Premiere of The Construction of an Imaginary Acoustic Space
The Construction of an Imaginary Acoustic Space, a new work by ACPA PhD Candidate Gabriel Paiuk was premiered last Saturday at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. The piece was commissioned by the österreichisches ensemble für neue musik for their second yearly concert series.
Musical sound as an imaginary realm
The title of the work is to be understood more as a question than as a statement. The piece aims to investigate the perceptual elements that constitute musical sound as a detached, imaginary realm. Furthermore it aims to inquire into the role of technological mediation in pervading this imaginary field. Taking as an axis the familiar sound of a string ensemble, the work investigates the role of technologies of sound mediation in modulating our engagement with sounds present in our widespread culture of music circulation.
A ‘salon orchestra’ ensemble
The work is written for an ensemble of six strings, trombone, clarinet and piano plus one soundtrack “operator” which manipulates a digital and an analogue soundtrack comprising recordings of the actual ensemble, registers and artifacts of the technologies used to reproduce its sound and extracts of audio belonging to the history of popular string orchestras in widespread media. The superimposition of these registers brings up a friction between the affective and codified aspects inherent in them.
Oenm
Österreichisches Ensemble für neue Musik (OENM) has been promoting the performance of new music since its creation over thirty-five years ago. During this time, the ensemble has built an international reputation as one of the leading ensembles in the field of contemporary music. In addition to performances throughout the world, OENM regularly performs at the Salzburg and Bregenz Festivals.
Gabriel Paiuk
Gabriel Paiuk is a composer and sound artist whose work explores the way listening is entwined with material conditions, protocols and notions of sound mediation. It takes the form of sound installations, compositions for instruments and electronics and collaborations with other disciplines.
