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BINARY OPPOSITIONS: Fifteen Sound Textures in 44 Corridors of a Poly-sonorous Multiverse
Consider the binary opposition in music between such factors as traditional tonality and modern pan-sonority: between natural and synthetic sounds, beauty and ugliness, celebration and satire. Consider also the opposition between contemporary and "primitive" musical cultures, between the Western and Eastern traditions, and between the orchestral and the electronic means of producing sound. The overall purpose of this work is to take various phrases, expressions and methods which would not otherwise easily co-exist and to blend them together in unified poly-sonority. "Wyschnegradsky compares musical poly-sonority with the concept of the Absolute, and equates it with … the point where all of music's dualisms are united and annulled." (See Ed Campbell's Boulez, Music and Philosophy, p. 65). In Kantian or Hegelian terms (or musicologically, in the terms of Adorno), the goal is to find a "transcendental" entry point into a certain region, or domain of thought and sound. On the other hand, this fusion and rendering can be considered as a satirical exploration, or parody, in part, of the very notion of any full expression of "the Absolute" in purely aural or sonic terms; or at the very least, it may be looked upon as an exploration of the binary opposition between parody and celebration, between seriousness and satire, or the unqualified affirmation of trans-universality and any attempt to ridicule such an idea.
The allusions and quotations in this work are altered by filters, changes in the pitch of parts of the audio files, changes in volume or dynamic emphases, slight tempo modifications, interaction with overlapping or accompanying audio files, changes in panning, and other "automation" parameters.
The specific content of the work consists of quotations and some additions for the sake of the unity. This is an example of poly-sonority or sound texture synthesis, a bit like Musique Concrete, but with more emphasis on the "musique" and less on the "concrete." Listeners may notice quotations from known works and composers: a symphony by Beethoven, Tyler Hughes' "Interpretations on Folk Melodies," and some quotes from more or less obscure works: electronic pieces, East Indian singing, atonal orchestral pieces, Cantonese opera, anthems, folk songs, an informal South African church hymn and so forth.
(All quotations and allusions in this work are from works in the public domain, approved by the original artist and/or in accordance with the "fair use" provisions of copyright law).
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- Genre
- Polysonority