electrocd

Trilogie d’ondes

Gilles Gobeil / Suzanne Binet-Audet

… the ondes Martenot uplifts this record from being a “great” Gobeil record to being a “special” Gobeil record… Avant Music News

… original musical gesture, managing to orchestrate complex sound in a coherent whole. Modisti, Spain

Prix Opus 2004-05: Disque de l’année

  • SODEC

DVD-Audio (IMED 0576)

  • Label: empreintes DIGITALes
  • IMED 0576
  • 2005
  • UCC 771028057696
  • Total duration: 45:43
  • OGplus
  • 142 mm × 125 mm × 10 mm
  • 55 g

On the web

Download (IMED 0576_NUM)

Notices

About this Trilogy

Gilles Gobeil’s body of work to date has been characterized by a rupture or break æsthetics, in which large-scale musical gestures are developed and brought to their acme before being immediately crushed into silence. It is a musical way of being, of breathing, a natural mark, a style, immediately identifiable and thus much more than a habit. The Trilogie d’ondes is testimony to this approach, so deeply rooted in the composer’s musical thought.

The ondes Martenot’s electronic timbre and acoustic resonance are perfectly suited to the musical fabric of the electroacoustic tape part, turning it into a rich and complex mixed work. In places the instrument melds almost perfectly with the tape, while in others the ondes stand out from the sonic material, due either to the expressive quality of some melodic interventions or the contrast between the ethereal quality of the timbre and the colorful complexity of the tape sounds. In this case, Gilles Gobeil has chosen to rely mostly on the musician’s expressive accuracy in addition to virtuosity.

Among the various contributions from the ondes, two themes stand out and underpin the entire structure: the “wrench theme,” which is always tightly woven into the tape and manifests itself through a long rising glissando, and the “cell theme” — or “soul theme” — a cell consisting of four neighboring, distempered notes.

Voix blanche
The wrench theme, with its slow dramatic build-up, appears at the very beginning of this movement. Halfway through, the soul theme emerges, very legato. Following its long unfolding, it will be reintroduced in a form that is more spelled-out than linear, a form which will become definitive in the other two parts of the trilogy. Inhabited by a subtle form of poetry, this is the most lyrical movement of the cycle.

Là où vont les nuages…
This movement features a different technique. The ondes are almost always used as a trigger for prerecorded sound elements that are juxtaposed with the ondist’s playing. Through the ondes’ various interventions, the aforementioned themes are transformed into something more closely related to a sense of traveling. This movement is full of vitality and playfulness; at times, sound masses are built and taken down at vertiginous speed.

La perle et l’oubli
Inspired by an apocryphal initiatory text from the second century, this piece consists of twelve sequences, six of which are variations on the “soul theme” cell played by the ondes. In this movement, the ondes play the part of the soul in its journey of incarnation. The final coda brings back the wrench and soul themes. The latter, modified one last time, closes the work in the bass register; its missing fourth note seems to irradiate from the dark aura of the last note played.

Suzanne Binet-Audet [English translation: François Couture, iii-05]

About the ondes Martenot

Maurice Martenot (1898-1980), a trained cellist and radiotelegrapher for the French army during World War I (1914-18), fell under the spell of the mobile and very pure electronic vibration of the new triode lamps he was working with.

Following the example of several other scientists at the time, including Lee de Forest (1873-1961), the inventor of the triode lamp to be used in the Audion, his instrument from 1915, the German researcher Jorg Mager, the Russian Leon Theremin (Lev Sergeyevich Termen, 1896-1993) and his eponymous instrument (in 1917), and Friedrich Trautwein (1888-1956) and his Trautonium (1930), which Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) would compose for, Maurice Martenot bustles about this electronic sound that has been newly brought into the world. He is trying to harness it to a true musical instrument, one that would cater to a musician’s most subtle expressive intentions.

Until his death in 1980, Maurice Martenot tirelessly endeavoured to improve his ondes. And what a long way he went, from the first prototype in 1928, with its remote playing similar to the Theremin’s, to the current transistorized version! Through these transformations, the ever monophonic instrument would gain acoustic resonators and two playing modes: one using a finger ring that allows countless glissandi options and the other using a keyboard, allowing for increased virtuosity. The right hand determines the pitches and vibrato, while the left shapes the nuances, attacks and phrasings with the help of a key, and controls the timbre tabs.

More electronic instruments have been invented since and are now omnipresent in our musical universe. Because of its sensory approach closely linked to the performer’s nervous system and its flexibility that allows it to respond to the performer’s slightest musical intention, the Martenot remains unlike any other. It is often considered a forerunner of today’s electronic instruments, but it is actually somewhat of a slightly eccentric colleague: the rationale behind its creation keeps it closer to the great instrument-making tradition. That is probably why it made it through the 20th century and is still being included in new compositions. Thanks to its 80-year history and large and rich repertoire, the Martenot has obviously secured itself a spot in music history.

Suzanne Binet-Audet [English translation: François Couture, iii-05]

Thanks

I would like to thank Gilles Gobeil for his Trilogie d’ondes, an inspired and magnificent work that expands the repertoire of the ondes Martenot and also contributes to the distinctive color of our homegrown electroacoustic music. I am also grateful to the Canada Council for the Arts for its financial support.

Suzanne Binet-Audet

Thanks to Marcelle Deschênes, Monique Jean, and Olivier Bélanger. A special thank you to Suzanne Binet-Audet, whose support, passion and enormous talent allowed me to complete this wonderful project.

Gilles Gobeil

Suzanne Binet-Audet, Gilles Gobeil [English translation: François Couture, iii-05]

Images
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 38/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 38/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 37/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 37/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 36/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 36/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 35/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 35/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 34/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 34/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 33/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 33/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 32/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 32/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 31/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 31/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 30/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 30/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 29/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 29/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 28/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 28/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 27/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 27/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 26/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 26/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 25/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 25/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 24/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 24/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 23/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 23/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 22/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 22/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 21/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 21/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 20/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 20/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 19/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 19/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 18/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 18/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 17/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 17/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 16/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 16/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 15/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 15/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 14/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 14/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 13/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 13/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 12/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 12/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 11/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 11/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 10/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 10/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 9/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 9/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 8/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 8/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 7/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 7/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 6/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 6/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 5/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 5/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 4/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 4/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 3/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 3/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 2/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 2/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
  • Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 1/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
    Ondes Martenot, 1976 (7th generation since 1928; 1st generation with transistors); Suzanne Binet-Audet’s instrument. 1/38 [Photo: Luc Beauchemin, Boucherville (Québec), April 2005]
Some recommended items
In the press

AMN Review

Mike Eisenberg, Avant Music News, May 16, 2021

On Trilogie d’ondes, Gobeil collaborates with ondes Martenot virtuoso Suzanne Binet-Audet. Like an earlier empreintes DIGITALes release that marries the classical guitar with various Aousmatic composers (see my write-up here), Trilogie d’ondes achieves the same great synergies between Gobeil’s tape generated maneuvers and the most disparate instrument you can think of, the ondes Martenot. As you can probably guess by now, it works!

The following quote by Binet-Audet may give some clues as to why this partnership sounds so great (bolding mine):

“More electronic instruments have been invented since and are now omnipresent in our musical universe. Because of its sensory approach closely linked to the performer’s nervous system and its flexibility that allows it to respond to the performer’s slightest musical intention, the ondes Martenot remains unlike any other. It is often considered a forerunner of today’s electronic instruments, but it is actually somewhat of a slightly eccentric colleague: the rationale behind its creation keeps it closer to the great instrument-making tradition. That is probably why it made it through the 20th century and is still being included in new compositions. Thanks to its 80-year history and large and rich repertoire, the ondes Martenot has obviously secured itself a spot in music history.”

Like all the great acousmatic composers, Gobeil’s ability to organize sounds into a cohesive whole that allows the participant (you) to create their own visual / virtual / visceral narrative demands that these sounds interact with your limbic system. Being a disinterested outsider really doesn’t cut it when you listen to this music. Engagement, on a mental, and as stands to reason, a physical level is key. My bolded part above plays into what may have been the reason this pairing sounds so good. Doubting that both musicians were in the room at the same time, I’m going to hazard a guess that Gobeil supplied Binet-Audet his material, and she composed around that. I can very well imagine, as Binet-Audet was contributing her parts, the soundscapes that Gobeil created tapped into her Limbic system allowing her to “bring the music” to the ondes Martenot by way of the sensory approach that she mentions above. I can also imagine a live performance which would be a very interesting juxtaposition of her gestures on the ondes Martenot triggered off the synthetic material created by her partner. So, instead of machine triggering machine, the approach would be human triggering machine (Gobeil), triggering human, triggering instrument (Binet-Audet). In a live improvised (or not) setting, the permutations could be endlessly fascinating! Additionally, the dichotomy between what is traditionally thought of as a non-gesture form of music (Gobeil’s Acousmatic sections) is now organically attached to a human element that can change with each performance. In a case like this, the ondes Martenot sounds like the perfect tool to achieve this. (I wonder if they ever thought of taking this on the road?)

The music on Trilogie d’ondes is much more dynamically busier than Trois songes. Gobeil’s soundscapes have a rough and tumble attitude and the mood is quite a bit darker because of it. The ondes Martenot adds a celestial/cosmic element, usually when Gobeil is laying out. At times it sounds like a lonely pedal steel guitar that slowly builds in pitch and intensity. During periods like this, Gobeil brings in a slowly escalating, manic tension that succeeds in goosing the music into the stratosphere.

For the most part, Trilogie d’ondes is more of a Gobeil showcase for his acousmatic stylings with the ondes Martenot adding just the right amount of unique textures, so the pairing is not exactly equal. For me, the ondes Martenot uplifts this record from being a “great” Gobeil record to being a “special” Gobeil record, and that’s the primary reason I’ve included it in this write-up.

… the ondes Martenot uplifts this record from being a “great” Gobeil record to being a “special” Gobeil record…

Review

Modisti, May 20, 2007

Apparently starting off from a work for instrument-and-tape format, these pieces broaden the concept in several directions: the instrument featured is an early electronic one (ondes Martenot) and the electronic backcloth features a three-dimensional, spatialized character rendering the interaction between both far more complex. The compositions feature a sophisticated mixture of concerns ranging from concrete sources, sophisticated electronic textures exploring the legacy of acoustic sound masses of contemporary ascendancy and an original musical gesture, managing to orchestrate complex sound in a coherent whole.

… original musical gesture, managing to orchestrate complex sound in a coherent whole.

Gilles Gobeil: la force tranquille

Guy Marceau, SOCAN, Paroles & Musique, no. 13:2, June 1, 2006

«La vie est plus riche que l’imagination.» Gilles Gobeil, compositeur et électroacousticien parle de son rapport à la création dans un médium où musique et technologie vont de pair. «L’électroacoustique est fascinante parce que le matériau sonore est partout et accessible, poursuit celui qui relègue la technologie au deuxième rang, et privilégie l’émotion et l’expression d’une idée. À mon sens, c’est la musique de l’avenir. Je crois que toutes les musiques du passé ainsi que les interprètes subsisteront, mais ces derniers seront de plus en plus jumelés aux technologies en temps réel, dans de nouvelles interfaces gestuelles permettant ainsi d’élargir la palette des timbres et des expressions. L’idée n’est pas de robotiser l’homme, mais d’accroître son humanité à l’aide d’une technologie qui deviendra de plus en plus simple et transparente. Mais qui peut bien prédire? Paul Éluard affirmait “il n’y a pas de modèle pour celui qui cherche ce qu’il n’a jamais vu”, et la création est justement ce processus de recherche.»

Calme et posé, volubile et articulé, Gilles Gobeil résume ainsi sa pensée et, par extension, l’état des choses dans le milieu pointu et somme toute restreint de la musique électroacoustique au Québec. Compositeur actif depuis plus de 20 ans des deux côtés de l’Atlantique, il figure parmi la petite communauté d’acteurs importants de la scène électro au Québec avec notamment ses collègues Robert Normandeau et Jean-François Denis, tous co-fondateurs de Réseaux (Rien à voir, Akousma), une société de concerts dédiée à la musique électroacoustique. Pourtant rien ne le prédisposait à cela.

Autodidacte

Jeune, il a d’abord appris la flûte traversière qu’il amplifiait dans une veine pop et jazz expérimental aux côtés du guitariste et improvisateur René Lussier, avec qui beaucoup plus tard il accouchera du projet Le contrat, inspiré du Faust de Goethe. Deux esprits libres. Il faut savoir que Gilles Gobeil est autodidacte et qu’il a appris les rudiments de la musique en étudiant deux partitions d’orchestre, L’Oiseau de feu de Stravinsky et la Symphonie du Nouveau Monde de Dvorak! «J’ai compris là beaucoup de choses.» Après des études collégiales en sciences humaines qui l’ont peu stimulé, Gilles Gobeil plonge vers la création à l’Université de Montréal, où il étudie la technique d’écriture instrumentale avec Serge Garant qui lui présente Marcelle Deschênes, professeur d’électro avec qui il a fait ensuite sa maîtrise. «Garant m’a transmis cette rigueur intellectuelle où chaque son, chaque note doit avoir sa raison d’être. Aujourd’hui, j’applique encore ce processus et là-dessus, je suis un peu despotique! Mais j’ajoute l’importance de privilégier l’émotion à la raison. C’est ce qui caractérise mon travail.»

Gilles Gobeil a choisi le monde de l’électro pour l’immédiateté du geste. Et parce qu’il n’a pas à se formaliser des contingences reliées à l’écriture instrumentale et notamment son interprétation. Sa musique est à son image: calme en apparence, mais forte et bouillonnante d’idées. Ses envolées musicales sont évolutives et contrastées, souvent abruptes tels des électrochocs, mais toujours incarnées, organiques et prenantes dans ses ruptures de ton. Il trouve notamment dans la littérature (HG Wells, Jules Verne, Proust…) l’inspiration, le déclic, l’image poétique. «Je suis assez près du cinéma pour l’oreille, avec l’idée de toujours raconter quelque chose.»

Un prix Opus

Pour le néophyte, qu’est-ce qui fait une bonne pièce électroacoustique? «C’est une pièce qui supporte la réécoute. Au fil des auditions, et c’est similaire en composition, des “couches d’intelligence” s’accumulent et renforcent le sens de la pièce. Le support sur disque devrait permettre une plus grande pérennité aux œuvres électro. Parce qu’en musique instrumentale contemporaine, comme disait Garant, les premières ressemblent souvent à des dernières.» En 2004, Gilles Gobeil a réenregistré trois de ses pièces pour ondes Martenot (avec Suzanne Binet-Audet) et bande, et gravé Trilogie d’ondes, son troisième album solo chez empreintes DIGITALes, et qui a été couronné Disque de l’année - musique actuelle, électroacoustique au gala des Prix Opus 2005. Cet honneur s’ajoutait à une longue liste de prestigieux prix nationaux et internationaux remportés depuis 1983 (dont des prix de la SOCAN en 1984 et 1993), et dont les derniers en date, en 2005, furent une mention d’honneur au Prix Ars Electronica de Linz, et une place en finale au Concours international de musique électroacoustique de Bourges.

Toutefois depuis août 2005, Gilles Gobeil n’a pas eu le temps d’écrire une seule note. C’est qu’il remplace, pour une année, son collègue Robert Normandeau à l’Université de Montréal dans les souliers de professeur en composition électroacoustique. Cette charge de cours s’ajoute à celle qu’il tient déjà au Cégep de Drummondville, où il enseigne la musique et les technologies sonores depuis plus de 10 ans. «Cette année, c’est à mon tour de m’offrir une demi-année sabbatique. À partir de juillet, je serai compositeur en résidence durant six mois au ZKM à Karlsruhe, en Allemagne, où j’ai déjà fait des stages de création. J’en profiterai pour travailler sur mes pièces pour la réalisation d’un DVD en Surround 5.1.»

À mon sens, c’est la musique de l’avenir.

Review

Tom Sekowski, The WholeNote, no. 11:5, February 1, 2006

empreintes DIGITALes here presents the DVD-Audio format debut of two Canadian composers whose electroacoustic works have won awards the world over. Always looking forward, their music is as challenging as it is rewarding.

Gilles Gobeil hits the mark with his Trilogie d’ondes. The trilogy is made up of three distinct works featuring the ondes Martenot, played by Suzanne Binet-Audet. Voix blanche [White voice] deals with an excruciating slow build-up to a crescendo that really never occurs. This is a piece where the ondes reigns supreme. Its rich timbral qualities, its unmistakable glitchy, percolating sound and its fantastic ability to blend in with the tape are riveting. With its unnerving climax that comes and goes over and over again, this is without a doubt the most unsettling piece in the trilogy. By the time we get to Là où vont les nuages… [Where the Clouds Go…] the mood that is fashioned leaves much guesswork at the forefront of the listener’s mind. Climaxes come in series of bursts and we are left wondering what will Gobeil do next? In the final movement, the longest piece in the trilogy, La perle et l’oubli [Pearl and Oblivion] the ondes is disguised as the soul in a journey on its way to incarnation and when the shimmering sampling of scream-like voices breaks through, you know the composer has hit a nerve. With perfect precision and undying sense of drama, Trilogie d’ondes is a major work in Gobeil’s catalogue of masterpieces.

With perfect precision and undying sense of drama, Trilogie d’ondes is a major work in Gobeil’s catalogue of masterpieces.

Kritik

Matthias, Music Scan, January 13, 2006

Wie oft hat man schon über Aufnahmen gelesen, die das Liveerlebnis praktisch 1:1 transportieren sollen und sowohl akustisch als auch rezeptionsästhetisch mit einem Liveerlebnis vergleichbar seien. Meist steckt dahinter nicht viel mehr als eine billige Marketingschreibe, die mediokre Aufnahme mit Authentizität und akustischer Fülle anreichern möchte. Gilles Gobeil, einer der führenden kanadischen Komponisten im Kontext der elektro-akustischen Musik, hat diesen wahrhaftigen Livesound mit seiner neuen DVD-Audio mit einer 24-bit Auflösung tatsächlich umsetzen können. Nicht nur werden räumliche Klangdimensionen geschaffen, die mit den meisten CD Aufnahmen nicht annährend erreicht werden, sondern auch die klangliche Präsenz und die gespiegelte Brillanz der kleinen Details und Nuance, die auch diese Kompositionen von Gobeil spannender und interessanter gestalten als eine Vielzahl von Werken ähnlich gesinnter Kollegen. Die Trilogie d’ondes schließt drei Kompositionen ein (wer hätte es gedacht), die eigens für die ondes Martenot Spielerin Suzanne Binet-Audet geschrieben wurden. Allen drei Stücken ist eine gewisse Dramatik und auch Theatralik gemein, die sich durch das Zusammenspiel aus maschinellen Elementen und scheinbar zufälligen Klangmustern ergeben. Stets wird stark mit Dynamikschwankungen gespielt, die diese Platte stets interessant und entdeckungsreich gestalten und den geneigten Hörer niemals zur Ruhe kommen lassen. Vielmehr wird man von plötzlichen Klangeruptionen überrascht, die in ihrer Intensität die gesamte musikalische Bandbreite abdecken. Freunde elektro-akustischer Musik werden Gobeil schon kennen und schätzen, aber auch außerhalb dieses kleinen und bisweilen etwas inzestuös anmutenden Kreises sollten die Werke des Kanadiers für Aufsehen beziehungsweise Aufhören sorgen. 8.5/10

Stets wird stark mit Dynamikschwankungen gespielt, die diese Platte stets interessant und entdeckungsreich gestalten und den geneigten Hörer niemals zur Ruhe kommen lassen.

Lancements

Gilles Boisclair, SOCAN, Paroles & Musique, no. 12:4, December 15, 2005

Quatrième disque de Gilles Gobeil, Trilogie d’ondes comprend trois pièces composées pour l’ondiste Suzanne Binet-Audet. Mariage des ondes Martenot avec le matériau sonore produit par la bande électroacoustique, ces œuvres sont faites de rupture, de fracas et de silence. De ces télescopages sonores se dégage une signature très personnelle. Fait à noter, Trilogie d’ondes est la seconde production d’empreintes DIGITALes disponible en format DVD-Audio «Advanced Resolution», offrant ainsi une écoute comparable à celle du concert.

… ces œuvres sont faites de rupture, de fracas et de silence… une signature très personnelle.

Le CD de la semaine

Steven Hearn, Octopus, November 29, 2005

Ce [DVD-Audio], également DVD-ROM et [DVD-Vidéo], regroupe trois œuvres d’une grande unité du canadien Gilles Gobeil pour ondes martenot et son interprète Suzanne Binet-Audet.

Avant d’entrer dans le vif du sujet, permettons-nous un bref rappel historique: Maurice Martenot (1898-1980), violoncelliste de formation et radiotélégraphiste pour l’armée française pendant la première guerre mondiale, fut séduit par la vibration électronique mobile et particulièrement pure des nouvelles lampes triodes avec lesquelles il travaillait. Il cherche à en faire la base d’un véritable instrument de musique pouvant répondre à la plus fine intention expressive d’un musicien. Jusqu’à sa mort en 1980, Maurice Martenot s’emploiera inlassablement à perfectionner ses ondes. À travers ces transformations, l’instrument - toujours monodique - s’additionnera de résonateurs acoustiques et sera pourvu de deux modes de jeu: l’un à la bague, qui permet de multiples possibilités de glissandi et l’autre au clavier, qui se prête à une plus grande virtuosité. Suzanne Binet-Audet (ici, l’interprète) dira: «Le Martenot se distingue par une approche sensorielle intimement liée au système nerveux de l’interprète et capable de répondre par sa plasticité à sa moindre intention musicale.»

Mais revenons à Trilogie d’ondes! L’onde y est utilisée dans la plus stricte définition de Suzanne Binet-Audet! Son emploi est si riche qu’il est parfois difficile de la reconnaître! Le geste, qui préside à tout le cycle, est le dialogue de deux thèmes (dixit le compositeur et son interprète), cellules récurrentes de l’œuvre: celui de l’arrachement, déployé selon un long glissando ascendant, et celui de l’âme, plus harmonique et doux, qui permet une respiration après la douleur de l’arrachement et qui, dans son lyrisme en demi-teinte, est plus serein. Ces thèmes pour ondes se fondent, dans leur succession, avec le matériau riche en timbres divers, de la bande magnétique. Il s’agit d’un disque du sentiment, de la justesse expressive plus que de la démonstration d’une virtuosité technique. Si le résultat peut paraître, sur le plan sonore, abstrait, il existe ici une dramatique certaine qui, sans parler de narration, fait évoluer l’auditeur dans des états émotionnels très différents. Dans un même élan lyrique et poétique, le travail de Gobeil pourrait se définir comme une exploration et incarnation de l’âme, voyage ou quête de soi… Les ondes Martenot, tour à tour agressives et mystérieuses, calmes et inquiétantes, dans un parcours initiatique qui figure l’aventure mystique d’une conscience en questionnement. Parfois, l’onde Martenot évoque la voix humaine; parfois, le disque semble nous murmurer quelques paroles à l’oreille… Saurez-vous les entendre?

Dans un même élan lyrique et poétique, le travail de Gobeil pourrait se définir comme une exploration et incarnation de l’âme, voyage ou quête de soi…

Caleidoscoop

Jan Willem Broek, De Subjectivisten, November 19, 2005

De Canadees Gilles Gobeil (1954) behoort naast Robert Normandeau en Francis Dhomont tot mijn favoriete componisten op het prestigieuze Empreintes Digitales label. Ze maken allen typisch, eigenzinnige elektro-akoestische muziek. Die van Gobeil is meestal van het “deur dichtslaan”-principe; hiermee bedoel ik dat wanneer er een bepaald krachtig geluid is, deze in één klap overgaat in een paar tellen stilte om vervolgens met een volgend krachtig geluid verder te gaan. Een abrupt einde en een spontaan begin, een fijne klap in je gezicht. Dit maakt zijn muziek doorgaans bloedstollend spannend en mooi. Overigens doen veel andere artiesten op dat label dit ook. Op zijn Trilogie d’ondes uit 2005, een dvd audio, dvd video of anders als 320kbps mp3 (op dezelfde schijf te vinden), schrijft hij muziek voor de Ondes-Martenot, één van de eerste elektronische instrumenten uit de jaren 30 van Maurice Martenot. Deze wordt bespeeld door 63-jarige Suzanne Binet-Audet. Gobeil manipuleert dit met hoofdzakelijk de computer, maar ook met synthesizers en samples, tot zijn typerende musique concrète. Het is een mooie samensmelting van oude en nieuwe technieken, gemaakt door 2 briljante academici. Door dit samen gaan van techniek scheppen ze een soort superinstrument, dat niet te vergelijken valt met wat dan ook. Op dit formaat, de audio dvd, komt het geluid extra indrukwekkend over. Ondanks het medium, mis je de ontbrekende beelden niet. Het is een thriller vol originele geluiden, die zonder beelden al spannend genoeg is. Deze muziek heeft ergens wel een link naar de klassieke, maar is door de vele technieken met recht nieuwe muziek te noemen. Hier gaan intelligentie, schoonheid en creativiteit op weergaloze wijze samen.

Hier gaan intelligentie, schoonheid en creativiteit op weergaloze wijze samen.

Paul Dolden vs Gilles Gobeil

Tobias Bolt, quietnoise, November 18, 2005

Tape-Aufnahmen als Basis und das Tonstudio als unverzichtbares kreatives Element bilden die gemeinsamen Ausgangspunkte für die beiden zeitgenössischen Komponisten aus Kanada, deren musikalische Manifestationen in Form zweier Alben auf empreintes DIGITALes unterschiedlicher nicht ausfallen konnten: Gilles Gobeil und Paul Dolden.

Paul Dolden, zu dessen Markenzeichen ja ein gewisser, nun, milde ausgedrückt, verschwenderischer Kompositionsstil zählt und der hier – unter anderem – sein, zumindest der Länge nach, umfangreichstes Werk vorlegt. Knapp 50 Minuten messen die vier Teile von Entropic Twilights, in welche per exzessivem Multitracking 400 Jahre Musikgeschichte hineinkondensiert wurden. In ein paar Takten vom Kontrapunkt zum Metal-Riff. Rock, Oper, Klassik, Pop, Avantgarde – alles da, ein riesiges virtuelles Orchester, das ein schräges, knallbuntes Musical intoniert. Unglaublich perfekt zusammengebastelt, rotiert dieses Stil-Stroboskop permanent auf Höchstgeschwindigkeit – nach wenigen Minuten ist meine Wahrnehmungsschmerzgrenze erreicht. Selbst das Cover ist zuviel des Guten. Aber: ich persönlich hege ja keinen Zweifel daran, dass immer dort, wo sich Nerdtum mit Größenwahn paaren, es zwangsweise interessant wird. Zum Beispiel: um eine in hunderten Arbeitsstunden perfekt hergestellte Modelleisenbahnanlage geil zu finden, muss ich mich nicht zwangsweise für Züge interessieren. Vorsicht: ich möchte Dolden jetzt nicht auf einen autistischen Nerd reduzieren, nichts läge mir ferner. Er hat, trotz eines leichten Hanges zur Überironisierung, offenbar eine bemerkenswert klare Vision, die er künstlerisch wie auch technisch in einzigartiger Weise umsetzen kann. Und ich habe großen Respekt, vor dem, was er geschaffen hat, auch wenn ich auf rein musikalischer Ebene einen unmittelbaren Zugang nicht immer einfach finden und vieles nicht nachvollziehen kann. Was naturgemäß auch noch für die beiden abschließenden, Mitte der Neunziger entstandenen, Stücke The Gravity of Silence. Resonance #5 und The Heart Tears itself Apart with the Power of its own Muscle. Resonance #3 gilt.

Ganz anders geht es mir mit Gilles Gobeil, der seine zwischen 1988 und 2002 komponierten Werke unter dem Titel Trilogie d’ondes in 48kHz/24Bit-Qualität auf DVD veröffentlichen lässt. Seine Handschrift drückt sich in einer sehr linear strukturierten Herangehensweise aus, innerhalb derer er in den vorliegenden drei Stücken Tape-Aufnahmen und von Suzanne Binet-Audet gespielte Ondes Martenot (ein monophones elektronisches Instrument, das Ender der Zwanziger-Jahre von Maurice Martenot entwickelt wurde, ein seltsamer Hybrid aus Theremin und Klavier) wiederholt zu sich langsam steigernden Crescendi montiert. Intensivierung, Klimax und Stille bilden in ihrer Repetition schon bald einen sehr natürlichen Prozess, der, obschon stellenweise eine orchestrale Form annehmend, in seiner Intention eindeutig minimalistischer Prägung ist und zu dem ich schnell eine intuitive Beziehung aufbauen kann, nämlich schon während des ersten Hördurchganges. Auch nutzt Gobeil ebenfalls exzessiv die Möglichkeiten des Studios – alle hier enthaltenen Aufnahmen wurden übrigens in den letzten beiden Jahren neu eingespielt und abgemischt bzw. nachbearbeitet – allerdings setzt er seinen Perfektionismus, im Gegensatz zu Dolden, dem hier mehr an einer Ironisierung durch Überhöhung und Übertreibung gelegen ist, zu einer konzentrierten Aufmerksamkeitsfokussierung ein und schafft so ein elektro-akustisches Meisterwerk.

… zu einer konzentrierten Aufmerksamkeitsfokussierung ein und schafft so ein elektro-akustisches Meisterwerk.

Review

François Couture, AllMusic, November 15, 2005

Two years after the release of Le contrat, Gilles Gobeil’s collaboration with René Lussier, Trilogie d’ondes features the composer coming back to the style we are used to: wide sonic gestures, sound paint thrown left and right by the bucket, doors slamming shut to separate noise from silence. Here, though, Gobeil manages to sound much less caricatured than on … dans le silence de la nuit… These three pieces are filled with subtle details and more nuanced dynamics. Most of all, they all feature Suzanne Binet-Audet, virtuoso of the Ondes Martenot. Maurice Martenot’s uncanny instrument combines the magnetic eeriness of the theremin with the practicality of the keyboard. It can do a lot more than the spooky suspense soundtrack lead lines it is best known for, as Binet-Audet majestically proves. Voix blanche (White Voice) and Là où vont les nuages… (Where Clouds Go) were originally written in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but the recordings presented here are fresh. The Ondes Martenot’s role is equal to the tape’s, the two parts intermingling in surprising ways. Composed a decade later, La perle et l’oubli (Pearl and Oblivion) comes closer to a cinema for the ear in which Binet-Audet’s instrument plays the lead character. Rich and skillful, this piece ranks among Gobeil’s most gripping and mature works. The Montréal label empreintes DIGITALes has released Trilogie d’ondes as a DVD with DVD-audio, DVD-video and DVD-rom partitions. In addition to the 48 kHz/24-bit stereo version, it also contains 320 kbps MP3’s of the three works and a 38-picture slide show capturing the ondes Martenot from every possible angle.

Rich and skillful… ranks among Gobeil’s most gripping and mature works.

Critique

Mathias, dMute, November 15, 2005

Échelonnée entre 1988 et aujourd’hui, l’écriture de cette Trilogie d’ondes, triptyque pour ondes Martenot et bande magnétique, écrit pour l’ondiste Suzanne Binet-Audet, ne semble pourtant pas sujette au passage du temps. Au contraire, on croirait qu’un seul et même geste préside aux trois mouvements, tant se manifeste une unité d’écriture tangible entre les trois mouvements, y compris pour le profane que je suis, et qui s’essaie à parler de musique plus contemporaine que véritablement électronique, mais qu’importe.

Voilà donc nos trois pièces écrites dans des contextes fort différents les uns des autres, écrites en des lieux distincts (Montréal, l’Europe), créées lors d’événements eux aussi forts distincts (des festivals de musique électroacoustique européens et canadiens) et initialement publiés sur des disques eux aussi distincts. Les sources d’inspiration elles aussi varient du tout au tout, puisque Voix blanche est une commande de Suzanne Binet-Audet tandis que le dernier volet, La perle et l’oubli, est écrit à partir d’un texte gnostique du deuxième siècle, L’hymne de la perle, attribué à Bardesane.

Malgré cette diversité de contextes, les gestes d’écriture mis en jeu dans les trois volets se rejoignent et forment un tout. Le principal, qui préside à tout le cycle, est le dialogue de deux thèmes (dixit le compositeur et son interprète) qui sont également les cellules récurrentes de l’œuvre: le thème de l’arrachement, déployé selon un long glissando ascendant, et le thème de l’âme, plus harmonique et doux, ensemble égrené de quatre notes qui apportent une respiration après la violence de l’arrachement et qui, dans son lyrisme en demi-teinte, est plus épelé que linéaire. Ces thèmes pour ondes se fondent, dans leur succession, avec le matériau riche en timbres divers, de la bande magnétique, ou s’en dégagent, au gré des inflexions des pièces. Le tout s’organise de manière équilibrée autour de Là où vont les nuages…, puisque ce second volet privilégie le thème de l’âme, tandis que la qualité de la bande magnétique se distingue ici des deux autres volets, par sa variété supérieure de couleurs, d’harmoniques et de timbres.

Le plus important reste que ces trois pièces tirent un large parti des possibilités des ondes Martenot, tour à tour violentes et mystérieuses, douces et inquiétantes, dans un parcours opératique qui semble figurer l’aventure mystique d’une âme ou d’une conscience. Quand enfin a lieu la dernière apparition du thème de l’âme, destiné à clore la trilogie, la tonalité s’enfonce vers des octaves plus graves et la pièce omet la dernière des quatre notes: de cette absence jaillit une sombre aura qui résonne comme une disparition incommensurable, un désastre qui, pour infinitésimal qu’il semble, est gros d’une catastrophe secrète, encore à venir.

… tour à tour violentes et mystérieuses, douces et inquiétantes […] qui semble figurer l’aventure mystique d’une âme ou d’une conscience.

Muzikale Delicatessen: Kritiek

NPS Radio 4, November 8, 2005

In dit programma hoort u regelmatig muziek van jonge veelal niet muzikaal getrainde componisten: elektronische muziek gemaakt met de laptop. Soms fastfood, of een rustige snack tussendoor, maar minstens net zo vaak niet te versmaden. Vanavond aandacht voor de Haute Cuisine: elektronische werken van Gilles Gobeil en Hanna Hartman. Hun beider CV verraadt al dat het hier om zware kost gaat. […]

Het Canadese label empreintes DIGITALes is sinds haar oprichting in 1990 uitgegroeid tot een toonaangevend label op het gebied van moderne elektro-akoestische muziek. Sinds begin 2005 worden de nieuwe releases uitgebracht op DVD-Audio: een speciaal type DVD dat hoogwaardige audio kan bevatten. Voor de kenners onder u hebben we het dan over 24-bit audio, 6 kanaals en tot 96kHz. Kortom: elektronische muziek in de hoogst mogelijke kwaliteit en desgewenst in surround.

Onlangs verscheen op dat empreintes DIGITALes-label de CD Trilogie d’ondes van de Canadese componist Gilles Gobeil, een zwaargewicht binnen de elektro-akoestische muziek en veelvuldig gelauwerd. Het is een trilogie waarin een zeldzaam instrument centraal staat: de Ondes Martenot, een toetsinstrument dat voor het eerst het licht zag in 1928. En ‘licht’ heeft hier een extra lading: zijn uitvinder Maurice Martenot werkte in de eerste wereldoorlog als telegrafist en haalde zijn inspiratie uit de (onbedoelde) klank van de net uitgevonden ‘triode lampen’ waar hij mee werkte.

Vanaf 1928 tot zijn dood in 1980 heeft hij het instrument verder uitgebouwd. De laatste versie is dan ook een transistormodel. Het monofone instrument wordt deels met de toetsen bespeeld, maar ook met metalen ring die het klankkarakter kan beïnvloeden.

We laten van die Trilogie d’ondes nu het eerste en laatste deel horen. De ondes Martenot wordt bespeeld door Suzanne Binet-Audet, de compositie is van Gilles Gobeil. Allereerst Voix blanche gevolgd door het derde deel La perle et l’oubli.

Het is een trilogie waarin een zeldzaam instrument centraal staat: de ondes Martenot

Kritik

ASB, De:Bug, November 1, 2005

Auf seiner zweiten DVD-Audio präsentiert das kanadische Elektroakustik-Label Kompositionen für Tapes und die Ondes Martenot, einem sehr frühen monophon elektronischen Tasteninstrument, benannt nach seinem Erfinder Maurice Martenot, für das auch Messiaen, Honegger und Varèse Stücke geschrieben haben. Radiohead verwendeten das Instrument für „Kid A“. Gobeils Musik ist äußerst visuell, wobei die elektroakustischen Klänge der Tapes und die digitalen Manipulationen für eine sehr angespannte und komplexe abstrakte Atmosphäre sorgen. Harter, aber richtig spannender Stoff. 3/5

Gobeils Musik ist äußerst visuell…

Review

Massimo Ricci, Touching Extremes, November 1, 2005

The sound world of Gilles Gobeil mostly revolves around the philosophy of “break” or “rupture”, where “large-scale musical gestures are developed and brought to their acme before being immediately crushed to silence.” This DVD-Audio contains three impressive tracks scored for taped/computerized sounds and Ondes Martenot, the latter fabulously handled by Suzanne Binet-Audet, who studied the instrument with the inventor himself; the resulting soundscapes affect our sense of doubt deeply, carrying an unforeseeable, almost fearful aura which puts them on the same level of excellence of the best electroacoustic mavericks we highly revere. Voix blanche is a highly creative mixture of slowly unfolding irregular drones and digital descriptions of an outside world we are not allowed to judge, where the violence of facts is just a pretext to transform our susceptibility through the congruous reward of a rehabilitated brain, able to classify any new colour just to achieve the pleasure of scare. Là ou vont les nuages… sees more dramatically intriguing junctions among the railways of hope and despair; slow glissando vapors meet pre-recorded voices, strings, car horns and percussive outbursts in a monstrous acousmatic pandemonium which has one reeling punchdrunk at times, oneirically displaced moments later. La perle et l’oubli is based on Hymn of the Pearl, a gnostic text by Bardesanes, and in its 21+ minutes length is maybe the narrative high of the whole set, alternating the feeling of total loneliness with outgrowths of sapient, relentless sonic activity in which samples of eternal void and heartbreaking choirs by invisible creatures are underlined by a masterful use of the “event-silence-event” consecutio; the striking puissance of these explorations of the listener’s psyche closes Trilogie d’ondes with an exclamation mark, immediately awarding it a “classic” stamp.

… the striking puissance of these explorations of the listener’s psyche closes Trilogie d’ondes with an exclamation mark, immediately awarding it a “classic” stamp.

Review

Ingvar Loco Nordin, Sonoloco Record Reviews, November 1, 2005

This is one of two first DVD-Audio discs from empreintes DIGITALes, the other one being Robert Normandeau’s Puzzles.

Gilles Gobeil is a well-known composer of the more refined, aristocratic type of electroacoustics that we have become accustomed to through the French and the Canadians in particular: intellectual, philosophical high-brow sound art that is truly enjoyable on many levels, of which one do not tire. Receiving these high class CDs from time to time is like enjoying a membership in an exclusive men’s club of 19th century London. It’s exciting but comfortable, daring but rather safe. I like it very much, the same way I like to go hiking in Lapland, staying nights in the huts, enjoying the company of fellow nature lovers and hardship flirters from all over Europe who don’t want to risk their lives unnecessarily, but enjoy an occasional glacier, despite the hidden cracks and crevasses…

On this DVD-Audio Gilles Gobeil excels in his interest in the ondes Martenot; the old electronic instrument. The Ondes Martenot is briefly described thus at the Electronic Music Foundation site: “Designed and built in 1928 in France by Maurice Martenot, the ondes Martenot (Martenot Waves) was used by Olivier Messiaen, Darius Milhaud, Edgar Varèse, Pierre Boulez, and other well-known composers. In its most recognizable form, it was a keyboard instrument with some unusual performance features, among them a finger-ring attached to a ribbon that could be pulled to achieve portamento and other pitch-bending effects, a lever located under the keyboard to control timbral change, and a loudness controller to the left of the keyboard.”

Jeff Snyder, Assistant Director of the Music Technology Program at Lebanon Valley College of Pennsylvania, has written the following narrative about the development and functionality of this early electronic instrument: “At the end of World War I, Maurice Martenot (1898-1980), a sergeant in charge of a wireless station, noticed the purity of vibrations produced by radio tubes (a recent invention). This led to a series of investigations in sound and electronics. He presented his new musical instrument to the public in May of 1928 at the Paris Opera. This was the first concert with an electronic instrument. He called his invention the Ondes Martenot. It was monophonic with low note priority. The early Martenot was played two ways: 1. At the keyboard (7 octaves). The speaker was separate. The player’s right hand played the keyboard while the left hand controlled dynamics and timbre by manipulating switches that controlled filters. The keyboard allowed lateral movement of the keys allowing the player to have vibrato by wiggling his finger. 2. The ‘speaking’ play. A ribbon (also 7 octaves) allowed inflections like a voice or stringed instrument. It allowed for a wide glissando where the player moved a finger ring attached to the metal ribbon, which controlled the frequency. The left hand functioned the same as the keyboard mode. The left hand controlled a key, which served the same as the bow of a violinist or the breath of a wind player. With a touch of the finger, the player controlled the intensity ranging from PPP to FFF. It also controlled the attack. The left hand also controlled the loudspeaker buttons, timbre, harmonics, etc. There was also a knee lever, which could be used instead, freeing the left hand to join the right. The Martenot was intended to become a member of the orchestral family, not to be used to create a new type of music. The tone was glass like. In 1938, Martenot, then a professor at the Paris Conservatory, built a special Martenot to be used for microtonal Hindustani music. Hundreds of symphonic works, operas, ballets, film scores, and other works were composed for the Martenot by composers such as Messiaen, Milhaud, Varèse, Boulez, Honegger and others. The Theremin is similar in the way it produced tone. It is amazing how present day synthesizers have many of the controller functions of the Martenot: ribbons, switches, knee levers - and supposedly Kurzweil is coming out with a keyboard that has a ring.”

Gilles Gobeil has collaborated with famous Ondes Martenot player Suzanne Binet-Audet in all the works presented on this DVD-Audio. Suzanne Binet-Audet has in fact studied the instrument and its musical implications with the inventor of the instrument, Maurice Martenot.

The first piece is Voix blanche from 1988-89, with the subtitle “À la mémoire de Serge Garant.” As is also stated in the booklet — i.e., the foldout hard-paper Jean-François Denis cover! -, this work has been heard before, premiered in 1988 at the Salle Claude-Champagne in Montréal, and on presented on CD back in 1989, on Cultures électroniques 4 as 2e Prix de la Musique électroacoustique mixte, but this particular version was realized by the composer as late as 2004 and mixed in its final form in January of 2005. Besides, it has never been heard in such a good-sounding shape before!

The beginning is pastoral, fresh with green plants and densely wooded forests, hiding many a secret existence: those specks of light dancing over the rocks in the meadow! The music wakes up in this natural bliss, its heart thumping, the score suddenly fresh with oxygen and dew! The very first bar of the music makes a wide gesture, opening our eyes to the scenery, which is half real, half myth: enchanted! The electronic music bends slightly downwards from its upward beginning, leveling out, short and well-marked bird chirps measuring time, while the Ondes Martenot — thin and elastic — rises slowly in a glissando, upwards, slowly upwards, as the electronic motion down under begins to circle like the current of water that disappears down the drain. Gobeil’s music grows granular, like the surface of the sun throw sooty glasses; that boiling motion of prickly elements — but in Gobeil’s world this property is cold, icy — more like myriads of distant stars… and in the following development I can no longer distinguish Martenot from Gobeil, so to say. It all comes together in a vibrant, soaring elasticity of audio, venomously beautiful, dangerously pleasant! I hear surfaces tilting, I see the dust sounds of gold, I piggyback off on the circumstances! I feel ballets in here, see motions around the premises, hands making signs, feet circling over a wooden floor; I hear the intermittent friction of ballet shoes and planks; a wheezing grayness, gravity focused through an act of utter equilibrium, all the way into the central star, gathering momentum way out from the most distant planets: the gyro of the solar system; the ultimate prayer wheel!

Gobeil and Suzanne Binet-Audet shape the moment wonderfully, at times merging so crazily that they become one and indistinguishable from each other, only to pry lapsing durations open in disparate tendencies, torque and pull straining space and perception ominously, only a distant murmur rising under the horizon like the wasted songs of renounced gods as time runs towards the vanishing point… The White Voice!

The second work is Là où vont les nuages… from 1990-91, dedicated to Suzanne Binet-Audet. This time the Ondes Martenot is linked to a MIDI converter, opening the utilization of synthesizer, sampler and a sound processing unit to Binet-Audet. This work has been released on an earlier empreintes DIGITALes CD, but as was the case with Voix blanche is the case with Là où vont les nuages…; a contemporary makeover by the composer, who had it overhauled in 2004 and re-recorded in early 2005, collaboratively mixed by Gilles Gobeil and Suzanne Binet-Audet. Here is the result, for our ears only.

It staggers and winds through its beginnings, through a sonic deliverance that could have been filtered out of a steel factory havoc, reduced and radicalized into a swelling motion that reminds me some of the shaman realms of Rolf Enström’s Tjidtjag & Tjidtjaggaise; a mysterious widening of space and time — and I can’t refrain, either, from making an analogy to Stockhausen’s Sirius space ships gearing up! The sound is rich an sort of waiting — but there are audible footsteps in there, and a panting breath, for a while — so the human touch is there! There is lots of motion about this music; nothing stands still or stops, or if it does, something else moves on; you’re not completely left motionless at any time — but the sounds thin out drastically here and there; breaks that are slapped in the face by singular gold-crusted percussion beats. Several percussive layers are strewn about, achieving tearing, bent-away sensations — until water factory echoes put you right back into Tarkovsky’s Stalker, entering the Zone… Lone and distantly howling sounds are broken up by close and loud alarm clocks. A blind motion forces itself through the vicinity like a train without an engineer. These violent sounds are relieved by distant, meditative foghorns, and then you’re back with Stalker again… with Eduard Artemiev.

Là où vont les nuages… consists of a complex mix of impressions, but it never gets out of hand. It’s a merger of musique concrète and electronic music, perhaps a little too much on the wild side for my taste, but damn interesting and often surprising.

The last work is La perle et l’oubli, the one new work on this CD, achieved in 1999 — 2002. Still, this is a later mix, made by Gobeil in 2005. Gobeil says that this is “a personal interpretation of a Gnostic text from the 2nd century, entitled Hymn of the Pearl, attributed to Bardesanes”, who lived 152-222 Anno Domini.

A high-pitch swirl, a motion deep inside a blue sky — and a shower of gravel passing a barrel of steel, barely touching it, but making enough of a contact to raise a whisper out of gravel and steel, a passing shadow out of matter… The flapping of dark wings or the tails of a coat flying in the wind; an anatomy flexing by, a densification of matter on the move: a person out of the 18th century gliding by in a flash, gone like the improbability of its manifestation… Sudden showers of meteorites pass in silence; not a ripple… A murmur in the night; an ocean turning over in a dream, grunting. The idea of something lighting up inside a brain and dying away… and then: a stirring motion, a vibrating trill, a sound too organized not to be a sign of intelligent life: a message passing from brain to brain, from world to world… as the subway train blows by in a gush of warm air, screeching for help! A choir of wide open mouths behind the barricades are sensed more than heard; a tolling of silent bells, teeth slowly closing the only escape, swallowing the words which were so cleverly lined-up, drowning the messages in saliva and crushing them in intestinal crunches…

Gobeil and Binet-Audet play hide-and-seek amongst colored silences, soft walls of under-the-breath timbres that are scratched by all but imperceptible razor sharp Martenot incisions… blood gushing out of inaudible openings in the night…

An explosion! … and crowds stirring inside an oil painting: maroon melodies tenderly brought about: Binet-Audet’s Masses and Motets out of the 15th century moving like black balcony curtains with figures sewn in silver threads… infants dying in the cold Medieval winters of Europe, while the living have to go on breathing, prisoners harnessed by this relentless in- and exhaling; this curse of life in the flesh.

This musical collaboration between Gilles Gobeil and Suzanne Binet-Audet is extraordinarily successful, visionary, imaginative, enchanting… yes, artistically liberating and both refined and defined in a solid surge of senseless serenity of flesh and spirit; a dance macabre of matter and an interstellar ballet of the soul, winding down into the slow and receding dark thoughts of a decaying mankind at the end of the universe…

… a dance macabre of matter and an interstellar ballet of the soul…

Review

Frans de Waard, Vital, no. 495, October 5, 2005

Of much, much more interest is the [DVD-Audio] by Gilles Gobeil, with three pieces for the Ondes Martenot, one of the first electronic music instruments, already built in the early thirties, if I’m not mistaken. The Ondes Martenot is played by Suzanne Binet-Audet, and Gobeil processes these sounds via all sort of manipulation, mostly computer me thinks. In Là où vont les nuages… the instrument is linked to samplers, synthesizers and a sound processing unit, and the two melt together. This is serious music, with the capital ‘S.’ In terms of academic approach, this seems to me a continuation of whatever empreintes DIGITALes has been doing for the last decade. The up and down gliding of tones and sounds: it’s something that has been explored before too, but Gobeil’s electronic work, linking ‘ancient’ technology and to new technology is a very [good] work, which sounds — on this DVD — great. No images, just music is here…

… linking ‘ancient’ technology and to new technology…
Blog
  • Wednesday, October 16, 2013 / In concert

    Works for ondes Martenot by Gilles Gobeil and performed by Suzanne Binet-Audet will be presented at five concerts during a tour of Germany from October 26 to November 8, 2013. Acousmatic works will complement the programs. The tour will sto… More

  • Thursday, August 18, 2011 / In concert

    Gilles Gobeil and onde Martenot player Suzanne Binet-Audet will present seven concerts in the UK from November 12 to 23, 2011: Edinburgh (12), Glasgow (14), Keele (16), Bangor (17), Birmingham (19), Norwich (21), Scarborough (23). In these … More

  • Monday, January 23, 2006 / General

    The 9th Opus Prizes winners were announced yesterday, January 22, 2006, in Montréal. The “Concert of the Year – actuelle and electroacoustic musics” category goes to the Theresa Transistor quartet (Christian Bouchard, Christian Calon, Mario… More