Gênes, 22 septembre – 22 octobre
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Ècoutez la composition premier prix du concours de hyperviolon
Excerpt from the first prize composition of the hyperviolin competition
Dalla Sua Orbita was expressly composed in the spring of 2007 for the 1st Hyperviolin Composition Competition (organised by the Genoa Conservatory “N. Paganini” in the framework of Paganiana) with the objective of integrating external control parameters into the compositional structure and establishing continuous feedback between action on the instrument and the electronic processing of the material generated. Aspects concerning instrumental technique, such as the position and movement of the bow on the strings, or the simple movement of the left hand along the neck of the instrument according to positions and fingerings indicated in the score, become coding engines for the real-time processing of the sound. The player is no longer just responsible for performing the instrumental part as his movements and interpretative choices are directly and decisively involved in the construction of the tonal modifications and the spatial paths taken by the sound through the loudspeakers.  |
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From violin to hyperviolin The main idea came up during a meeting between composer Roberto Doati and professor Antonio Camurri with the collaboration of the InfoMus Lab team of the University of Genoa. One of the most important problems at that time, though it still exists today, was to find a way of controlling the behaviour of the various conversion parameters of sound, both recorded and live, according to more natural articulations. Let me give an example: if I wanted to change the intensity of an electronic “phrase”, I would normally turn a knob or move a slider on a console. From the kinetic point of view, however, this behaviour would be very simple, repetitive and, especially, artificial, that is, without the “naturalness” that only people playing an instrument can achieve. Therefore it was asked to professor Camurri's team, especially Matteo Ricchetti, to come up with a system for detecting the movements of a violinist and use it to control the electronic part. As an example it was used a composition for violin and electronics that Doati was writing at that time. The resulting interactive system comprises two small objects: a small and lightweight bracelet which is attached to the player's right wrist with Velcro in order to detect the angle of incidence of the bow on the strings and a microled fitted under the scroll of the violin in order to “capture” the movement of the left hand along the fingerboard. This information is sent to a small box which transforms it into a “language” known as MIDI which can be understood by the traditional sound processing programmes we use on our computers. This system provides a wide variety of articulations, depending on the positions that the violin score requires the player to assume, which can pilot any sound conversion parameter: pitch, time, speed, intensity, timbre, distribution and spatial movement between loudspeakers, etc.. This allows the composer to make use of a vast repertoire of movements that a live electronics player would never have been able to produce or manage. This is why the violin becomes a “hyperviolin”. |
