To my love Brenda

Attraction consists of various representations of the energy that is built up and released in many types of attractions (gravity, one body for another, many bodies for one, the composer’s for his-her sonic materials, the listener’s for the materials…). I have striven to produce a work that continuously challenges the ear and the intellect by using non-recurring sound environments and complex gestures, resembling those found in the work of contemporary visual artists.

As is the case with most of my works, Attraction contains many sound objects that started out as recordings of acoustic sources and were subsequently transformed using digital processing and traditional musique concrète techniques. In addition I created complex synthesizer patches by combining ‘old’ (analog) and ‘new’ (digital) technologies.

Attraction was realized at the studios of Concordia University and various private studios. This piece could not have come to be without the voice of Edgard Émile Hudon, and the help of Gregory Fine, Pierre De Gagné, Frédéric Roverselli and Claude Schryer. Attraction premiered in the Fall of 1992 at Concordia University and was awarded the 3rd prize — solo tape category — of the 15th Luigi Russolo International Competition (Varèse, Italy, 1993).

Composition

• 1992 – 1993, Electroacoustic Studios — Concordia University, Montréal (Québec)
• 1992 – 1993

Premiere

• November 11, 1992, ÉuCuE XI: Concert, Salle de concert — Campus Loyola — Université Concordia, Montréal (Québec)

Awards

• 3rd prize, Fixed medium, Concorso internazionale Luigi Russolo di musica elettroacustica 1993, Varèse (Italy)

Cymbals: Reminiscence is divided into two movements: Ostinato and Reminiscence. Ostinato starts with a rhythmically reiterated phrase performed by a pair of cymbals, punctuated by strong attacks. As this short statement progresses with the cymbal statements becoming busy and irregular, the close spatial perspective widens when the first clashing of cymbals take place. As the piece develops, new materials are brought into the scene, interacting with each other and creating a dense musical flow. Reminiscence starts with a slowly evolving drone. As the pace of change in the piece gradually increases, the musical discourse briefly quotes two of my previous works, Autumn Space (1991, tape) and Latitudes Emaranhadas (1992-93, for solo cello and electroacoustic sounds). These quotations are intended to be integrated in the piece’s own structural framework, and Reminiscence refer to shared materials and techniques.

One of the important features of this piece is the simultaneous exploration of different materials with very particular and contrasting spatial behaviours. The degree to which spatial polyphony is explored varies considerably throughout the work. This simultaneity may be exposed in a continuous way, enabling the listener to pinpoint the different spatial settings, or it may evolve into more complex situations. For instance when the changes become intensely intermingled, encouraging the listener to search for a common denominator between the contrasting spatial articulations and thereby constructing new listening scenarios. This interplay is dramatically explored along with the complex textures created throughout the work in order to make Cymbals: Reminiscence a dense and intense listening experience.

This work was composed in the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the University of East Anglia (Norwich, UK) in 1992-93. Cymbals: Reminiscence was selected at the 5th International Rostrum of Electroacoustic Music (IREM) in Helsinki (1994).

Premiere

• July 30, 1993, Sounds Real, Adam Concert Room — Te Kōkī New Zealand School of Music — NZSM Kelburn Campus, Wellington (New Zealand)

Awards

• 2nd prize, Fixed medium, Concorso internazionale Luigi Russolo di musica elettroacustica 1993, Varèse (Italy)
• Prize, 5th International Rostrum of Electroacoustic Music (IREM) 1994 — Helsinki

Awards

• 2nd prize, Electroacoustic Music with Instruments Prize, 21th Bourges International Electroacoustic Music Competition 1993, Bourges (Cher, France)
• 2nd prize, Mixed music, Concorso internazionale Luigi Russolo di musica elettroacustica 1993, Varèse (Italy)

Performers

• Harrie Starreveld, flute

The Black Museum is a collection of experimential artifacts or sound objects; my musical sensibility, compositional techniques, and the impressions collected; and things learned from other composers’ works which have been so fundamental to my own development. As curator of this ‘museum’ I have collected all of the ideas and experiences that mean the most to me, transforming the past into my present. This piece emphasizes a strong dynamic structure which brings together the use of such elements as the ephemeral, the fleeting, the use of rushes and sudden outbursts — a fantasy of unexpected encounters where sound illuminates the eye through the ear. The piece is composed of nine movements.

The Black Museum was realized at the composer’s studio in 1993. It was commissioned with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) by the Association pour la recherche et la création électroacoustiques du Québec (ACREQ) for its Clair de terre concert series. It was premiered on April 27, 1993 at the Planétarium de Montréal. This piece is dedicated to the history of the Groupe de recherches musicales (GRM) and the composers and friends of Montréal. The Black Museum was a finalist at the 21st International Bourges Electroacoustic Music Competition (France, 1993); it received the 1st prize at the 15th Luigi Russollo International Competition (Varese, Italy, 1993); and the Groupe de musique expérimentale de Marseille (GMEM) Prize (France, 1993). Special thanks to composer Robert Normandeau for a door sound excerpted from his Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck) released on an empreintes DIGITALes compact disc [IMED 9002; IMED 9802].

Composition

• 1993, Personal studio, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)

Premiere

• April 27, 1993, Clair de terre IV: Concert 4 — L’œil écoute, Planétarium de Montréal, Montréal (Québec)

Awards

• 1st prize, Fixed medium, Concorso internazionale Luigi Russolo di musica elettroacustica 1993, Varèse (Italy)