atthisstage,havingnothadthechancetohavethepieceperformedwiththequartetsofar,Icanonlyreflectbasedonmyexperienceofhavingperformeditinanacousmaticway.Asthegeneral style of this piece is to use,most often, largemasses of sound, it tends to fill theperformancehalleasily,nothavingmanydirectionalsoundmaterials.However,directionalsoundmaterialsarewhataddtotheprecisionofthepiece.Withthisversion,whatI founddifficult indiffusionperformancewastoachievea levelofcontrastbetweenmoreintimatemomentsandmoreengulfingmusicalgestures.Astheintimatemomentsarerareinthispiece(placedalongsidedrone-likematerials), theyprovedespeciallydifficult to isolate.This canmake for a considerably uniform environment. For this reason, without saying that theacousmatic performance of this piece cannot be successful (rather than beingwary of itschallenges),Iamverycurioustohearaperformanceofthepiecewiththepresenceofthelivesaxophone quartet. I do suspect that, their instruments being made by design to projectdirectionally,thepieceanditsphysicalenvironment(boththeperformedenvironment,asinthepieceitself,andperformanceenvironment)wouldbenefit fromthepresenceofthelivequartet.Iwouldimaginethattherewouldbeaneffectofincreasedperspective,andanaddedlevel of engagement, not only for the presence of the performers, who likely would betheatrical in their own interpretation, but also for the fact that the overall performance

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environmentwouldbecomposedofsoundsofmultiplesources,andthemoreuniformpartofthepiece(i.e.fixedsounds),whichwouldbeperformedthroughloudspeakers,couldservetosupportthequartet’sperformance,ratherthanhavingtofillthehallbyitself.

4.6 Conclusion Throughout this chapter, we have examined the particularity of Exercitium arithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimi,andhowitexistsinboththeacousmaticformatandthemusiquemixte format.Wehaveobserveditscompositionprocess,andhowthepresenceofanecdotalandtheatricalsoundshaveaffecteditsform.Wethenwentontostudyitsscoringtechniquesandhowthescoremaybeaguidefortheperformers,beforeconcludingonthepotentialformultiplephysicalenvironments,especiallyintheperformanceofthepiece.Withthe next chapter of this thesis, we shall further discuss the possibility of multiplicity ofenvironments, especially regarding its internal (composed) environment and external(performed)environment,andhowitinteractsinaveryuniquewaywithitslisteners.

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5. Border Crossing Composed for a LARP (Live-Action Role Playing game)48 in December 2017, this stereoacousmatic piece (10'10) is designed to evoke an emotional49 environment more than aphysicalone,in-so-farasitimpliesaninwardsenseofenvironment.Morespecifically,differentlevelsofenvironmentarepresentinthispiece:

1- (ontheinternalspace50level)constructedmetaphorical(emotional)place;2- fieldrecordingsandnon-referentialsoundswithincomposition;3- (ontheexternalspace53level)performancespace;4- gamingenvironment.

This chapter will explore the meaning behind, and implications of, these four levels ofenvironment,andconsiderhowthisaffectsthelistener’srolewithingameplay.Indoingso,weshallseehowtheuseofconstructedculturalenvironmentscreatealoosenarrative,andhowthephysicalenvironmentaffectslistener-participation.Finally,weshallconnectthemusicalcontentwiththesurroundingculturalenvironmentuniquetothisLARPandbrieflyexploresomeoftheresultsofthis.

ThisparticularLARP54requirestheparticipants(whichconstitutethemainaudienceforthispiece)topartakeinthesimulatedjourneyofarefugee,leavingtheircountrywithurgency,inadesperateattempttoreachasaferland.Forthepurposesofthisevent,thebordercrossingisrepresentedbya ten-minute interpretationof road transportation,where theperformancespaceisessentiallyarelativelysmallandclosedblackboxinwhichtheaudienceisseated.Asthisspaceisquitelimited,asimplestereosetupwasusedfordiffusionofthepiece.

Iwishtomakeclearherethatitisnotexpectedforthispieceoreventhisgamingsetuptoonlyevermakedowith a stereo setup.However, given the organisation’smeans, itwas ratherunlikelythattheywouldhaveamoreelaborateperformancesystem.Itshouldbenoted,also,thatLARPsdonotusuallyincorporatesuchmusicalcomponentsintheirevents.LARPeventsare very often organised with limited resources, and their main focus is to organise afunctioning, large-scale game inwhich dozens, if not hundreds of players take on roles toemulatea fictionalsocialsetting.Consequently,soundandmusicarerarelyseen,andevenmore rarely enjoy elaborate logistical support. However, as a composer of electroacousticmusic,outsideofthiscontext,IdobelievethatBorderCrossingcanstandaloneasapiece,andIwouldtreatitsperformancelikeanyotheracousmaticwork:fromstereo,accordingtothe

48Tychsen,A.etal.(2006).LiveActionRole-PlayingGames:Control,Communication,Storytelling,andMMORPGSimilarities.GamesandCulture,1(3),pp.252–275.(Tychsen,Hitchens,Brolund,&Kavakli,2006)49Iamawarethattheseconceptsmayexistinsocialandpsychologystudies.However,asmymainareaofstudyismusic, Idonotwishtogodeepintothedefinitionof ‘emotionalenvironment’,outsideofapproaching it from themetaphorical,æsthetic level. The theme given for this compositionwas anemotionalstateofdistress,mixedwithideasoffearandhope,insidetheencompassingsituationofamajortransitionthroughtravel.ThisiswhatIhaveusedasinspirationformusicalexpressivityinBorderCrossing.50SuchasChiondescribesit.53Idem.54ItsfirstiterationwasexecutedsuccessfullyinLondoninDecember2017,thenoncemoreaspartofalargerevent,TheQuota,inOakham,inMay2018.

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spaceandsystemitisperformedwith,Iwouldaddressitspresenceintheenvironment,andmakeinterpretationdecisionsaccordingly.

5.1 Implications of LARP format In the spirit of live-action role playing, the audience in this particular case is notmerely apassivereceptorofthemusic.Rather,theaudienceisactivelyengaged,inthemoment,withthesonicinformationprovidedbythepiece.Inotherwords,thisisnotatypicalacousmaticmusicperformance:whilstthesetupistechnicallyacousmatic, itsfunctionaluseaffectsthelargergame’snarrative.Indeed,BorderCrossingisonepartofagamedevisedinseveralsteps.WithinthisLARPgame,theparticipantsarerequiredtotakeoncharacteristicsaccordingtotherolethattheyaregiven.Forinstance,inthecontextofBorderCrossing,wearedealingwithafictionalsituationinwhichseveralparticipantsaremigrantsattemptingtobecomerefugeesin theUK.Within thoseparticipantsalone, theremightbesinglemothers, couples, specificprofessionals,andsoon.Theyinteractwithoneanotherandwithothertypesofcharacterswhomaynotbemigrants(i.e.UKlocals).Thiscreatesacomplexgamedynamicandongoingnarrative,whichisconstantlydeterminedbytheparticipants’choices.Assuch,BorderCrossingwas composed to support, highlight and direct the likely state of mind of those fictionalmigrants,whohavenoinformationontheirjourneyotherthanthattheyarebeingtakenfromonepointtothenextbyroad.Duringthatstep,itisthereforeonlytheaudiocontentofBorderCrossing,whichisperformeduntiltheymoveontothenextpartofthegame.Consequently,compositionalchoicesservedtogenerateamusicalenvironment,immersive55notnecessarilyonlybyitsacousticphysicality,butfirstandforemostbyitspsychologicaleffectinthecontextofagame.Indeed,thispiececanactasappliedmusicandthereforeisdesignedtosetthemoodforasceneinwhichthecharactersareinaformofhighemotionalstressanduncertainty.Inthiscontext,itispossiblethatboththelistenerandthecharacterpersonifiedbythislistenereachhavetheirpersonalreceptionofthemusic,becausetheyobviouslyrepresentdifferentculturalenvironments:any listenercanreceive thispiece inanygivencontextoutsideofaLARP event and understand it as a typical acousmatic piece, making their own culturalreadings.Withtheaddedcontextof theLARP, thecharacter,placed inasituation inwhichBorderCrossing is theirmainsourceof information,whichcanaffect theirownsurvival, isboundtohaveamuchdifferentculturalresponsethanthefirsttypeoflistener.

5.2 Internal Space: Field Recordings, Synthesis & Place Aspreviouslymentioned,IhaveidentifiedfourlevelsofenvironmentwhichcanbeusefulinfurtherunderstandingBorderCrossing.Inordertobeabletodifferentiatetheminasimplemanner,Ihavecategorisedthefirsttwoasbeingpartoftheinternal(composed)space,andtheremainingtwoaspartoftheexternal(performed)space.WhilstIknowthatthesedifferentenvironmentsmayinteractandoverlap,thisallowsmetoisolatethemanddiscusstheideaswhich surround them. We shall start by briefly exploring the ideas of a metaphorical oremotionalenvironment.

55Withtheuseoftheword‘immersive’,hereIamnotreferringtoasurroundsoundsetup,ratherthantheenvironmentalexperienceoftheperformanceofthepieceinthecontextoftheLARP.

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5.2.1 Metaphorical (Emotional) Environment Or Place BeforeIgointothespecificsofthecompositionitself,IwouldliketotakealookatabitoftextbyBijanZelli,onthesubjectofimagination,takenfromhis2010articleMusiqueAcousmatiqueandImaginarySpaces:

Musique acousmatique is a good example of the application of defamiliarized sounds in order to provide a virtual sound atmosphere in which “the listener’s aural imagination can be drawn into personal, psychological realms quite different from other musics” (Smalley 1991, 21). The idea is based on human capabilities that interpret unreal sound structures arbitrarily and connect real and virtual worlds.56

This reflection by Zelli, which is partly based on Smalley’s words, highlights the strongevocativepowersoftheelectroacousticmedium,throughtheexperienceofthelistener.JustasIhavepreviouslydiscussed,giventhelistener’sculturalenvironmentandtheirpersonalexperience, theywill inevitablyand “arbitrarilyconnect realandvirtualworlds”.Theywillmake the experience of acousmatic music their own. Moreover, in essence, the “soundatmosphere” isasoundenvironment.When, in the textabove,Smalleyrefers to “personal,psychological realms”, he refers to what I have previously identified as emotionalenvironments.ThistypeofenvironmentiswhatIwouldidentifyaspartoftheinternalspaceof themusic (i.e.what is contained in the composition). It is the contentof themusic thatexpressesthemetaphorical,emotional57environment.Itisthesoundsthatitcontainsthatareevocativeforthelistenerandthat,ultimately,communicatethisemotionalorpsychologicalmeaning.Theremayalsoemergeasenseofplaceforthelistener,where,inmuchthesamewaythatinAnAlmostAbstractExperience,therewouldbethepossiblereferencetosurreal,dream-like environments and ideas of place,which, just like dreams, are ungraspable andshifting.Theoccurrenceofplace,inthiscontext,isthusinrelationtothepersonalwaythatthelistenerconnectstothisconstructedmetaphoricalspace.Thechallengewhendiscussingthislevelofenvironmentisthatitis,bydefinition,averysubjectiveone.Itis,thus,ofcourseverydifficulttopredictthereactionofalistener,oreventopretendtoknowbeforehandwhatthecontentofthemusicwill,infact,communicate.However,thisiswhereIresorttoreferentialmaterialstakenfromfieldrecordings,whichbecomepartoftheinternalphysicalenvironmentofthispiece.

5.2.2 Field Recordings and Non-Referential Sounds Within Composition Withoutreferringbacktoaknownphysicalenvironment,referential,source-bondedmaterialstaken from field recordingsdepict elements of physical environmentswhich are relativelycommon,suchasavandoor(0’00),avehicle’srunningmotor(0’15),awaterfront(7’25),andpassingroadtraffic(1’18),forinstance.Thosesoundsconsequentlyservetogivereferentialcuestothelistenerinordertoremindthemofthefigurativejourneythattheyareon.AnothertypeofsoundthatIusetosupportthisdiscourseisnon-referentialorsyntheticallygeneratedsounds.Whilstnotimmediatelyreferringtoaknowntangibleobject,theyareoftenusedfor

56Zelli,B.,(2010)MusiqueAcousmatiqueandImaginarySpaces[online].BijanZelli.[Viewed2October2018]Availablefrom:https://econtact.ca/13_3/zelli_acousmatique.html57Imightmaketheprecisionherethatwhilst‘metaphorical’and‘emotional’arenotexactlythesamething,theyareonthesameenvironmentlevel.Inthiscontext,‘metaphorical’referstothefactthattheenvironmentissuggestedbythesoundsusedinthecomposition,whilst‘emotional’istheresultofthelistener’sreadingandunderstandingofthatmetaphoricalenvironment,andtheirownrelationshiptoit.

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their functionwithin themusic (i.e. a broaddelta-likedynamic gesture like the oneheardbetween0’20and0’30willrefertoroadtraffic).Ineffect,thisoccupiestheinternalphysicalenvironmentof thepiece. It shouldbenotedhere that it isbecauseof thepresenceof themusical content (so, in effect, the sounds themselves) that themetaphorical, or emotional,environmentcanexist.Thisisthemainreasonforwhichthetwotypesofenvironmentarebound to overlap and interact with each other.Whilst the physical reality, at least at theinternal space level, of the composition is fixed and therefore will not be altered duringperformance, the emotional environment is subject to shifts and evolution throughout theperformanceofthepiece,andevenfromoneperformancetothenext.

Inordertodepicta“bordercrossing”,Idecidedtorelyuponoriginalsoundrecordingswhichwouldbeanchorsforthemainnarrative.Asthisismeanttobeevocativeofaroadjourney,Ilooselysetthefigurativespaceinavanwithrecordingsoftheinitialvandooropeningandclosing(0’—0’05).Thisisthesignalthattheparticipantsareabouttoembarkuponaroadjourney.Moreover, thissoundreturnsattheveryendtosignifytheclearconclusionof thejourneyand,consequently,thepieceitself.Simultaneously,asyntheticallygeneratedsoundisheard from the very start. I conceived this synthetic sound, starting quite stable and low-pitched,muchinthemannerofavehicle’srunningmotor,asbeingthebasicmetaphoroftheroad journey. This said, its percussive entrance, and growling quality, is suggestive of astressfuljourney,thusservingtoestablishasenseoftensionfromtheoutset.

Withtheclosingofthedoor(0’05),Iaddedahigher-pitchedsoundwhichcontributestothesenseoftension,andfurtherenhancesthecomplexityofthemusicalenvironment.Followingthis, the layers becomemore numerous, with the emergence of a nervous foregroundingrhythmicalpattern,beingenergeticallysupportedbyanoisydelta-likesound,fromwhichasyntheticpitchemerges(0’20).Thistypeofsoundwillbemostlypresentthroughout(althoughitmaychangeinpitchorinsource,suchastheeventat1’18)andisusedasasortofsymbolofurgency.By0’22,soundsofanenginestarttobeclearlydefinedasananchoringsoundobjectby its recognisable source-bonded reference: the participant is being reminded that thejourneyisinfacthappeningontheroad.

Around0’40,themusicaltextisevenmorecomplex,thistimewithsoundsechoingthepassingoftraffic(almostnopitchwithhighcomplexity,passingbyquicklybothontheleftandrightchannels).Thesesoundsreoccuratseveralmomentsduringthepiece(forexample1’47,2’08,3’andsoon)andtheirpurposeisalwaystokeeptheparticipantanchoredinthesimulatedreality.Assuch,theenvironmentwithinthemusicalpieceismanifestedintwomainforms:oneanchoredinsource-bonded,recognisablesoundrecordingsandtheotherconstructedbysynthetic,non-referentialmaterial.Whilstmanysource-bondedsoundshaveaclearpurposeofcommunicatinganarrativetothelistener,theydonotdepictaknownenvironment.Thisiswheretheideaofplace,again,becomesusefulinunderstandingBorderCrossing.AswesawwithNormanandDyrsseninthefirstchaptersandasIhavediscussedabove,thenotionofplaceisanongoing,personalprocesswhichisnotonlyderivedfromsuggestivemetaphorscreatedbythemusicalcontent,butisalsoaffectedbythepersonalexperienceofthelistener.

ThatistosaythatasmuchasmymusiccontributestoaformofscenographyaspartoftheLARPeventitisperformedin,itdoesnotproviderigidinformationontheevokedphysicalenvironment experienced throughout the piece, such as soundmarks for example. In thatsense, anyone who is on the receiving end of the musical work will not be forced into

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identifyingspecificenvironments:thejourneyremainspersonalisedevenwiththepresenceofrecognisableelements,suchasrunningenginesandroadtraffic.Asaresult, themusicalenvironment inwhich the listeners find themselves serves to establish a strong feeling ofevolvingplace.Thisisunderlinedbytheother,moreconstantmusicalstream(composedofsyntheticsounds),whichisoflong-haulprogressionandwhichhasitsowndevelopingagogicthroughout the piece. As such,we could say that the audio stream composed of syntheticsoundshasamorehorizontalbehaviourandoutline thegreater formof thepiece,andthesoundsoriginatingfromsource-bondedrecordingsareusuallypunctualevents,which,intheirverticalbehaviour,shapethegreaterformatlocalisedmomentsinthemusic.

WhilstIdidchoosetouserecognisablematerialsasaconstantreminderoftheroadjourney,Iintendedtocreatecorrespondencesbetweenthetwodifferenttypesofsounds(i.e.source-bondedandnon-referential).Consequently,thesyntheticsoundsoftenhaveanagogicwhichfollowstheexperienceofaroadjourneyandthesource-bondedmaterialsdonotclashwiththesyntheticsounds;rathertheyemphasizetensionsandtakeonfunctionalroles(suchasinitiatingorconcludingaphrase,forexample).Furthermore,thereisoneinstancewherethesoundrecordingstakeonamorepoeticrole.Forexample,at7’23wherefromthecomplexsoundsemergesarecordingoftheseaside.Thatmomentinthepieceisnotespeciallylogicalinthecontextofaroadjourneyexperiencedfromtheinsideofavan,andinthatparticularmoment, I wanted to express the wanderings of a mind. Whilst synthetic sounds wereemployed, from the start, to determine the metaphorical and symbolic environment, theexperiencedconstructionofanimaginaryplacewouldbecomevividlyconcreteinthespaceofafewsecondsbetween7’23and7’55,whereacharactermayhavethedistortedmemoryofawaterfront, lost in some daydreaming of the moment. It could be worth noting that thismomentalsoappearsastheresolutionoftensionwhichhadbeenpreviouslybuildingfrom4’44.Thistensionwasbuildingfornearlythreeminuteswiththeintensifyingofdynamicsinthelongdeltacreatedbythethickeningofthesynthesissounds,byverygraduallyaddingmorecomplexelementswithinteractingrhythmsandraisingtheirdynamiclevelsintheotherwisenearlyunchangingvoices.Theveryendof thepiecehasananalogousconclusion,althoughstartingwithrathermorepronounced tension.Here, themusic isalsoaccompaniedby theprocessed soundof a siren,whilst anaggressive synthetic soundemergesat9’46,withanirregularmelodicprofile, takingovermostof the foreground.The tensionsare finallyonlyresolvedwhenthefinalvandoorsoundisheard.

Ultimately,asmuchastheseconstructedenvironmentsarepresentwithinthemusicalpiece,they are also experienced in a particular space and context which is distinct from mostacousmaticmusicdiffusionoccurrences.Inthenextsectionofthischapter,weshalldiscusstheexternal spaceofBorderCrossing, andhow it contributes to furtherunderstanding thepiece.

5.3 External Space: Performance Space & Gaming Environment In the context of this specific LARP, the participants are guided into getting on-board ametaphorical van, which is a narrow, closed, dark space. This has consequences on theexperienceofthemusicalpiece;unlikeotherworksinthisportfolio,intendedtobeperformedinlargeconcerthallswithloudspeakerarrays,thispiecerequires(atleastinthecontextoftheLARP)asmall,intimatespace.

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5.3.1 Performance Environment Theintimate,andpotentiallystressful,performanceenvironmentrequiredforapresentationofthispieceisdesignedtodirectthelistenertowardstheirown,inwardsenseofenvironment;theideaisthatthelistenerwillactivelyconstructtheirownexperienceoftheirowncharacteraspartofthegamingnarrative.Inregardstotheformatofthepiece,havingcomposeditinstereocertainlyhelpedtomakeiteasytoperformovermodestsystemssuchastheonetheLARPteamhad,withouthavingtocompromiseanythinginthecompositionitself.Abouttheformat,Zellisaysthis:

The great advantage of the stereo technique lies in its flexibility and suitability for many performance spaces.58

HethengoesontociteVandeGorne:

Annette Vande Gorne portrays musique acousmatique as “cadrages, profondeurs de champs, mouvements fictifs” and considers this music as “composition avec l’illusion de perception de l’espace” […] She concludes that stereo is well suited for musique acousmatique, as it can reliably fulfill these tasks. […] In addition, stereophony works for Vande Gorne as a small instrument that supplies a large number of services: “On peut alors constater combien, avec une très grande économie de moyens, les espaces virtuels conduisent et font résonner l’imaginaire…”59

Healsowarnsaboutaddingexcessivedistancefromtheloudspeakers:

In a stereophonic listening situation, the listener must stay fixed at a point of equal distance from the loudspeakers in order to perceive an accurate spatial impression. When the listener moves to more extreme positions, the spatial illusion is greatly weakened.60

Inthefirstpartofthisquote,thissupportstheideathat,eveninaperformancesetting,stereohastheabilitytoconveythemusicalcontentsofelectroacousticmusicinaconvincingmanner.Stereophony is flexible, having the potential to contain clear musical environments, andcreating illusionsofperspective,allowing thecomposition to shift focusandcreate “fictivemovements”withinthoseenvironments,assuggestedbyVandeGorne.

Onthequestionofthespecificeffectontheroomitselfonthesound,Henriksendescribestheessentialacousticfactorswhichmayinfluencetheexperienceofthemusicaccordingtotheroominwhichitisheard:

When listening in a room, the sound pattern reaching the ear is always different from that emitted from the source. The listening environment acts upon the sound in different ways, resulting in variations in spectral, temporal and spatial distribution. The acoustic influence of the room is always present to a greater or lesser extent, and is a factor that the composer must bear in mind when composing works for public performance. The acoustic influence varies with different rooms, and can therefore not be thought of as an absolute entity in the composition

58Zelli,B.(2010)MusiqueAcousmatiqueandImaginarySpaces[online].BijanZelli.[Viewed2October2018]Availablefrom:https://econtact.ca/13_3/zelli_acousmatique.html59 Idem. (TheFrenchparts readas: “framings,perspective, fictivemovements”…“compositionwithillusionof theperceptionofspace”…“Wecanthusnoticehow,withagreateconomyofmeans, thevirtualspacesdrivetheimaginaryandmakeitresonate…”.)60Idem.

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process unless the work is to be created for a specific, known listening space. Even then the acoustic conditions are likely to vary with the size of the audience, and the performance of the work must be carried out accordingly.61

ThosearequestionswhichwereofcourseconsideredintheparticularcaseofBorderCrossing.Thesettingofhearinganacousmaticpieceinasmallblackboxisquitedifferentfromthatofatypicalconcerthall.However,asVandeGorneimplied,stereocanalsobeadaptedtodifferentperformancespacesandsetups,whichbringsmetoanimportantquestiontobeaddressed:IsthereanidealperformanceenvironmentforBorderCrossing?Ultimately,theanswertothisquestion lies in thecontextof itsperformance.As thispiecewasconceived tobepartofanarrativesupportforaLARP,thelimitedspaceoftheblackboxiswhereitwasplannedtobeperformedinitially.Insucharestrictedspace,astereosetupisnotlikelytocompromisethecontentofthemusicexcessively.Ifoneimaginestheblackboxashavingsimilardimensionstothoseofavan,itisreasonabletoconcludethatthe“spatialillusion”(orrepresentationofthephysicalenvironment)isstillpreservedtoanacceptabledegree.Iwouldnotexpectthisperformancespacetoallowfor“moreextremepositions”forlistening.Thissaid,takenoutsideof the context of the LARP, this piecemay very well be performed on amore traditionalacousmaticperformancesetup(i.e.occupyingalargeconcerthallwithmanyloudspeakers,ofwhichthenumbercanvary).Insuchacontext,“moreextremepositions”aremuchmorelikely,andthesetupisthereforehopefullyadjustedtotheroom,inanefforttokeepthespatialimageaccuratetolistenersinvariouspointsofthehall.IsBorderCrossingbettersuitedforonespaceortheother?Iwouldliketobelievenot,otherwiseitwouldimplythateither,itisonlytrulyvalidated through the very isolated event of this specific LARP, or, on the contrary, that itwouldfailtoholditsfunctionwithintheLARPanditwould,bydefault,needamoretraditionalacousmatic performance setup. As I have already received comments from the LARPorganisersthatthepiecewassuccessfulinfeedingintotheparticularnarrativeofthegameand that it indeed did contribute to the participants’ gameplay, I can safely say that itsperformancewas,infact,appropriateinthecontext.Thissaid,inanacousmaticmusiccontext,thereisnoneedforsuchaspecificnarrative,atleastnotinthewaythattheLARPisdesignedfor.Consequently,inanacousmaticcontextoutsideoftheLARP,Iwouldmostprobablywanttomakesurethattheoverallformandmusicalcontentareaccuratelyconveyed,andwoulddecideonaperformancemannerthatwould,forinstance,highlightitsgesturesandenhanceitsphysicalenvironment.NowthatwehavediscussedtheperformanceenvironmentofBorderCrossing,we shall explore the last levelof environment, found in theexternal spaceof thepiece:gamingenvironment.ThisisthecontextinwhichBorderCrossingisreceived,andistheresultofaculturalenvironment.

5.3.2 Gaming Environment Theaddedlayerofthegamingcontextcertainlyaffectsthelistener’sexperience.Asplayersembodythecharactersofrefugees,theycertainlyhaveapredeterminedmind-setwhichgoesbeyondthesimplereceptionofthemusicinitsphysical,acousticenvironment.Interestingly,thereisaconstructedculturalenvironmentrelatingtothoselisteners:notonlydotheyhavetheirown,personalreactionto,andunderstandingof,thepresentedmusic,buttheyshouldalsoembodythethoughts,emotionsandactionsoftheirassignedcharacter.Thisimpliesthat

61Henriksen,F.E.(2002).SpaceinElectroacousticMusic:Composition,PerformanceandPerceptionofMusicalSpace.London:CityUniversity,p.72.

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asthemusicispartofthescenographyofthisLARP,itisthereforefunctionalandnotsimplyreceived as a regularperformance.There are thus two levels of cultural reception in eachparticipant:theæstheticappreciationoftheworkanditsinterpretationinordertoinformthecharacter’sresponseinthecontextofthatparticularroadjourney.Consequently,thesecondlayerofconstructedculturalenvironmentbecomesasortoftextwhichbearsmeaninginthegreatercontextofthegame.Asaresult,thegreaterformofthispiecehasamajorinfluenceonthegameplayoftheparticipants.Thissaid,therewerenospecifictheatricalinstructionsfromTheQuotaproject’steam,sothecompositionwasnotmadetosuggestaparticularpathorgivepreciseinformationonwhatwouldhappenduringthatroadjourney.Nevertheless,commentsIhavereceivedfromthegamedesignerswerethatthemusicseemedtocarryanoticeableamount of convincing suggestion of emotion and effective tension build-ups, as someparticipantsinfactreactedquitevividlytotheperformance;somebeingphysicallystartledand others screaming in fright. Having now discussed all previously identified levels ofenvironmentforBorderCrossing,weshallexamineitsformmoreindetail,howitcametobeandhowitconveysthenarrativeofthatroadjourney.

5.4 Form & Narrative InordertounderstandtheformalconstructandnarrativeofBorderCrossing,Ihavedivideditupintosevensegments,followingthedynamiccontoursofthepiece:

1. 0’00—1’20:Departure2. 1’20—3’00:Road13. 3’00—4’20:Tensionbuild-up14. 4’20—6’00:Inward5. 6’00—7’25:Tensionbuild-up26. 7’25—8’30:Road27. 8’30—10’10:Resolution

Asmentionedearlier,thispieceisconstructedmainlyfromfieldrecordingsandnon-referentialsounds.Inthiscase,asthemainfocuswasthefunctionofthispiecewithintheLARPcontext,thepresenceofculturalenvironmentinthecaseofthispieceis,asdiscussedabove,manifested in the context of the gaming environment and the temporary community builtaroundtheevent.Assuch,BorderCrossingwasdesignedfirstandforemosttobuildacertain(even if fluid and loose) narrative. The narrative is that of a fictional road journey,whichunfoldsoverthecourseofthetenminutesofthepiece.Itexpressesitself,atthestart,withaninformation-richsetting, inanefforttocreatetheimpressionofasuddenimmersionintoacompletelyuniqueworld.Towardthecentreofthenarrativeprogression,thereisthenmoreofan ‘introspective’,or ‘inward’segment, inwhichanemotionalenvironmentisexpressed.Thiscentralpart thenprogressively leadsup toa final tensionbuild-up,over the lengthofthreesegments,until the final resolution,symbolisingarrival. In this instance,unlikewithÉclatsdeFeux,thespecificprovenanceofthefieldrecordingswerenottheprimarysourceofmeaning.Inthiscase,theirfunction,ultimately,aretheformalguidesforthispiece.Inotherwords,bothmaintypesofsounds(i.e.source-bondedandnon-referential)respectivelyservetogivenarrativecuesandsupportthemusicalanddynamicdevelopmentof thepiece.Thesource-bondedsoundswereidentifiedearlierasavandoor(0’00),avehicle’srunningmotor(0’15),awaterfront(7’25),andpassingroadtraffic(1’18).Thenon-referentialsounds(mostly

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soundsofsynthesis),ontheotherhand,arelessclearlydifferentiated,becausetheyhavelessofaknownrealitytoreferbackto.

Whenobservingthesuccessiveplacementofthesegmentsthroughoutthispiece,onecancometo the conclusion that the greater form is roughly following an arch shape: it is largelysymmetrical(exceptforavariationattheend,whichconcludesinadynamictensionbuild-upandfinalrelease),withthedifferentbuild-upsechoingeachother,oneithersideofacentral,moreintimatesegment,whichIhavenamed‘inward’forthisreason.

If thenarrativeof thispiece is first announcedby the soundof avandoor, the restof theelementsplacedearly in the firstsegmentserve toset the tone for thepiece.For instance,juxtaposed to thevandoorsound isa low frequencypulsatingsynthesismaterialwhich isinitiatedfromthestartandwhichlastsformostofthefirstsegment,holdingitspositioninthebackground. This sound is there to support the musical discourse and to add a layer ofsymbolicreferencetothejourneyontheroad:thislow-frequencypulsatingmaterialpresentsqualitieswhichcansuggestarunningmotor,thusprovidinganothermusicalwaytoevoketheroad. Other sounds, as mentioned earlier, also serve to support themusical discourse, toenhanceitsdynamicprofiles,and,attimes,tothickenthemusicallines(mostcommonly,itisto helpwith the tension build-ups, especially the ones found in segments 3 and5). Thosesounds are found throughout the piece. In segment 1, they occupy a broad part of thespectrum:fromthelow,pulsatingtonetothehigherpitcheddelta-likemotions(0’20)andthemid-highrhythmicalpatternstartingat0’06,therearemanylayersfillinginthemusicallines,oftenmovingtoandfromtheforeground.Consequently,segment1establishesthestartofthejourney with an abundance of sonic information, within a rapidly complex physicalenvironment.Withregardstothenarrative,incomposinglikethis,myintentionwastorapidlysetanenvironmentinwhichthelistenerenters,andalsotoindicateasenseofurgency,and,with the abundance of information, to symbolise active movement. As it is symbolic andultimatelypurelyæsthetic, itmaybereadinseveralways,againaccordingtothe listener’sbackground.Nevertheless,themainideabehindthismusicalchoicewastoconveyasymbolicroadjourney.

The second and the sixth segments are similarly built, in the sense that they both aresignificantlybasedonexternalreferentialcues.Whilstthistypeofcuecanbefoundthroughoutthepiece,forinstancethevandoorandtherunningmotorinthefirstsegment,here,thefocusisonclearelementsoftheroad.Segment2startswithsirensinthebackgroundat1’20,thengoesontodevelopnotonlyontherunningmotorsoundat1’30,butalsogiveswayto,foravery substantial part, sounds of passing road traffic starting at 1’34. These sounds willpunctuateandoccupymostoftheforegroundfortheentiresegmentuntiltheshiftinauditorystreamsattheturnofthesegment,at3’00.Withthesesounds,inrelationtothenarrative,Isupporttheideathatthejourneyisinmotion.Segment6,ontheotherhand,isperhapsmorecomplex in the sense that without so much referring to passing road traffic, has clearreferences to someexternal place.Thepresenceof soundsofwater from the start at 7’25establishesanoutdoorscene, followedbysoundsofmachineryat7’40,andaclearhumanpresencewith thevoicesat7’45 serve toestablisha certain senseofplace.Withoutmanyobviouscuesonexactlywhichplacethismight,be,though,itremainsanunknownplace,mostprobablyimaginary.

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Oneithersideofthecentralpartofthepiece,wehavesegment3and5,whichbothhaveadynamictensionbuild-uptakingupmostoftheirduration.Inthecaseofsegment3,weareleavingsegment2at3’00,andthusalsoleavingbehindthesource-bondedsoundsofpassingtraffictoenterapurelyabstractscene,inwhichmostofthesoundsaresyntheticallygenerated.Here,dynamicgesturessimilartothatofthepassingroadtrafficarekept,onlyreproducedwithcomplex,grainyhigh-midsounds,whichactasasymbolicreminderofthesoundsofroadtraffic. On the narrative plan, this was, for me, a way to express that we are leaving thereferentialexperienceoftheroadandgoingtowardamoreinwardexperienceofthecharacter,reaching toward a mostly emotional environment. From the start of the segment, a new,complex,butpitchedsoundisintroducedandstayssteadyuntilalow-frequencycomplexmassappears and grows in dynamics, at the same time as a lower-pitched sound gains moreamplitudeat3’20.Atthispoint,morelayersofnervoussoundsareadded(high-pitched,grainysoundsaswellasarhythmicalcomplexmass)andservetobuildupdynamictension.Mostoftheselayersfadeawayafter3’44togivewayformoresteady,low-frequencyauditorystreams.Thoseareleadinguptothecentralpart,at4’20,whichhasamuchmoreintimatesoundworld.

Mirroring this, segment 5 has a tension build-up from the onset at 6’00, starting with arhythmicalpattern in the lower frequencies, rapidly expanding towardahigherpitch, andintroducing a new, grainier sound with a rhythmical pattern at 6’20. Following that newrhythmicalpattern,thedynamicintensityofthesegmentisextendedeverytimeitisrepeated.This isdoneby theuseofasupportingadditionalcomplexmasssound,heardmore in theforegroundaccompanyingtherepetitionofthehigherpitchedrhythm.By6’40,ashiftoccurswiththeapparitionofasteadier,smootherhighpitchlargelypresentinthebackground,butsupportedbyacomplexmasswhichwilltakeovertheforegroundprogressively,especiallyafter6’57,wherethenewpitchismademoreprominent.Thesoundsofcomplexmassevolveinto a white noise, which then turns into the previously mentioned field recording of awaterfront,ataround7’20,whereafinalevent,(aquickmachineryhiss)finallyintervenesandbreaks the tension. Ineffect, inanarrativegestureopposite to thatof segment3,with thedevelopmentofsegment5,wewentfromaratherintimatesegment,builtwithfewersoundsandlowerdynamics,toabroaderimage,asceneinwhichclearreferentialsoundobjectsarepresented, narratively leaving the emotional environment to go into a more active andcomplexphysicalenvironment.

The central segment of Border Crossing is where, narratively, I placed the most intimateenvironmentof thepiece.Havinggone through the first three segments,by thatpoint, thelistener has had time to settle in to this symbolic road journey’s sound world, and as acomposer,Ihaveimaginedittobeafavorablemomenttodiveintoamoreinternalexperienceoftheroad.Thus,asweleavesegment3andentersegment4at4’20,mostoftheauditorystreamsfadeaway,toleavetwolow-pitchedrhythmicalsoundsat4’30,whereacomplexmassremains. This mass also fades away completely by 4’48. At this point, the low pitchedrhythmicalpatternsareaccompaniedbyasteadymid-highpitch,andthisisamomentthatlastsuntil5’20.Inaveryslowprogression,layersstarttoenter:anoscillatingpitchemergesat5’20,andthisgoesonuntil5’30.At5’30,anewlow-pitchrhythmicalpatternemerges,andlastsuntilafinalshifthappensat5’55.Here,anewpitchedsoundisintroduced,andwillleadtothenext,moreactivesegmentat6’00.Aswecansee,segment4isthesegmentinwhichthetransitionsaretheslowest.Addedtothefactthatthedynamicsareoverallconsiderablylowerthanintherestofthepiece,thisisawayformetoexpressamoremeditativestate,astateof

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introspection. Following the loose narrative of the piece, this is a partwhere the physicalenvironmentleadstoamoreemotionalenvironment.

Finally, the last segment of this piece, segment 7, starts at 8’30, after an information-richsegmentinwhichtherewereseveralreferentialsounds,referringtoasenseofunknownplace.Here, lower frequency rhythms are very present and emphasise the sense of a stressfulsituation:theyareassertive,takeupthewholesoundimageandcanmakethelistenertrappedin this repetitive rhythmical cycle. Adding even more stressful elements to this, a high,rhythmicalpitch,reminiscentofasiren,entersat8’45,onlytobejoinedandultimatelymaskedbyanotherhighpitched,harshmaterialwhichfollowsslowerglissandi.By9’04,thedynamiclevelsoftheentireenvironmentareincreased,andthelowerfrequencyrhythmicalsoundsareagain in the foreground, enhanced by a very salient, complexmass, taking upmost of themiddlesectionof thespectrum.The twosiren-likehighpitchedmaterials returnclearlyat9’10,andthisscenedensifiesuntilthefinalreleaseat10’00,wherethesoundoftheslidingvandoorindicatesthatthejourneyisover.

Insummary,withtheuseofseveralsegmentsbuiltfollowingdifferentdynamicprofiles,Ihaveexpressedthenarrativeofasymbolicroadjourney,attimesusingsource-bondedsoundstoprovidecues,andatothertimesmakinguseofnon-referentialsoundstosupportthemusicaldiscourse,andalsotoexploreemotionalenvironmentsrelatedtothecentralideasofurgencyandtravel.

5.5 Conclusion Havingexploredthedifferentlevelsofenvironmentinthispiece,wealsobrieflyre-examinedthe significance of place in relation to constructedmusical environments in the context ofgaming narratives. We have also observed how environmental sound recordings informmeaningandgreaterformwhilstsyntheticsoundscreateamoremetaphoricalenvironment.Wehaveexploredthesignificanceoftheveryspecificcontextofperformanceofsuchapieceandbrieflystudiedthecontextofthiscollaborationultimatelyimpactingtheparticipantsanddiscussedtheformofthepieceatlength.

It would be interesting to further investigate the implications of such collaborations andexploretowhichextentmusiccanbeappliedinsuchcontexts.BorderCrossingturnedouttobeanatypicalsettingforcomposition,asTheQuotawasmeantasaneducativeexperienceonthecurrentimmigrationandrefugeeissuesexperiencedwidelyinEurope.Theideaofusingacousmaticmusictohelpinformoncertainsocialissueswiththeuseofculturalenvironmentiscertainlyworthinvestigatingfurtherinlaterprojects.

6. Résistance Résistance(10’15)isastereoacousmaticcompositionrealisedin2018,incorporatingpartialrecordingsofmygrandmother,NivesMassera,inwhichsherecountsherexperiencesharinga dance with Django Reinhardt, and participating in the French Resistance. In this piece,therefore,thecompositionalexplorationofenvironmentwasverymuchculturalandsymbolic,eventhoughitswritingstyle,liketheotherworkspresentedinthisportfolio,involvedcomplexlayeringtechniqueswhichcreateuniquesonicenvironments.HavingpreviouslyworkedwithfolkmusicartistTuulikkiBartosikintheprojectofOmega3,Idecidedtouserecordingsofher

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accordionasasymbolofhistoryandtraditions.Inthesamelineofthought,IusedrecordingsofaBuchla62,whichalsoholdsahistoricalquality,especiallyontheelectronicmusicscene.Thesetwomainmaterialsemergeandinteractwiththerecordingsofmygrandmother’svoice,creatingsonicenvironmentsanchoredinthegeneralthemeofmemoriesandhistory.

Thischaptershallexaminethepresenceofculturalandhistoricalartefactsandhowtheyrelatetoenvironmentinelectroacoustic.Itshallexploretherelationshipwithpersonalandculturalcontent,andhowtheculturalenvironmentinformstheproduct.Finally,itshallexaminethematerialityoftheoriginalsoundsourcesasacommentonitsculturalenvironment.

6.1 Cultural Environment: Memories and History Résistanceistheonlypiecewithinthisportfoliooforiginalcompositionsthatcontainsspokenwords.Giventheirabilitytoprovideanunambiguousreferencetohistoricmomentsorevents,Ibecameinterestedinthepossibilitiesthatmemoriescouldinspiremusically.Inthiscase,Ihadapersonalconnectionwiththerecordedvoice,andtherecountedmemories,eventhoughneitherweremy own.Whilst the primary aimof this projectwas to create awork of art,questionsofdocumentationandculturaltracesaroseduringcomposition.Iwillbrieflyexplorethesequestionswiththehelpofliteraturesurroundingnewmediaanddocumentation.

Similartotheauto-ethnographer,whencomposingthispiece,Iconsciouslyblendeddifferentlevels of context. Such levels of context can include, but are not limited to, personalexperiences,culturalreferences,referencestohistory,andpersonalmemories.Ishouldmakeanote,here,thatIdonotbelieveitisinfactpossibletodefinitelyidentifyeverysinglecontextwhich concerns the artist, author or auto-ethnographer as there can be amultitude, whooverlap, interact, influenceeachother,andarepossiblyevenunknowntotheartist.This iswhy, for the purpose of this chapter, I have chosen to focusmore specifically on the onesnamedabove.Havingsaidthis,thosecontextscertainlyconnecttothepreviouslydefinedandexplorednotionsofculturalenvironment,andassuch,weshallexaminetheirmanifestationwithinRésistance.Asmentionedearlier,culturalenvironment,howeverperceivedorencoded,isinfinitelycomplexandcontainsseverallayers,whicharereadwithequallyinfinitelyvaryingunderstandingsbythereceiversofitscontent.InJacekSmolicki’swords,

[…] auto-ethnography does not happen in seclusion from external contexts. It is not a reflection written from the perspective of an isolated entity, but rather from the perspective of a conscious subject who recognizes its complex links to an entanglement in wider social and cultural contexts of which the auto-ethnographer’s reader is also a participant.63

As should be clear, Résistance is not a document of my own life. This said, much of thecomposition work I do incorporates traces and artefacts of my immediate surroundingenvironments,bothphysicallyandculturally.Consequently,Igenerallydocumenttheminoneformoranother.Thatistosay,forinstance,ifIproducefieldrecordings,theyareboundtobeaformofdocumentationofthephysicalandculturalenvironmentsIaminandinteractwithat the moment of producing said recordings. In the case of Résistance, cultural artefacts,producedastheresultofrecordingmygrandmother’svoice,werethestartingpointof the

62Amodularsynthesisersystemwhichemergedinthe1960sandofwhichawell-preservedrelic isaccessibleattheworld-knownEMS(Elektronmusikstudion)studiosinStockholm.63Smolicki,J.(2017).Para-Archives:RethinkingPersonalArchivingPracticesintheTimesofCaptureCulture,Malmö,MalmöUniversityPress,p.161.

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composition,chosenpreciselybecausetheywereclearlyidentifiedculturalartefactsandonlysecondly because they were potential musical materials. On the notion of recording andartefacts,JohnCousinsgivesusarelevantobservation,worthquotingatlength:

A recording is always a recording, whether it be visual, aural or both. It is an artefact. An objectified experience, a record of an experience. Although perceiving the object involves experiencing it in the ‘now’ (as a series of moment by moment present events) the content of that series of moments is, by definition, second-hand; rendered sounds or images from some past actuality. I believe this encourages us to respond to any recorded artefact with a fundamentally nostalgic attitude. This response impacts our awareness of our own mortality and as such, carries deep emotive implications. The recording is an embodiment of moments from the past that can only be recaptured in this objectified form. However, this very nostalgia works as a positive discriminator. It encourages us to ignore the fact that this is an artefact and to embrace it ‘as if it were a present actuality.’64

Thus,accordingtothisauthor,notonlyistherecordedartefactawitnessofthepast,itisalsoa powerful linkwith thepast, often triggering responses likenostalgia. It is this ‘nostalgicattitude’whichinspiredmyapproachinRésistance.AsCousinsdescribes,itispossible,andlikely, thatonewould lookat theartefactasa formofpresent.Thus,whencomposingthispiece,Iplacedmyselfinthesituationofthereceiverandthecreatorsimultaneously.AsIwaslisteningthroughtherecordingofmygrandmother’svoice,Iwasalsodeliberatelychoosingmoments which would give a starting point for the piece and, as I progressed in thecomposition, came toplace theseartefacts65 in themusical text itself, asmusical elements.Whilst it is thenostalgic attitudewhichbroughtme to create thispieceofmusic, I donotnecessarilywishtotriggeritinthelistenerofRésistance.Astherecordingsweretakeninaverypersonalmannerandinanenvironmentwhichisdirectlyrelatedtomeasanindividual,Iammoreinformedthanmostonthecontentoftheserecordings.Inthatsense,Imightbebiasedandreactmoreemotionallytothismaterialthanmostpeople.However,themediumofmusicisafterallameansofexpression,andIwould,ofcourse,regarditasapositiveresultifthelistenermanagestoconnectwiththisverypersonalaspectofmylife.Again,asSmolickihighlights,

Auto-ethnographers do not protect the readers from becoming emotionally involved in the case at hand (Muncey, 2005), but expose them to a “patchwork of feelings, experiences, emotions, and behaviors that portray a more complete view of life” (Wall 2008, p. 10). But perhaps what is most important is that the added value of the auto-ethnographer’s work is above all his/her ability “to connect the personal to the cultural” (Ellis and Bochner, 2000, p. 739).66

Assuch, inmakinganæstheticandmusicaluseofmygrandmother’svoice,Idonotaimtomake it purelymusical, nor do Iwish to avoid this connection between the personal and

64Cousins,J.(2010).TheNutsandBoltsofMultichannelWork[online].JohnCousins.[Viewed9June2018].Availablefrom:http://www.studio174-nz.com/nuts-and-bolts.html65 In this chapter, I frequently use the term ‘artefact’ to refer to the idea of the trace of a culturalenvironment,documentedherebytherecording.ThereasonitisreservedtothischapteristhattheapproachtothecompositionofRésistanceismarkedlyaffectedbyasortofnostalgiaandfascinationforthistraceofaculture,whichrelatesbacktoacommunitywhichispartlyforeigntome,partlyhometomygrandmother.Furthermore,‘artefact’isthetermthatCousinshimselfusestodescribethistypeofapproach.66Smolicki,J.(2017).Para-Archives:RethinkingPersonalArchivingPracticesintheTimesofCaptureCulture,Malmö,MalmöUniversityPress,p.161.

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cultural with the use of acousmatic music. It is also for this reason that I chose not toexcessivelyaltertheoriginalrecordingsofhervoice.Thisisacasewherethereare,indeed,audible,spokenwords,whichcanbedecodedandclearlyunderstood.However,asmuchasthiswasthestartingpointformycomposition,itisnottheonlymusicalcomponent.Inthatsense,itisaverysimilarapproachtothatofSteveReich’sDifferentTrains67.

Ratherthansimplydocumenting,Ideliberatelychosetoomitpartofthetextthatthevoicewasrecounting. Ina similarway toSteveReich inDifferentTrains, Iuseshortexcerpts, inwhichonlyafewwordsareheardatatime(0’20,0’36,0’50,andsoon).Inseveralmoments,thephrasesarecut,andsometimesrepeated(1’12,1’18,1’27,3’07andsoon).Asmuchasthesewordsaretextforme,theyarenotintendedtobereceivedinthesameway.Inotherwords,theoriginalstorythatsheisrecountingisnotnecessarilyimportantforthelistener.Inthesamelineofthought,IdonotexpecteverypotentiallistenertoknowandunderstandtheFrench language in order to have access to the content of mymusic. Furthermore, theserecordingsdescribetwoseparatehistoricevents:thedancewithDjango,andaperspectiveofthe French Resistance. These two separate stories are intertwined, following each othercloselyand,atonepoint, evensuperimposeduponeachother (4’24).As such, theydonotconstructmuchofanintelligiblestory.Myapproach,here,wastousethemasimpressions.Muchlikehumanmemory,theyoffermerefragmentsofalargerpicture.

This composition uses a symbolic poetry, in which nostalgia, memory and culturalenvironmentcollide.Thesedifferentcarriersofinformationarerepresentedbythedifferentmusicalelementsheardthroughoutthepiece.Theenvironmentiscreatedandmanifestedbythepresenceofmanylayersactingasaformofcounterpoint.Itrecallsthecontextandculturalenvironmentwhilstbeingthemanifestationofaphysicalenvironmentbyitsmaterialreality.The humanmemory, fragmented, is tainted by emotion, andmost clearly depicted bymygrandmother’svoice.Indeed,withhervoiceareinevitablyrecordedemotions,heraccent,herlanguage,herperspective.Asaclearpointofcontrast,aremusicalmaterialsgeneratedbytheBuchlaandaccordion.Thesetwosoundtypesofsoundsareheardthroughoutthepieceand,whilstthehumanvoicecontainstheoriginalinformation,theyelaboratetwoentirelydistinctlayersoftext.Obviously,theydonotdistinguishthemselvesinthewaythatthehumanvoicedoes,withitsmuchmoreimmediatelyreferentialquality.Thiswasalsoadeliberatechoice:Iwas illustratingmyperspectiveof focusingona storywhilstbeingconsciousofa complexcontextsurroundingit.

Here,theaccordionisstillrecognisable,althoughheavilyprocessedinsomeinstances(at1’34,forexample,itisdistortedtothepointwhereitbecomesnoise,makingitverysimilartothesyntheticBuchlamaterialsheardatthesametime).Ichosetokeepitrecognisablebecause,forme,itrepresentedtheideaofpastcenturiesand,likely,thosetofollow.Inthissense,theuseofaccordionissomewhatofanimpliedcommentontheroleofmusicasauniversallanguage,capable ofwitnessingmuch larger spans of history than any one single human individual.Similarly, its text is not as precise as that of a human voice. As a component of culturalenvironment,itispresentthroughoutwithoutalwaysstandingout.Thisisanalogoustotherealityofcultureitself:itisinevitablyandincessantlypresentwithineveryindividual,withoutnecessarybeingimminentlyidentifiable.

67Reich,S.,(1988).DifferentTrains/ElectricCounterpoint[CD].NewYork:Nonesuch

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Similarly,theBuchlaoffersanevenmoredistancedvoice(orauditorystream)inthelandscapeofRésistance.Attimesinthebackground,mainlysupportingthetext,(0’30,2’37),andatotherssomuchintheforegroundthatitnearlyeclipsesotherauditorystreams(7’20,7’33),ithasalargedynamicandexpressiverange.Ironically,thiscouldbeconsideredtheleasthumanofthemusicallinesfeaturedinthispiece.Unlikethehumanvoiceortheaccordion,itisnotdirectlycontrolled by bodily, organic movements. Its modes of function are understood in ratherabstractways; it iselectricalpathways inside the instrumentwhichaffect theresultof thesoundultimatelyheardthroughasoundsystemcapableofdecodingitssignals.Furthermore,havingemerged in the1960s, itssoundshavea typicalsignature,reminiscentof that time.Thus, in a fashionnear to thatof theaccordion, itoffers a commentaryon larger spansofhistory.Unlike the accordion,however, it represents anoticeablynewerperiod inmusicalhistory; I used the Buchla as a representation of man-made systems in an industrialisedsociety. Thus, just as my grandmother narrates memories of having danced with DjangoReinhardt and taken part in the French Resistance, the accordion acts as the witness ofcountlessdancesthroughouthistoryandtheBuchlapoeticallyemulatesthesoundingalarmsandabstractedmechanicalsystemswhichwerefoundduringtwentiethcenturywars.

Inthissection,wehaveconsideredhowtheculturalartefactconveysanelementofhistoryandofmemory. In the next section,wewill see how the recorded artefact can also affect andbecomepartofamusicalstyle.

6.2 Materiality as Environment: From Artefact to Style Asmuchas anartefact is a traceof a cultural environment, andbyextensionawitnessofhistory,italsoisawitnessofthemediaontowhichthishistoryisrecorded.Usually,whenIuserecordedsoundsourcesasmusicalmaterial,Iliketocontrolthequalityoftherecordingusingthebestpossibletools.InthecaseofthevoicerecordingsusedtocomposeRésistance,thecontextwassomewhatdifferent.Indeed,itwasnotaplannedmeetinginwhichIwouldhavebeenabletocontrolthesurroundingsandcreateanidealrecordingsetup.Thisrecordingwasaratherspontaneousone;mygrandmother,beinginagoodstateofmind,startedrecallingthese stories and relating them. Standard industry quality recording devices were notavailable on the spot and a mobile telephone was therefore used to record her voice.Furthermore,Ihadnotinitiallydecidedtorecordthateventforcompositionalpurposesandhad those recordings with me for nearly two years before deciding that they could beinterestingmusicalmaterials.

Understandably, givenwhat is said above, the recordingswere of a relatively poor soundquality; they were clear enough to allow for an understanding of human speech, but toocompressed to be manipulated without serious sound processing artefacts (on a purelytechnical, sonic level) appearing in the file. The recordings themselves have other qualitylimitations,themostsalientbeingdistortioninthevoice(anexampleofwhichcanbeheardat3’38).Evenwiththepresenceofthisartefact,however,thespeechstillhasappreciablequalitywhichmakesthetextreadable.Thus,muchinthewaythatthevoicerecordingsinDifferentTrainsrefertotheirownmaterialitywiththebackgroundpreamplifiernoiseoftheoriginaltaperecording technology, recordingsofmygrandmother’svoiceexpose thematerialityofmobilephonerecordinginthe21stcentury.

Insteadoflettingthishindermycomposition,Idecidedtobeinspiredbytheseartefactsandtomakestylisticchoiceswiththeminmind.Consequently,distortionisnotonlyheardinthe

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human voice, but in other sound objects: consider, for example, the accordionmentionedabove,beingdistortedat1’34.FromtheBuchlasounds,Idecidedtousenoisyandcomplexmaterial,whichnotonlyechodistortioninboththehumanvoiceandintheaccordion,butalsoremindusofitselectricalnature.Inthisway,theBuchlaalsoechoesitsownmaterialitywithitsgeneratedsounds.Thus,inacomparablefashiontofilmdocumentarywherethecameraishand-held,andtheframesarenotalwayscontrolled,someoftheoriginalsoundrecordingsaretheresultofuncontrolledcircumstancesandbearwitnesstotheirownmateriality.This,inturn,informstheprivilegedcomposingstyleforthepiece,andaffectstheresultingmusicalenvironment.Asaresultofthis,theinitialphysicalenvironmentcontainingthematerialityoftheartefactcreatesreferencestotheculturalenvironmentsurroundingthecreationofthatsameartefact.

6.3 Conclusion Havingexploredsimilarqualitiestodocumentationinthismusicalproject,wehaveobservedhowanartefactofamomentintimemayconnecttodifferenttypesofculturalenvironmentandhowhumanvoicemayguideourrelationshiptohistoryandmemory.Wehavealsoseenhowanartefactnotonlyisawitnessofapointintime,butalsoofitsownmaterialityandhowthis informsthemusicalstyleof thepiece.Asmuchasdistortionandnoisewereusedasareferentialpointforstyleinthispiece,wewillseeinthenextchapterhowanoverabundanceofinformationisvoluntarilycreatedinordertoachievenoiseandcreateanintricatemeshofenvironments.

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7. Avalanche LikeExercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimi,Avalanche(23')isapiecewhich includes both instrumental (percussion, here performed by Colin Frank68) andelectroacousticmaterials.However,inthiscase,theconstructionwasnotexclusivelystartedwith sounds that have their source solely within the featured instruments. Instead,manymaterialsweretakenfromfieldrecordingsandsoundwalks,thusinevitablyincludingmuchmoreenvironmentalinformationfromthestart,aswasthecasewithÉclatsdeFeuxandOmega3.WhilstÉclatsdeFeuxinvolvedanexplorationofplacesandOmega3situatedtheaccordionin a specific spatial context, here,Avalanche multiplies contexts (i.e. varying physical andculturalenvironments)tothepointwheretheybecomenearlyunrecognisable.Consequently,themanifestationofenvironmentinthispieceisthroughfieldrecordings,anabundanceofmusicallayers,andtheinteractionbetweentheperformerandtheirenvironment(inthiscase,soundandphysicalobjectssurroundingthem).ThischapterwillexploretheconstructionofAvalanche,theæstheticssurroundingit,thecompositionalapproach,andhowitcametobenotatedforlivepercussion.

7.1 A Multi-Layered Form ThecompositionstartedonceIhadaccumulatedaconsiderablenumberoffieldrecordingsand soundwalks in a number of different places that I had visited. Gathering the differentmaterialsinoneprojectwas,formeasanartist,liketheeffectofanavalanche.Itfeltliketheunravellingofpossiblyayear’sexperiencesaroundEuropeandNorthAmerica,includingthememories,sometimesvividlytaintedbyemotions,whichwouldsurfaceallinonedeterminedcontainer.Itfeltlikeallofasudden,therewastoomuchtoprocess,toomuchtorender,andalmostlikethepersonalexperienceIhadgatheredalongthosemanymonthswasdrownedinthe rapid overflow of information caused by this sonic abundance. This is how the titleAvalanchecametobe.Thisthemeofinformationoverflowthusfollowedthroughthewritingofthedifferentmusicalsegmentsandbroadlyguidedmyæstheticdecisionsforthisproject.

The composition was designed to include the intervention of live percussion and, as aconsequence, part of the challenge was to integrate instrumental thinking in the overallmusicalform.Consequently,inasimilarwaytotheprocessofcompositionusedinExercitiumarithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi, I pre-recorded sounds of percussioninstrumentswhichwereselectedamongatraditionalinstrumentalarrayandamoreeclecticone. The inclusion of eclectic instruments (in this case trowel, steel brushes, tiles, paper,ceramicpestleandmortar,plasticscrap)wasanideathatColinsuggestedinthebeginningofthe collaboration, explaining that as a performer, he is interested in using unconventionalinstrumentalobjects.Lateron,duringtheprocessofcomposition,asideassurroundingthegeneralthemeofavalancheemerged,itmadeæstheticsensetokeepthoseobjects.Manyofthosenon-traditionalinstrumentswerefoundobjects,commonandconsideredoflowvalue,whichconsequentlycanbelikenedtotrash,scrap,andunnecessaryclutter.

Thisledmetolookatanotheraspectofenvironmentinmusic,discussedlaterinthechapter.Inthiscase,whilstinformationoverflowisanæstheticthemeinthecompositionofthispiece,

68Percussionist,performerandcollaboratorforthisproject.HeiscurrentlydoingperformancestudiesattheUniversityofHuddersfield.Forfurtherinformation,onemayvisithisprofileatthislink:CanadianMusicCentre.,(2018).ColinFrank.[Viewed4October2018].Availablefrom:https://www.musiccentre.ca/node/131498

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italsobecameapparentthatitcouldeasilybeapartoftheenvironmentnotonlyrepresentedmusically,butalsophysicallyduringperformance.

Followingthegeneralthemeofavalanche,theideaforthisworkwassubsequentlytoexposeaverycondensednumberofsoundobjects inashorttimespan(thefirsttwominutesofatwenty-three-minute work), then explore more specifically selected materials through ajourneyinseveraltableaux.Thelargerformmaythereforebedescribedashaving11mainsegments,focusingoneitherfieldrecordingbasedorinstrumentalbasedsoundobjects:

1. 0’00—2’20:Intro12. 2’20—3’54:EmergingSoundwalk13. 3’54—4’48:Intro24. 4’48—10’03:EmergingSoundwalk25. 10’03—11’01:Tableau1Scrapes6. 11’01—12’12:Tableau2Bamboo7. 12’12—15’31:Tableau3Cymbals8. 15’31—16’58:Tableau4Brushes9. 16’58—19’30:Tableau5Tiles10. 19’30—21’35:Tableau6Ceramic11. 21’35—23’05:Tableau7Bells,Conclusion

The result of this was an abrupt opening with nomusical preparation for the sonic loadpresented,followedbyastarkcontrastleadingtoamusicalsceneinwhichaneffectofsilenceismuchmorepresent(segmentsnamedSoundwalks1and2).Followingthis,thesegments5throughto11involveanunfoldingofthesoundmaterialsandenergiespresentedinthefirstpartofthepiece(especiallyIntro1and2).Forexample,the‘scrapes’objectsheardinTableau1arealreadyheard,albeitrelativelyfaintlyinrelationtotherestofthespectrum,inIntro1at0’05.At0’35,bamboosoundsareintertwinedwiththespinningofabicyclewheel.However,theideawasnotnecessarilytoonlyextractexactsoundmaterialsfromtheintromorethanestablishparallelsfromthesoundenergies(asindynamicandtimbralprofiles)initiallyheard.

Somesoundobjects,suchascymbals,onlystarttoappearinthesecondhalfofthepiece.Stillfollowing the general ideaof unfolding from the alreadyhearddynamicprofiles, however,manyofthesenewlyexposedsounds(cymbals,brushes,tiles,bells),arelikenedtopreviouslyexposeddynamicprofilesbymeansofconnectingthemtoseveralfieldrecordings.Examplesofthiscanbescrapesandbamboobeingplacedinsuchawaythattheyechoorinteractwithfield city recordings containing sounds of skateboard (10’56-11’02) and a bicycle wheelturning(11’18).Whilstcymbalsfirstappearasanovelsound,theyarenonethelessintroducedgradually,beinglikenedtoscrapesascanbeheardat11’30,wherethetwovoicesinteractwithsimilarmaterial.Asthetableauprogresses,morecymbalmaterialsareexposedandby12’12,themusical construction has fullymoved on to featuremainly cymbals, although scrapes,bambooandfieldrecordingsarestillpresent.

TheCymbals segment isdistinct in that it behaves in an independentmanner for a longerperiodthanothers.Whenthecymbalsoundmaterialhasbecomecompletelysolo,at13’03,itbuilds its own temporary poetic environment. For two minutes, it is only with materials

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generated from the cymbal sound object that a scene is formed69. This introduces a newmusical moment which is connected to the original materials by way of association.Consequently, the Cymbals segment opens up to a completely newmusical idea, echoingpreviouslyexposedenvironmentswithoutusingsoundsofthesamenature.Itreconnectsat15’04,where a sustained complex sound is superposed to a sustained city hum in a fieldrecordingwhichultimatelybecomesundoubtedlyrecognisableat15’14,whenaskateboardisbeingheardrepresentedintheoriginalurbanacoustics.

Thefollowingsegmentsconnecttotheunderlyingfieldrecordingsreactingtointernalagogicsmore than to the timbre found in these source-bound soundmaterials. It has the result ofcreatingasceneinwhichanenvironmentpreviouslyexposedisrecognisablewithoutbeingimmediately identifiable. For instance, in the Brushes segment between 15’48 and 16’12,brush sounds interactwith broad skating gestures by echoing the extended gestures. Theblendingofthesetwolayerscreatesanew,intermediateenvironment.

TheTilessegmentisintroducedbymeansofanewfieldrecording.AstheBrushessegmentnearsitsend,itstartstofollowanew,broaderagogic,whichgoesindeltas(16’44to16’58).Bythen,tilesoundobjectsarealreadyintroducedandat17’34,aseafieldrecordingstartstoberevealed.Thetilesessentiallyinteractwithitforthedurationofthesegment,followingslowdeltasandmovingbetweenforegroundandbackground,exchangingthoseroleswiththeseafieldrecording.Finally,during theBellssegment,a fieldrecordingofa trainstationmakesitselfclearwithadistinctannouncementat22’16,andultimatelyoutlaststhebells,becomingtheconcludingenvironment.

Thereisarelentlesscharactertothispiece,whichhasfewcalmmomentsandanearlyconstantstream of nervous sound objects bringing newmaterials or gestures, creating perpetuallyevolving environments. This is largely due to the sheer quantity ofmaterials used for thecomposition, leading to the idea of avalanche as a theme. As a result of this, questions ofinformationoverflowandnoisepollutionwereexplored.

7.2 Information Overflow as an Underlying Æsthetic Throughoutthework,environmentalqualitiesofthevarioussoundmaterialsaredistortedbymeansof saturation.Unlike soundscapeartists,whomightbe interested in loweringnoisepollution,thispiecepurposefullyseeksoversaturation.Inthisrespect,thereisaninterestingdistinctionbetweenthecompositionprocessesofMurraySchaferandLucFerrari:

Murray Schafer […] conducted soundscape experiments where there was the least amount of noise pollution […] As for me, what I’m trying to render audible is the city or the country with the tractors, the traffic, the background noise of phone lines, the people on the sidewalk, the music coming out of the open doors of shops—everything that makes up our urban or rural environment.70

Inthisinterview,FerrariunderlinesthedifferencebetweensoundscapeasitcametobeinthetraditionofMurraySchafer,whichidentifiescertainsoundsasnoisepollution,andthereforeseeks to avoid them. In contrast to this, Ferrari is interested in the sonic portrait of the

69Inthisparticularchapter,Iusetheterm‘scene’,ratherthan‘space’or‘place’,simplybecausethepiecehasbeenconceivedwiththeperformerinmind,andthetheatricalityofhisperformanceevokesacertainscenicqualitytothepiece,eveninthecontextwherethepiecewouldbeperformedinasolelyacousmaticmanner.70LucFerrariinCaux,J.AlmostNothingwithLucFerrari,ErrantBodiesPress,Berlin,2012,p.109.

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landscapearoundhimasacomposer.Hedoesnotarguethatoneenvironmenthasmorevaluethananother.Ratherthattheenvironmentinformsthelisteneronwheretheyare,acousticallyandculturally.ThisapproachisoneIidentifywith.Asanartistandacomposer,Iaminterestedin, and inspired by, the sonic world that surrounds me. Everything therefore holds thepotentialasmusicalmaterial.Moreover,whilstIdocommunicateartisticideas,Idonotseektomakemymusic the instrument of a politicalmessage. This said, Ferrari has also beenreferredtoasasoundscapeartistinthecontextofwantingtoprovidetheimageofasoniclandscape.Asearliermentioned,Idonotclaimtobeorevenwishtobeasoundscapeartist.WhereourtwoapproachesdifferisthatwhilstFerrariputsaneffortintorenderingaudibleoriginalrecordedlandscape,Idonotactivelyseektomakeitaudible.Indeed,IaminspiredbytheenvironmentswhereIfindmyselfandcontinuouslycollectrecordingswhichcontainthetracesoftheseenvironments.However,thedesireisnotfirstandforemosttodocument,ratherthanto,infact,beinspiredby.

Consequently,Avalancheholdsadenseamountoffieldrecordingswhicharenotimmediatelyrecognisableduetoanumberofwritingtechniques,ofwhichsuperpositionmightbeamostimportantone.Inthenextsection,wewilllookattheintegrationofsuchfieldrecordingsinthemusicandhowtheiroriginalmanifestationbecomesalteredwithinAvalanche.

7.3 Stylistic approach Environmentalsoundsourcesarethemainmaterialusedforthecompositionofthispiece.Whilstitisdesignedtoincludepercussionaspartofthecomposition,thegreaterformofthisworkisbuiltuponavastdiversityoffieldrecordings.Inthisinstance,Ihavedecidedtoexploretheæstheticeffectsofanoverwhelmingamountofsoundsourcesfirstheardatthesametime,thensuccessively.

The effect resulting from this approachmay well be reminiscent of clutter and the over-abundance of useless objects, the accumulation of waste and the extreme overload ofinformationmadecontinuouslyavailabletousthroughtherecentdevelopmentoftechnology.Ironically,whilsttheaimofthispiecewasnottoclaimanyformofaffiliationwithacousticecologyorsoundscapework,itusesnoisepollutionasamusicaldevicetocreateinformationoverloadandmaythereforeultimatelycarryapoliticalmessage.Thissaid,astheobjectofthis

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workisnottodwellonpoliticalissuesratherthanexplorethepoeticsofasurroundingreality,Iwillfocusonthestylisticconstructionofthemusic.

The piece started out as six separate tracks in which there were different recordings ofenvironments(Oslocitycentre,atram,Stockholmtrain,anaeroplanetakingoff,andtrainsbetweenSheffieldandHuddersfield).ThesewerethefirstsixstrandswhichIstartedbuildingfrom, having selected them frommy initial sound bank and grouped them for their sonicsimilarities.Thosesimilaritiesweremainlycausedbythesonicenvironmentbeingaffectedbythe passing of transportation vehicles. Consequently, they all contained loud mechanicaldevices creating repetitive, complex sounds, alongside a complex environment, oftenwithmanyhumanvoicesandactivityatdifferentdistancesfromtherecordingpoint,andinvaryingspaces,withever-evolvingenvironments.

Imultipliedthosestrands,creatingslightlydifferentmaterialsbyprocessingthemmoreorlessheavily.Forinstance,manyofthoseoriginalsoundswereduplicatedanddistorted.When

Figure1:firststrandsinAvalanche

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asignificantlydensemeshofsoundwasstartingtoemergefromthesemulti-layeredstrands,Ithenaddedsoundmaterialsfromevenmoresources.

Thesesourcesweremostlytakenfromotherfieldrecordings,butoftenconsistedofisolatedsound objects. I added those sounds mainly for their dynamic qualities, in a condensedmanner,soastocreateanervouswritingstylewithinthealreadyspectrallyheavilyloadedstrands.Therefore, insteadofbeingreadilyrecognisable, thesemoreprecisesoundobjectscontributetoevenmorebroadeningofthegeneralsoundenergyexposedintheintroduction,creatinga complexity sodense that itmasksmostof the information that it contains.Thisdenselycomposedmomentiswhatconstitutedtheintroduction.

Figure2:thickenedstrandsinAvalanche

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Thisintroductionwasthenputincontrasttwice(segments‘Intro1and2’)withrecordingsof

asoundwalkinanopenplace.Thesecondtime,at4’48,afterthreeminutesofhighlydenseintroductionmaterials,astarkcontrastoccurswhentheintensitydropsdrastically.Indeed,after such a densemoment, the quiet, open space (i.e.much less charged aural spectrum)exposed,almostcreatesreliefforthelistener.Thiswasdeliberate;asIhadtheimageofanavalancheinmind,Iwantedtolooselyfollowtheenergyprofileofanabrupt,quickandviolent,uncontrollablesnowfallwhichendsinsilence.Relevantly,thequietersoundwalkexposedat4’48wasrecordedindeepsnow,echoingthemetaphoricenvironmentofthisavalanche.

Another manifestation of this ‘avalanche of information’ is its constant stride forward,throughouttheseventableauxwhichfollowtheinitialopeningandsuccessivelyfolloweachotherwithoutclearlydividingformalevents.Alittlelikefollowingthestretchedagogicprofileofasnowfall, this journeythroughthedifferenttableaux is fluiduntil theend,neverreallyslowingdown.

Rhythmicalpatternsarealsopresentthroughoutandwhilstthisisnotdirectlyinspiredbytheidea of avalanche, it is a technique that I often use. It signifies a somewhat unstoppablemovementforward,reminiscentofasteadytrain,heavymachinerywhichhasaconstant,fast-pacedtempothroughmanydifferentenvironments.Ineffect,theserhythmsstarttomanifestat10’44andgoontoremainconstantuntiltheveryendofthepiece.Nomatterhowfainttheyappear in the general mix, they are always present, keeping a constant train-like motion(repetitiveandrapid,mostlyregularpulsatingrhythms).ThiscreatesabreathlessnesswhichIassociatewiththeuncontrollableforceofanavalanche’ssnowfall.Thereisalsoaconstantrenewal of information, which echoes the overload of information caused by our currenttechnologicalenvironment.

Figure3:nervouswritingwithindividualsoundsinAvalancheFigure3:nervouswritingwithindividualsoundsinAvalanche

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Havinghadalookatthepiece'sformalstructureanditsstylisticwritingtechniques,Iwillnowlookatanotherdimensionofthisparticularpiece:theinstrument.Thisaddsanotherentirelayer of complexity to themusical contents, andwe shall further observe and explainmycompositionalchoicesinthefollowingsection.

7.4 Participation of the Live Instrument: Open Form Approach Pousseursuggeststhattheelectroacousticmeansofcomposingaffordsagreateramountofconsciousfreedomofinterpretation71(bothontheexecution,i.e.performerandreceivingend,i.e. listener).Whilst I do consider that electroacousticmusic provides a certain amount ofintellectualliberationand,attheveryleast,animpressionofinfinitepossibilities,Iwouldnotsuggestthatinstrumentalmusicissomehowlimited.Thissaid,aselectroacousticmusicisafairlynewmediumwhichthereforemorelikelycausesinnovativecreativethought,Ibelievethatthewritingtechniquescreatedanddiscoveredwiththisnewmediuminevitablyextendsthe spectrum of composition and interpretation possibilities. In light of these thoughts, IdecidedtoapproachtheparticipationoftheliveinstrumentalistinacomparablewaytowhichIapproachedtheelectroacousticwritingofAvalanche.Therefore,similarlytohowIrealisedOmega 3 and Exercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi, the writingprocesshasbeenthatoftheconcreteapproach,whererecordingsoftheinstrumenthavebeenusedwithinthefixedmediapart,andlaterre-identifiedaselementsforaneventualscore.Inthe case of percussion, however, instrumental possibilities are considerablymore variablethanwhenworkingwithaccordionorwithasaxophonequartet.Consequently,theapproachforthispiecewastocollectobjectsforaninstrumentbankinthesamewaythatsoundswerecollectedforasoundbank.Whatstartedoutwithmultiple fieldrecordingsalsostartedout

71 Pousseur, H., 1960. Vers un nouvel univers sonore. Esprit, Nouvelle série, (280 (1)), pp.52–64.Availableat:http://www.jstor.org/stable/24255059.Accessed26May2018.

Figure4:examplesetupfortheperformanceofAvalanche

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withmultipleplayablefoundobjects.Theideaofopenformbecamerelevantwiththepresenceofchangeableorreplaceableeverydayfound-objects.

Stillfollowingtheideaofinformationoverflow,thesenon-traditionalobjectsconstitutealargepart of the instrumentation of this piece. Not only are they very active and most clearlyidentifiableinthetableaux,theycanalsobecomesoloists(forinstancethetilesobjectshavetwominutesdedicatedtothem)alongsidetraditionalpercussion instruments likecymbals.Additionally, the piece invites the performer to add found objects, particularly thoseconsidered of low value, representing scrap and trash, to create clutter around theperformance space. I consider this to be of importance because it givesmateriality to theenvironment that is represented. Just like with a site-specific work like Omega 3, theperformancespaceisalsoanenvironmentandifitcanbetakenintoconsideration,itmayverywellsupporttheexpressionofthepiece.Aboutthephysicalspaceinwhichtheperformanceissettooccur,herearesomewordsbyKentOlofsson,fromhisthesis,discussingcompositionalmethodscollaboratingwiththeatricalelements:

We have referred to this as shared physical space. This is one approach of framing the work and many artistic questions for a work can start out from here. How do we integrate the space in the work? […] What viewpoints will the audience have and how will the relation be between performers and audience in the space?72

Whistallthosequestionscannotbeexhaustivelyresolvedinthiscontext,theyremainrelevant;with Avalanche, however, my aim is not to compose music for theatre, although it doesincorporatetheatricalelements.Thisparticularpiece,withitscomplexinstrumentalsetupandthereforerequirementsofrapidmovementsbytheinstrumentalist,causestheperformancetohavesometheatricality.Thistheatricalityisdirectlyaffectedbytheperformancespace,assuggestedanddiscussedbyOlofsson.

Thescoreturnedouttobecontainedinaconsiderablyminimalisticpresentation,mostlytohelptheperformerwhoalreadyhastodealwithalotofinformation.Indeed,asmuchasthispiece is about an overflow of information, I felt that the amount of information alreadycontainedinthefixedsoundsandtheeclecticnatureoftheinstrumentationwouldsufficetoestablish complexity. In this case, since Colin is probably more comfortable withimprovisation, I thought it would be a good opportunity to leave some freedom forinterpretation.Accordingly, Idesignedascore thatoutlinesmainsegmentsandprovidesamaininstrumentoffocuswithbroadinstructionssuchas‘slowlyfadein’,‘sparse’,‘dense’andsoon.Initially,Iwantedfortheperformertoplayfromtheverystart,butthisturnedouttoberatheroverwhelming, given the complex spectrumheard in the introduction.After severaltests, I decided that the fixed sound introduction would be heard by itself and that theperformerwouldcome inby2’35.This, in fact,createsabuild-up fromfixedmedia to livesounds. It also arguably keeps the energyup, as past the initial three to fourminutes, theintensitycannotbekeptupinsolelythefixedsoundpartwithoutthepiecebeginningtosoundmonolithic.

In this instance,unlikeOmega3orExercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientis senumerareanimi,theperformativeaspectturnedouttobemorecomplicatedthanwhatwasencodedinthefixedmediapart.Bythis,Imeanthatevenifthelivepartisdesignedtofollowpre-recorded72Olofsson,K.ComposingthePerformance:Anexplorationofmusicalcompositionsasadramaturgicalstrategyincontemporaryintermedialtheatre,LundsUniversitet,Malmö,2018,p.199.

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soundobjects thatwereplaced in the fixedmediapart, thecomplexityof theperformanceenvironment make it difficult to export through only fixed media. This problem was notencounteredwiththetwoaforementionedpieces;theparticularityofAvalancheisthatitalsosuggestsachangeableinstrumentation,whichaffectsthemusicaltext.Indeed,theinformationoverflowisreadinadifferentmannerwhentheliveperformerisnotpresent.

7.5 Conclusion Inthischapter,wehaveobservedhowamultiplicityofenvironmentscreatesanoverflowofinformation,andhowtheseenvironmentscohabitedinonemixedmusicpiece.Builtuponamultitude of field recordings and encoded original environments, it also uses stylistictechniquestocreatedensityandrelentlessness.Thepresenceofaliveperformerwithanever-evolvinginstrumentationalsoaddstothecomplexityofenvironmentsheardbothwithinandaroundthepieceatthemomentofperformance.

Inthelastsection,wehaveseenthattheenvironmentinwhichapiecemaybepresentedwillaffect performance and, consequently, the musical environment which is communicated.Whilsthere,thediscussedlevelofenvironmentwasmostlyrelatingtotheinstrumentalset-up,thequestionofperformanceenvironmentisofcoursegreatlyrelevantinthecontextofpresenting electroacoustic or acousmaticmusic. In the next and last chapter, Iwill brieflyexaminetheperformanceenvironmentsofthepiecespresentedinthisportfolioandsuggestquestions for further research and composition linking performance environments andcompositionenvironments.

8. Conclusions and Further Questions on Environment & Performance Wehavenowexaminedeachofthepiecessubmittedinthisportfolio.Whilsteveryworkusesenvironmentalstartingpointssuchasrecordingsorculturalcontexts,theyalsoeachpresentveryuniquemanifestationsofenvironmentswithinthesharedmediaofelectroacousticmusic.In the lightof this compositional exploration, Iwish to examineone furtheroccurrenceofenvironment: performance. It was briefly explored in certain chapters, such as Omega 3,Border Crossing andAvalanche, but I think it important to at least include an overview ofperformanceasacomponentofenvironmentandconsiderhowthismaydifferfrompiecetopiece.

8.1 Different Types of Performance for Different Contexts

8.1.1 Éclats de Feux & Résistance: the Typical Acousmatic Environment ÉclatsdeFeuxandRésistancearetwoacousmaticpieces,andthismightsuggestthattheycallfor a similar performance environment or context. The typical acousmatic performanceenvironment involves a relatively large hall with a high ceiling in which at least twentyloudspeakersaresetuptoallowtheperformanceofthemusictousetheroomwiththemostdetailedgesturespossible.Ideally,theloudspeakersrepresentdifferentmusicallayersandareused to portray varying levels of space and environment. For instance, in the case ofstereophonicpieceslikeÉclatsdeFeuxandRésistance,themappingwouldmostlikelybeinpairs. Consequently, the concert hall could be divided at its centre and hold left and rightchannelsoneitherside.Amainpaircouldbesituatedclose to thecentre,andclose to the

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public,inwhichmoreintimateeffectscouldbeachieved.Theseeffectscouldcreatecontrastingsolos;ausefulperformancetoolinthecaseofRésistance,forinstance,wherehumanvoiceisafrequentelementoftext.Insuchacase,thevoicecouldbehighlightedinasolopair.Giventheavailability of ceiling loudspeakers, allowing for the presentation of farther-soundingenvironmentsorlessintimatesounds,wecouldimaginethesoundsoffireworksinÉclatsdeFeuxbeingmappedaccordingly,creatinganeffectofexaggeratedspaceandhighlightingtheconsiderably large environments depicted in such a piece. Of course, those are merelyexamples of the many possible configurations of environments possible to recreate withperformance. There would also be performance decisions, to be studied and produced inaccordancewiththeperformanceenvironmentwhilststillhavingsomeregardforthemusicaltext.

It may happen that these electroacoustic works are not presented in typical acousmaticconcerthalls,andthiswillhaveimplicationsforperformance.Forinstance,onemayimaginehow Éclats de Feux would be presented completely differently by the listener if it wereperformedoutdoors.Physicalandculturalenvironmentswouldarguablyinteractmorewiththepieceduringitsperformanceinthatwaythaninanacousmaticsetting.Themusicaltextwouldbeunderstoodquitedifferently,partlyfromtheactualspaceitwouldoccupy(sinceanoutdoorscenecanrarelybeacousticallycontrolled)andpartlyfromitsplaceintheculturalcontext(therewouldcertainlyarisequestionsofappropriateness,unexpectedness,andevenaccessibility,andbyextension,privilege).IsthereadesignatedaudienceforÉclatsdeFeux,ormayone trust thatelectroacousticmusic ispermitted toexistoutsideofacousmaticmusichalls?Inasimilarlineofthought,giventhatRésistancedealswithideasofmemories,archivesandnostalgia,themesthatarestronglypresentintheworldofmuseums,woulditalsohaveaplacethere?How,then,woulditinteractwithculturalenvironment?Therecertainlywouldbeadvantages and disadvantages to such unconventional performance settings. Possibly themost obvious problem created is that the original format was not designed with thoseenvironments in mind. Therefore, not only is there a technical requirement in order toappropriatelyrenderthecontentofthemusic,butitalsosupposesthattheaudiencehasaninterestinthatveryspecificgenreofmusic.Inanunconventionalperformancesetting,suchasoutdoors,ÉclatsdeFeuxmightnotbereceivedwiththesameappreciationthaninatypicalacousmaticperformancesetting.Inamuseum,perhaps,Résistancewouldlikelybeperformedinaloop,inalisteninghallwherepeoplemaycomeandgo:theremightarisequestionsoftextcontinuityandreadability,andacompletelydifferentinteractionwithculturalenvironment,albeit still institutional73. How should one deal with such circumstances? Is every newenvironmentpossibletoanticipate?Shoulditevenbeaconcern?Thoseareallquestionsworthexploring in further research projects. This said, some atypical experiences have beenexploredinpieceslikeOmega3andBorderCrossing.

8.1.2 Omega 3: Site-Specific Environment Even though Omega 3 was largely composed like an acousmatic piece, the context of itsproduction involvedaperformance inaratherunlikely location;anancient linseedsorting

73Here,Iconsidermuseumsasinstitutional(andhavinganinstitutionalculture),inthesamewaythatacousmaticmusic lives in an institutional environment and culture (mostly academic and researchareas).Inbothcases,questionsofaccessibilityandprivilege,andevenofvaluefortheartisticobjectitself,ariseondifferentlevels,whichinextricablyinfluencetheaudience’sreactionanditsrelationtotheproposedwork.

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factory. At that location, the typical acousmatic setupwas neither possible, nor ideal. Theenvironment of that specific performance was obviously not designed for acousmaticperformances.Iftheoriginalperformancewouldhavebeenintendedtobeacousmatic,Imighthavehadlittlecontroloverperformanceoptions;alimitednumberofloudspeakerslimitingmyuseofthespace,aswellasthissetupbeingtoosmallinproportiontothesizeoftheroom.Wedidmakeuseofthehighstructure.Asithappenedtobeaccompaniedbyaliveaccordionperformance,thespacewasusedinquiteaflexibleway;theaccordionistagreedtoclimbtothe top levelof the structureandplay from there. Iused theavailable soundsetupon thegroundfloor,whereIwasabletoproducegeneraldiffusiongesturesandpatternsfollowingthemusicaltext.Duringtheperformance,TuulikkiandIalsoreactedtotheenvironmentandtoeachother’scontributionswithinthisenvironment.AsIheardhersound,Iwasabletoguidethemusicinthespace,andviceversa.Asitturnsout,thisisaspecificexampleofaspecificperformanceinapredeterminedenvironment.Ofcourse,Omega3beingdependentonthatenvironment,itbecameasite-specificwork,althoughnowexportabletoacontextoftypicalacousmaticperformance.However,thequestionremains:istheexperiencealtered,anddoestheabsenceoftheoriginalenvironmenthindertheoriginalintentinOmega3(whichwastohavealiveinteractionwithimprovisedaccordion)?Ipersonallybelievethatenvironmentsareconstantlyevolvingandthatworksofart thereforemusthavesomedegreeof flexibility intheirmanifestationsiftheyarenottobecompletelyephemeral.IwouldunderstandthattheperformanceofOmega3 ina typical concerthall isnot thesameexperienceas thatof theoriginalperformanceinthelinseedsortingfactoryinthesmalltownofMooste,Estonia.Thissaid,atleastfrommyperspective,itcertainlywouldnotbeenoughtodeclareitanewpiece,oratleastadifferentversionofthepieceonaccountofitstransformedcontent.Furthermore,there could be some issues of privilege, exclusion and accessibility related to theunderstandingthatapiecelikeOmega3couldnotbefullyexperiencedinanotherwaythaninthatparticularlinseedsortingfactory,somewhereintheBalticstates,neartheintersectionofLatviaandRussia.Moreover,myintentionasacomposerwasnottomakethispiecerestrictedtoacertainpublicatacertainpointintime.ThatisalsowhyIhaverevisitedthepieceandmadesureitsupdatedversionwasexportable.

8.1.3 Border Crossing: A Gaming Experience BorderCrossinghasaverypeculiarproductioncontextanditsperformanceenvironmentisalso highly specific. Similarly toOmega 3, its primary environment is site-specific. In thisinstance,specificitywasnotgeneratedbythefactthatIwaspresenttoproducethepieceintheoriginalenvironmentnorthatthesoundmaterialshaveanythingtodowiththatparticularphysicalenvironment.However,inthiscase,asearlierdiscussed,performanceenvironmentisconstructed,andthisaffectstheoverallexperienceofthispiece.Ofcourse,thereisalsothepresenceofanarrowanddarkperformanceenvironment74,butthemaininfluencingfactorinthiscaseisreallythegamingenvironment.Asanexample,ÉclatsdeFeuxandRésistancebothcouldbeperformedonastereosoundsysteminanarrowanddarkperformancespacewithouttheirmusicaltextbeingdistorted.However,BorderCrossingwillbereadinadifferentmannerinthecontextoftheLARPforwhichitwasdesigned.Itsnarrativemightbelessimportantinanothercontext,althoughitretainsmanyofitsnarrativecues,suchastheopeningandclosingofvandoorsrepresentedbythereferentialsoundobjects.ExtractedfromthatLARP,Border

74Thedarknessandnarrownessofthatspacehaveanimpact,butitisnotasstrongasthenatureofthegamingenvironmentitself.

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CrossingisstillvaluableasapieceofelectroacousticmusicandwasevenperformedassuchfortheoccasionoftheComposer/Computer/DistanceconferenceheldinSheffieldinMay201875.Whilstthecontextwasnotthatofagamingexperience,thepiecestillhadpotentialforæstheticalreception.

8.1.4 An Almost Abstract Experience: The Case of Multi-Channel Surround Sound Much like the previous pieces, An Almost Abstract Experience is acousmatic. Its mainparticularityistheuseofthe5.1format.Similarlytotheperformanceenvironmentdescribedin the section about Éclats de Feux and Résistance, I believe a traditional acousmaticperformance environment would be suitable for An Almost Abstract Experience. Theconfiguration would need to be adapted for 5.1, but this would not require an especiallycomplicatedredesign;thehallcouldremainsplitbetweenleftandright,as5.1.isalsobasedonthattypeofplacement.Itismorepreciseinthatitconsidersafrontandabackenvironment,butthis isnotcontradictingthetypicalacousmaticperformanceenvironment, inwhichtheaudience is generally facing oneway. Therefore, in order to accurately represent 5.1. in atraditionalspace,therewouldonlyneedtobeasingleloudspeakeraddedinthefrontoftheconcert space for thecentresolo.Obviously, this centrevoicecanalsobe replicated in thedifferentlevelsoftheroom,justasstereopairswouldbemultipliedthroughoutthehallinatypicalacousmaticsetup.SuchanacousmaticsetupcanalsoaccommodatemixedmediapieceslikeExercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimiandAvalanche.

8.1.5 Exercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi: With or Without Instrumentalists JustasIhadreflectionsontheexportabilityofsite-specificworkssuchasOmega3andBorderCrossing,thecontextofExercitiumarithmeticæoccultumnescientissenumerareanimicausedmetoponderpossiblemodesofperformance.Inthiscase,theencodedmusicalenvironmentwascomposedentirelyfromrecordingsoftheinstrumentswhichweregoingtobeusedliveduringtheperformance.Thismadeeasiertheprocessofscoringthepiece,whichatfirstwasonlythroughthepresenceofaudioelementsinthefixedmediapart.Asthemusicalcontentwasentirelycontainedintheoriginalcomposition,thereisherethechoiceofperformingthepiecewithorwithouttheliveinstrumentalists.Inthecaseoftheinstrumentalistsbeingabsentfromtheperformance,atypicalacousmaticsetupissufficient,asthisessentiallybecomesastereoacousmaticpiece.Inthepresenceoftheinstrumentalists,therewouldbeaneedtohaveaconsciousnessofthespaceandofthebalancebetweenthesoundproducedlivefromtheinstrumentsandtheoneproducedbythesoundsystemthroughoutthehall.Inthissense,theperformanceenvironmentmightneedtobecalibrated,mostlybyadjustingthesoundsystem,to be consistent with the instrumentalists in order to not distort the originally intendedmusicaltext.Furthermore,theinstrumentalistsinthispiececanbefairlytransparentastheydo not have very theatrical or scenic implications, unlikeAvalanche, the last piece of thisportfolio.

8.1.6 Avalanche : Multiplicity and Excess of Environments Aspreviouslydiscussed,Avalancheencompassesamultiplicityofenvironmentsatanumberof different levels. Like Exercitium arithmeticæ occultum nescientis se numerare animi,Avalanche uses the presence of a live instrumentalist. However, it is not conceived to be

75Composer/Computer/Distance.,(©2018).Composer/ComputerDistance.[Viewed5October2018].Availablefrom:http://http://ccdconference.co.uk

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independent from its instrumentalist, since this instrumentalist portrays, with theirinstrumentalsculptureandtheirtheatricalinterpretationofthepiece,theoverabundanceofinformationand this verymultiplicityof environments referred to earlier.Whilst a typicalacousmatic performance environmentwould suffice for the fixedmedia part of this piece,therewouldbeaneedforcarefulconsiderationofthespacegiventotheliveinstrumentalist,astheywouldbecomeapointoffocus.Inthisinstance,notonlywouldtherebeaneedforbalancebetweenthesoundsystemandtheinstruments,butalso,asitbecomesrathervisual,a need to calibrate the performance environment to support the focus toward theinstrumentalist.Thismightprovechallenging,asthefixedmediapartisverycharged,anditcouldbetemptingtodeviseanequallychargedperformanceinthespaceoftheconcerthall.Suchachargedinterpretationmighthindertheexpressivityoftheliveinstrumentalist.Thenagain,acriticalquestionmightbeasked:iftheultimatethemeexploredbyAvalancheisexcessofinformation,thenwoulditnotbenaturaltocreateexcessofinformationateverylevelofitsperformanceandenvironment?Iwouldarguethatthisissomethingthatmightbeexplored.Designing,rethinking,exploringandmakinguseoftheperformanceenvironmentislikelythefinalstepfortherealisationofthepiecesproposedinthiscompositionportfolio.Whatcomesnext?Duringthecompositionof thesepieces,manyelementsof informationandquestionsarosethatIwouldliketoexploreinfurtherresearchandcompositionprojects.

8.2 Conclusion & Concepts to Further Explore Withinthisthesis,Ihaveexploredhowseveraldifferentoccurrencesofenvironmentmanifestinandaroundmyworksofelectroacousticmusic.Ihavemadeadistinctionbetweenphysicalandculturalenvironments,andarguedthatwhilsttheyarenotseparatefromoneanother,they create a multiplicity of different surroundings which can be studied with differentparameters(suchasinternalandexternalspace,site-specificity,poiesisandnarrativity,theroleofappliedmusic,theinteractionsbetweensuchenvironments,andthepossibilityfortheworktobeacommentaryonitsownmaterialityandera,tonameafew76).

Physicalenvironmentstendtobemoreeasilyidentifiablethanculturalenvironments,becausetheyare tangible.Theyare thereforeeasier tomapandtowriteabout.Thismightexplain,amongst other reasons, why soundscape is so well-known. On the contrary, culturalenvironmentsaremalleableandfluid,andthereforeextremelydifficulttodefineinaprecisemanner.Evenso,Ihaveinterestinthenotionofphonoculture77asaninspiringwayofthinkingforme,whichcanbelinkedwiththecompositionalapproachusedforÉclatsdeFeux.Ibelievethatthisnotioncouldbefurtherdeveloped,and,likeSavourethassuggested,beintegratedinpieceswhich involve a community from start to finish. In otherwords, I am interested ininvolving the audience in the very process of composition. I believe that there would be76Takingintoconsiderationtheveryinfinitepossibilitiesofdimensionssurroundingsuchamultiplicityofenvironmentsrevolvingaroundthephysicalandcultural(whichis,aswehaveseen,ever-evolvinganddynamic),Icannotexpectthatitmightberemotelypossibletocomeupwithanexhaustivelistofparameterstoencompassthem.77 Concept developed byAlain Savouret, according towhich one, as a composer,may connectwithcommunitiesonamuchmorepersonalleveliftheyareinspiredbyobjectswhicharerecognisableandmeaningful to the audience who receives the piece. In the article Électroacoustique et perspectivephonoculturelle,hegivestheexampleofusingthesoundofamachineinanancientfactory.Forregularsoundenthusiasts,itmayproduceaninterestingsound,andjustthat.Inthecaseoflocals,whomighthavespenthalfoftheirlifenearthatmachineryandaroundthatfactory,theymightbreakoutintearsfromsuchapersonal connection.Taken from:Savouret,A. (2014).Électroacoustiqueetperspectivephonoculturelle.Circuit:Musiquescontemporaintes,13(1),9-13.

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opportunityfornotonlycollaboration,butaccesstosharedknowledgeandtheunderstandingof multiple and diverse cultural environments, simply by including said audience in theprocessofcreation.Some(likeYvesDaoustorJean-FrançoisBlouin)78havestartedtodoitwithin the field of electroacoustic music, but very few writings document this approach.Similarly,theexperienceofcompositionforLARPinspiresmetolookfurtherandtoexplorepossibilitiesofinvestigationwithinthefieldofculturalenvironmentinelectroacousticmusic.Exploringnewcontextssuchasscenographyandeclecticperformanceswhereaudienceandcomposer interact and inform each other seems like a promising avenue for the furtherinvestigation of cultural environment in electroacoustic music, as well as a novel way todisseminateknowledgeonthesubject.

78Ishouldliketoaddthatthereexistsaverysimilarapproachinthefilmindustry,inwhichWapikoniMobile,anorganisationwhichhasthepurposeofprovidingsocialsupporttotheFirstNationsofCanada(particularly in theprovinceofQuébec), hasdesignedmobile studioswith the aimofmaking themavailabletotheyouthinAboriginalcommunities,andtoinvitethesepeopletoproducetheirownworksofart.Ofcourse,thisismoresocialworkthanartisticwork,butaddressesverycloseissues,whichIaminterestedinexploring.

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Annex

Programme Notes

1. Éclats de Feux Transitional work of my journey in composition,Éclats de Feuxstarted with many soundrecordings of objects and spaces found around Sheffield. As the first piece ofmy doctoralportfolio,thisoneactsasabridgebetweentheschoolofMontréal,whereIcomefrom,andtheeffervescenceofBritishacousmatic.Inthispiece,Iexploredthecontrastsbetweenpowerfulmassesandup-closesoloobjects,withparticularsensitivitytotheuseofspaceinstereophony,asmyresearchisfocusedontheinterpretationandperformanceofacousmaticmusic.ThetitlereferstotheimpressivebonfirenightsandendlessfireworksIhavebeenexposedtointhefirstweeksaftermyarrival in theUK. “ShardsofFire”, as it translates, also represents theextreme rapidity and intensitywithwhich one’s lifemay be completely changedwith onesinglevoyage.

2. Omega 3 ComposedatanancientlinseedsortingfactoryduringanartisticresidencyinthesmalltownofMooste,inEstonia,thispieceexploresthemesofderelictspaces,culturalenvironmentsandtraditionalmusic techniques. It started as a collaborationwithTuulikkiBartosik, Estoniantraditional folkloricmusician,whousesvarious localBaltic techniques inherperformancestyle. Originally intended as a live performance, it was revisited to take the shape of astandalonefixedmediapiece.Init,wehearsoundsoflocalEstonia,syntheticallygeneratedmaterial,andtraditionallyNordicmusicalsonorities.

3. An Almost Abstract Experience Findingbalanceandfocusingontheverylimitbetweenwhatholdsustogetherandwhattipsus over: thismaywell be howmusic comes to be.Where this piece aboundswith surrealworldsinspiredbythedeepestinvisibleenergystreams,itisalsomadeofveryreal,concretesound sources. By its fluid nature it therefore becomes an almost abstract experience.ComposedatVisbyTonsättarcentrum,EMSiStockholmandUSSSSheffield.

4. Exercitium arithmetic occultum nascientis se numerare animi Composedbetween Stockholm, Sheffield andGothenburg in 2017, this piece is exclusivelybasedon sounds generously offeredby the StockholmSaxophoneQuartet.The title of thispiecetranslatesas:“anunconsciousexerciseinarithmeticinwhichtheminddoesnotknowitiscounting”.This,tome,evokesareality,especiallymanifestthroughelectroacousticmusic,thatIhavealwaysfoundfascinating:theideathatmusic isonlyreallymanifestedasmusicthroughtheformatofsound,eventhoughonemaybeabletoconceiveofitasanidea.Withtheacousmaticexperience,notonlydoesthemusicneedtobewritten(orencoded)inordertobeperceived,itcanonlybedoneinreal-time.

5. Border Crossing ComposedforTheQuota,aliverole-playexperience,inDecember2017,thisstereoacousmaticpiece isdesigned toevokeametaphorical and imaginaryenvironmentmore thanapurelyacousticone.ThisLARP(LiveActionRole-Play)situatestheparticipants,whichconstitutetheoriginalaudienceforthispiece,inthecontextofembodyingthejourneyofarefugee,leaving

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theircountrywithurgency,inadesperateattempttoreachasaferland.ComposedduringanErasmus+PlacementatEMSstudios(Stockholm).

6. Avalanche Composedamassingawidearrayof'noisy'sounds(fieldrecordings,objectsinopenspaces,objectsconsideredtobejunk),thispieceexploresmultiplicityandexcessofinformation.Afterthe initial collectionof field recordings, agenerationofprocessedsoundwasadded to thealready very large sound bank which coloured this piece. Designed to be flexible for itsperformancesetup(livewithanon-fixedpercussioninstrumentationandfixedmediaorsolofixed media), it also considers questions of variability of information and multiplicity ofperformancespacesandenvironments.Itisdesignedtobecrudeandæstheticallyharshbyitsloaded form and insistent use of sound processes such as distortion and filtering. WithAvalanche,Iwantedtoseewherewasthelimitbetweenæstheticandconceptual.

7. Résistance A witness of its era, Résistance brings together improbable stories: the recounting of mygrandmother'smemoriesoftheFrenchRésistanceandhavingdancedwithDjangoReinhardt,andtherealitiesof2018'srecordingmedia,withitsreadilyavailabletechnologieswithinoursmartphones,andtheprofessionalstudioatEMSinStockholm,recordingmultichannelBuchlasounds.Poetically,theyjoinasacommentaryonthepassingoftimeandhistory,withalayerofprocessedaccordionsounds,whichbridgethehumanexperiencewiththeperspectiveofacolder,machine-inducedsystem.

List of Performances

1. Éclats de Feux 14.05.2016/SoundJunction,Sheffield,UniversityofSheffield,PREMIERE19.05.2016/AudiovisualArtsFestival,Corfu,IonianAcademy28.05.2016/MúsicaViva,Lisbon,O'cultodaAjuda15.09.2016/ClassSeminar,Montréal,Concordia12.10.2016/ElectricSense,Toronto,CIUT27.10.2016/EMUFest,Rome,ConservatorioSantaCecilia12.11.2016/NWEAMOFestival,Tokyo,JSSA21.11.2016/AcousticFrontiers,Ottawa,CKCU08.12.2016/Foldover,OberlinOhio,WOBC19.12.2016/EmisiónJTTP,Madrid,UNDÆ!15.03.2017/InTIME,Coventry,CoventryUniversity24.03.2017/JTTPWinners,Vancouver,BocadelLupo24.03.2017/JTTPBroadcast,Winnipeg,UMFMRadio07.04.2017/Delotroladodelmuro,Morelia,CMMAS15.04.2017/GroundSwellRadio,Winnipeg01.05.2017/PerdidosenelEspacio,StantiagodeChile,RadioUniversidad10.06.2017/NØBoundsFestival,Sheffield,TrafalgarWarehouse12.08.2017/ZKM_Kubus,Karlsruhe29.08.2018/UNMFestival,Bergen,Østre

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2. Omega 3 02.07.2016/Omega3ArtExhibitionOpening,Mooste,MoKS,PREMIERE

3. An Almost Abstract Experience 21.01.2017/FRSTFestival,Visby,Gotlandsmuseum,PREMIERE23.03.2017/SatteliteSoundJunction,Sheffield,DINAVenue06.05.2017/SoundJunction,Sheffield,UniversityofSheffield29.05.2017/Ljud&Genus,Gothenburg,Atalante15.06-14.09/2016GuteLjaudKarte,Visby,FleringeKyrka

4. Exercitium arithmetic occultum nascientis se numerare animi 3.11.2017/SoundLaboratory,Sheffield,UniversityofSheffield,PREMIERE16.03.2019/SvenskMusikvår,Stockholm,Konserthuset

5. Border Crossing 11.12.2017/TheSmoke,London,TheNurseryTheatre,PREMIERE17.03.2018/Quota:BorderCrossing,Lund,Knutpunkt24.05.2018/TheQuotaLARP,Leicester

6. Avalanche 22.06.2018/FindingTheAbyss:ColinFrank,Huddersfield,PhippsHall,PREMIERE

7. Résistance 21.04.2018/StockholmsKulturnatt,Stockholm,Fylkingen,PREMIERE29.05.2018/EurofolkFestival,Moscow,OstankinoTower02.11.2018/SoundJunction,Sheffield,UniversityofSheffield

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