Perpetuum spirae features radiolarians, unicellular micro-organisms that produce symmetrical and spherical silica skeletons, the variety and complexity of which is quite impressive. Think of underwater snowflakes. In the 19th century, the naturalist Ernst Haeckel identified hundreds of shapes. Among the most fascinating ones are skeletons that encapsulate a miniature version of themselves, like possibly infinite Russian dolls. This fractal shape gave me the idea of a work made by overlaying one sound with larger and smaller versions of itself.

I chose a sequence made on the Buchla 200 synthesizer as a starting point. I transposed that sequence several times and in extreme ways, then overlaid all these instances. Totally unexpected sounds emerged from the process, allowing me to create a plethora of variations for every dimension. I looked for mineral sounds to translate the idea of shells clinking one against another, like radiolarians’ silica skeletons. The ocean can be heard in the background as waves that occasionally “overturn” the properties of the environment, shedding new light on the underwater landscape.

— Ana Dall’Ara-Majek [English translation: François Couture, xii-23]

Perpetuum spirae was realized in 2023 at Studio Blue Spider in Montréal (Québec) from recordings made in 2022 at the Elektronmusikstudion (EMS) in Stockholm (Sweden). Thanks to the entire EMS team. The realization of this piece was made possible thanks to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ).

Preparation

• June 27 – July 10, 2022, Elektronmusikstudion (EMS), Stockholm (Sweden)

Composition

• June – August 2023, Studio Blue Spider, Montréal (Québec)

Mastering

• February 14, 2024, Dominique Bassal • Studio Inverse, Montréal (Québec)