Jean-Francois Charles's blog

From Evian to Shanghai

2009-11-03T11:10:00.006-05:00

On October 19th, the day before my concert, I had a coffee at the Park Hyatt Hotel, at the 87th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center.

I had taken my draft of Electroclarinet 1: I still had to clarify details of the score before the performance.

In the summer of 1993, I spent 10 weeks as a worker in the Evian bottling plant.

It was fun to think that both the water and myself had made the trip from the Alps to the highest tower in China!

From the Financial Center (center), you can contemplate the top of the Jin Mao Tower (right).

Two Cambridge clarinetists in Shanghai...

2009-10-26T15:59:00.003-04:00

One of the first things I discovered in Shanghai Electroacoustic Music Festival last week was that our Prisma concert would be followed 2 days later by Bang on a Can All-Stars! I chatted briefly with their sound engineer, but unfortunately didn't manage to meet with Evan Ziporyn: I had to leave to catch my plane before the beginning of their dress rehearsal... I hope we'll meet soon in Cambridge or Boston!

What is Electronic Music?

2009-10-11T13:17:00.002-04:00

I am very honored to be invited to perform during the 2009 Shanghai Electroacoustic Music Festival. Last week, Chen Qiangbin, director of the festival, sent me a questionnaire about electronic music. He will include answers by many composers and researchers in a publication. Read my responses below, and don't hesitate to leave a comment with your own vision...

One of the numerous electronic music instruments used by Pink Floyd on Dark Side of the Moon
EMS Synthi A ad picture CC license by Zebra Pares

1. your definition to electronic music?

Pure electronic music could be defined as music being produced solely by electronic means, like, for instance, Olivier Messiaen's Fête des Belles Eaux for six ondes Martenot (1937) or Karlheinz Stockhausen's Studie II, electronic music on tape (1954).
But I prefer a wider definition, encompassing music produced through the use of both electronic and acoustic means. In that respect, works such as Pierre Schaeffer's Étude aux Chemins de Fer ("Study of Railroads", 1948) and Les Paul and Mary Ford's version of Morgan Lewis and Nancy Hamilton's How High the Moon, (1951) are milestones in the history of electronic music. In these compositions, the electronic medium contributed in a unique way to the creative process.

2. your opinion on "electronic music and noise; sound equipment, multimedia, new media"?

Entertainment, live performers, improvisation, meditation.

3. please briefly describe the future of electronic music

Stellar.

4. please recommend a electronic music work, and your comment on it?

I encourage all of my students to listen actively to two masterpieces of 20th century music: Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge (1956) and Pink Floyd's Money (from the album The Dark Side of the Moon - 1973).

Gesang der Jünglinge is a poetic and dramatic piece of music. Stockhausen explores a wide range of relations between electronic sounds and the voice of a young boy. A continuum from pure sinusoids to white noise contrasts, interpolates, and merges with the richness of a human voice singing sacred texts or single phonemes.

In Money, the Pink Floyd artists and sound engineer Alan Parsons create a unique multi-layered sonic landscape. Listen to the contrasting spaces allocated to the different parts of the arrangement: the tight and fully panned introductory musique concrète, the delay and reverb on the voice, the wide enhancement of the solo tenor sax. Electronics are used in an effective way on the three choruses of David Gilmour's guitar solo: to the manual double tracking of the first chorus succeeds a striking tight space matched by a new distortion sound. In the third chorus, the space is opened up again (using notably analog automatic double tracking), and prepares the collage of voices that constitutes the coda.

5. what's the foundation to learn electronic music? is it necessary to learn classic music first?

Open your ears, that's the foundation. Then, do what Bach used to do: be aware of the most advanced developments in music technology, try the new gear, listen to the new sounds, and study the masters.

6. please talk about electronic, compute, hearing, technology and perception

Music is at its best when you forget about electronic, compute, hearing, technology and perception, but when you cry because it's so moving.

7. please let us know your personal understanding of electronic music.

My personal understanding changes from piece to piece, whether it is music I am listening to or producing. My understanding may even change when I listen to the same piece of music several times. The more that happens, the better the music. That happens all the time with Mozart.

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Meet Prisma in Shanghai

2009-09-28T10:22:00.001-04:00

Prisma is a group of composers and researchers dedicated to International Pedagogy and Research on Assisted Musical Systems. The next Prisma event is happening in Shanghai Conservatory as part of the 2009 Shanghai International Electroacoustic Music Week. From October 16th to 26th, you can attend workshops (including hands-on instruction by the best specialists of PWGL), a series of conferences, and concerts.
I have been invited with the following musicians and researchers:

Hans Tutschku, composer, Harvard University (USA)
Jacopo Baboni-Schilingi, composer, Conservatory of Montbeliard (France)
Orjan Sandred, composer, researcher, University of Manitoba (Canada)
Johannes Kretz, composer, researcher, University of Vienna (Austria)
Mikael Laurson, researcher, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland)
Carlos Caires, composer, Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa and CITAR - Research Center for Science and Technology in Art (Portugal)
Mika Kuuskankare, researcher, composer, Center for Music and Technology, Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland)

I'm looking forward to discovering the conservatory's facilities, and meeting both the students and the guest Chinese composers and researchers:

Feng Yin, researcher, Xiamen University, Institute of artificial intelligence, Group Art and Mind Lab
Jian Liu, Wuhan Conservatory, Director of the Computer Music Departement
Wing-wing Lee, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Head of Sound Design & Music Recording Department

Check out www.prisma-shanghai.org for more information.

What I'll be teaching

Here are some of the topics I proposed to address in my workshops. If you come, you can be certain that the content will be tailored to fit your needs!

Live Electronics with Max MSP & Jitter - beginners
Spectral Sound Processing with Max/MSP/Jitter, including audio freeze and time stretching - and the answers to all of the questions you may have after reading my Tutorial from the Computer Music Journal
Improvisation session with live electronics and traditional Chinese instruments
When and why use Max for Live

Shanghai Conservatory - 4 full days: October 16th to 19th.

What I'll be presenting

A few ideas I plan to incorporate in my intervention during the Prisma symposium:

Why you need Max 5: have fun with graphical sound processing in real time
Why you do not need Max 5: compose and perform a piece with live electronics
Why you need Max 5: to teach and to learn
What you do not need Max 5: flexibility is key

Shanghai Conservatory - October 20th, 2:30 to 3:45 pm

What I'll be performing

The organizer of the 2009 Shanghai International Electroacoustic Music Week invited me to perform a piece for clarinet and live electronics. Rather than playing an old piece such as Plex, I have been composing a new piece that will be entitled Electroclarinet 1.

Electroacoustic Music Center Shanghai - October 20th, 7:30pm

Electroclarinet 1 - Program notes

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote program notes that I kept fairly general given that the piece wasn't written yet... I hope I'll meet the requirements.

In Electroclarinet 1, Jean-François Charles presents his electronically enhanced clarinet. This exploration and combination of different sonic characters is also a reflection on the expressive power of electro-acoustic instruments.
Jean-François Charles belongs to the long tradition of composers who are also performers and instrument developers. He is fascinated by both the richness of acoustic instrument sounds and the ever-expanding possibilities offered by live electronics. In Electroclarinet 1, he shows that the expressivity so tactile in acoustical music (solos, chamber music, orchestra) may be just as palpable with new electronic sounds.

Perpetuum mobile - meditation for dancing clarinetist

2009-09-15T08:36:00.013-04:00

Above is the manuscript of Perpetuum mobile, the second part of PPP for dancing clarinetist.

The music is to be performed legato sempre using circular breathing. When the clarinetist reaches the end, s/he circles back to the top, and can play it for as long as desired.

The dance movement is notated in Labanotation / Kinetography Laban (just one side is notated). It should be looped as well. The movement should be very slow, inspired by the Butoh art of dancing.

Perpetuum mobile starts at 2:25 in the PPP video

This section of PPP is more minimalist than Stockhausen's In Freundschaft, Harlekin, Tanze Luzefa, and other innovative pieces created by Suzanne Stephens. If you're a clarinet player, I hope you enjoy performing it!

Robert Levin is a true music lover

2009-09-04T10:56:00.022-04:00

This fall of 2009, I am fortunate to be appointed head teaching fellow for Harvard's core course B-54: Chamber Music From Mozart to Ravel, taught by Robert Levin (Curriculum Vitae on Harvard Music Department's web site) (there is a shorter biography on wikipedia).

Attending a lecture by Robert Levin is a great experience. He believes that anyone can have fun listening to great music, and he is very talented to communicate his fascination for music. Whether you never listened to classical music in your life, or you are an accomplished musician, you will hear music differently after listening to him.

For this year's edition of the course, he chose to spend some time with the following pieces of chamber music:

Joseph Haydn String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 33/2, Hob. III:38 (“Joke”)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 25. Sonate in A: KV 256 for violin and piano
Franz Schubert Trio in E-flat Major, D 929 op. 100
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Second String Quartet
Robert Schumann Phantasiestücke Op. 73 for clarinet and piano
Johannes Brahms Sextett Nr. 2, Op. 36
Antonin Dvorak Quintet for 2 violins, viola, cello, and double bass, Op. 97
Claude Debussy Sonate pour Violoncelle et Piano
Maurice Ravel Histoires naturelles (voice & piano)

Well, today, he spoke a lot about Bach and the Beatles!

Picture copyright Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office - See this 2006 article in the Harvard Gazette

Robert Levin is an improvisor, and a rebel

Derek Bailey invited Robert Levin in his documentary On the edge, part 1 (first broadcast February 2, 1992 on the BBC). Although you could look at a short excerp on youtube (Robert Levin talks about improvisation), I strongly encourage you to watch the full 13 minutes on ubu: On the edge part 1. Robert Levin plays piano and is interviewed from 07:00 to 20:00. Enjoy!

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Sabaudia - the land of trees

2009-08-29T22:24:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, I played with the folk group Sabaudia. This friendly group of musicians and dancers performs traditional songs and dances from Haute-Savoie. It is with this group that I first performed out of Metropolitan France, in Guadeloupe and Denmark, in the early '90s.

The following pictures were taken by Martial Dray, thank you Martial!

Puppet - Manuscript (solo clarinet & dance)

2009-08-14T21:02:00.005-04:00

Puppet: the manuscript

Last week, I posted the live video recording of PPP for dancing clarinetist. The first part is called Puppet.

You can read on my manuscript score different layers composed between 2007 and 2009. I wrote the music in Helsinki in 2007, along with a naive puppet story and guidelines for the movement composition. I actually choreographed the piece between February and May 2009.

Studies for Dancing Clarinetist - PPP Video

2009-08-06T13:55:00.005-04:00

A few months ago, I invited you to the première performance of PPP, a series of three studies for dancing clarinetist. Here is the video, recorded live on May 2, 2009, in Lowell Hall (Cambridge).

Puppet
Perpetuum mobile (at 2:25)
Pipo (at 3:18)

Next week, I'm going to post on this blog an excerpt of the manuscript.

Learning Max from Scratch

2009-07-29T10:32:00.001-04:00

Since June 22nd, I have been a Teaching Assistant for the course Great Ideas in Computer Science with Java at Harvard Summer School.

During the first two lectures of the course, Pr. Henry Leitner introduced important concepts through programming in the Scratch environment. With Scratch, the students can focus on the notions of algorithm, conditions, loops, variables, without being overwhelmed by a complicated syntax. Scratch is very fun to use and makes it easy to embed images, sounds, and mouse- or keyboard-based interaction. Check out some examples of Scratch programs in these Galleries.

At the MIT and at Harvard, you may often hear that "Anybody Can Learn To Program" (in the great book How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Programming and Computing, the authors push a little further: "Everybody Should Learn To Program"). With Scratch, "Everybody Can Learn To Program Fast".

Scratch and Max MSP versions of a simple interactive musical program (click to enlarge)

Learning Max from Scratch - Course Outline

As it is a good introduction to Java, Scratch would be a good introduction to Max MSP. I just designed this outline of a first semester course that could be entitled Live Electronic Music with Max 5, or maybe Learning Max from Scratch. It's a draft, there is room for improvement: don't hesitate to comment!

Introduction to Scratch
- algorithm
- condition, loop, variable
From Scratch to Max
- introduction to MIDI
- Project 1: program an audio-visual application in Scratch
Introduction to Max/MSP
- Max basics: patcher, messages, right-to-left order, and more
- digital sound basics: audio input & output, play a sound file, and more
- a toggle is not a toggle
- Max Help is helpful
Digital Sound Synthesis
- additive synthesis
- substrative synthesis
- frequency modulation
- wavetable
Live Sound Processing & The Power of Abstraction
- real-time transposition
- delay lines
- ring modulation
- wishful thinking
- encapsulation and abstractions
- patchers documentation
Sampling
- the vinyl is not dead
- audio buffers to record & playback
- Project 2: must use sampling
MIDI is Not Dead
- effects & generators
- control surfaces & human interfaces
Polyphony & Panning
- build a polyphonic synthesizer
- panning
- Project 3: must use polyphonic digital sound processing
User Interface & Work with Files
- the design of everyday things
- simple is not so simple
- presentation mode
- folders & files
Granulation
- analog granulation
- windowing grains of sounds
- back to live transposition
Presets
- preset ideas
- real-time interpolation between any number of presets
- Project 4: must use MIDI and presets
Timing in Max
- schedule events
- transport
- low frequency oscillators & synchronization
Concert & Rehearsals
- practice
- write the score
- Project 5: must be cool!

James Ingram & Music Engraving

2009-07-07T16:45:00.003-04:00

Maybe you know already James Ingram, who wrote Michael Jackson's PYT with Quincy Jones. But today, I want to invite you to visit the new web site of another James Ingram, who worked during a long time as Karlheinz Stockhausen's personal engraver.

James Ingram enabled Karlheinz Stockhausen to reach the quality of engraving he wanted for his scores. Have a look at some excerpts. I particularly like Michaels Reise um die Erde and Xi for basset-horn (I studied this piece several years ago - the fingerings are given for a Leblanc basset-horn, but it's easy to find ones that work for the Buffet Crampon model).

Scores are published by Stockhausen Verlag.
Picture by Clive Barda, 1985, retrived from this Unsichtbare Chöre review.

The Blue Java

2009-07-03T16:08:00.001-04:00

During this summer of 2009, I am a Teaching Assistant for the course Great Ideas in Computer Science with Java at Harvard Summer School.

Java may be the most musical of all computer languages... Don't forget it's also the name of a French dance:

La Java Bleue (1938):

L'accordéoniste (1942):

Aqua Solo by Alex Tarbert - live recording

2009-06-27T17:20:00.001-04:00

I want to congratulate and thank the excellent bassist Alex Tarbert, who performed the premiere of my composition for double bass solo Aqua Solo.

Here is the link to listen to and download the track on last.fm:
Aqua Solo - composition for double bass solo
First part: arco
Second part: pizzicato (starts after about 3 minutes)

Have a look at the program notes, and a glimpse of the manuscript, on the concert announcement post.

In case you are a bass player, and want to include a piece in a double bass competition or a double bass recital, don't hesitate to contact me!

Expo 74

2009-06-20T10:50:00.001-04:00

Want to hear my French accent in San Francisco? Check out this short video!

If you feel like patching, I suggest:

Gregory Taylor's brand new article LFO Tutorial 4: Building Complexity.
a Max/MSP/Jitter patch to slice sounds automatically: I posted it recently with my other spectral patches (10-sliced-playback).

Eruption for Orchestra

2009-06-14T21:56:00.001-04:00

BMOP reading my orchestration of Eddie Van Halen's Eruption

The electric guitar solo Eruption, by Van Halen, is "considered one of the most influential rock instrumentals of all time" (see linked wikipedia article). This Spring, I had a lot of fun transcribing it into a 2-minute orchestral piece. I bought the CD Van Halen, along with the transcriptions Van Halen Best Of, Volume I (Best of Van Halen). After analyzing the piece, I wrote the arrangement while paying a special attention to the orchestral playability. That's why I used very different time signatures than the ones in the guitar transcription book aforementioned.

An Orchestration Course at Harvard

This was my final project for a great orchestration class that I took this spring in the Music Department. Michael Gandolfi, Chair of the composition department at New England Conservatory, was teaching it as a special guest. With five other composers, we were lucky to study with this artist, very experienced and so enthusiastic with the orchestra as an instrument.

Michael Gandolfi and the Harvard Music Department invited BMOP, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, to read our final projects. Conductor Gil Rose and all the musicians did an awesome job.

I signed an agreement to not publish the recording, but I hope I will have the opportunity to share this music in the future. Indeed, this orchestral miniature may become an interlude of a larger piece mixing electric guitar and orchestra. I will have to get Eddie Van Halen's authorization in the first place, of course.

01-05/60 - Live Saturation video starring Mario Caroli

2009-05-24T07:05:00.001-04:00

One year after the premiere concert, here is the video of Live Saturation:

Live Saturation
for flute and electronic music
with Ruth Lepson's poetry

This is the live recording of Mario Caroli's Harvard recital, that took place on May 24th, 2008, to the invitation of the Harvard Group for New Music.

Mario Caroli plays Ivan Fedele

I studied under Maestro Ivan Fedele during several years at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. Mario Caroli is one of the best interprets of his music. That's why I'm happy to link to two video recordings with ensemble Algoritmo:

1. Notturno, for flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, piano, percussion, harp, 2 violins, viola, violoncello, and double bass.

2. Profilo in eco (first part), for solo flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, piano, percussion, violin, viola, violoncello, and double bass.

One more thing that I like in these recordings: the excellent clarinetist Roberta Gottardi is a friend since we played together the premiere and recording of Stockhausen's Rechter Augenbrauentanz.

Listen to Viola palustris

2009-05-15T22:05:00.001-04:00

Here is the live recording of this Alea III concert, when they premiered my composition Viola palustris.

Listen while watching this slide show with pictures by composer Phivos-Angelos Kollias.

A slide show put together by soloist Alan Lenarcic

You may also listen to the music and download the file:

<a href="http://jfcharles.bandcamp.com/track/viola-palustris">Viola palustris by Jean-Francois Charles</a>

Or if you prefer, Viola palustris on last.fm.

The musicians

The amazing soloist Alan Lenarcic was accompanied by Alea III, conducted by Theodore Antoniou:

Flute: Sue-Ellen Herschman-Tcherepnin
Oboe: Jane Harrison
Clarinet: Diane Heffner
Bassoon: Janet Underhill
Horn: Laura Carter
Trombone: Denis Lambert
Percussion: Thomas Schmidt and Philip Trembley
Piano: Yukiko Shimazaki
Violins: Irina Muresanu and Iman Khosrowpour
Viola: Anne Black
Cello: Mark Simcox
Double Bass: Irving Steinberg

Thanks to all of the artists for your awesome commitment, and congratulations for getting this great result in just 1h30 of rehearsal time!

Dudley House Music Festival - First Edition

2009-05-06T08:43:00.001-04:00

Dudley House is Harvard's house for graduate students and non-resident undergraduate students. It is a great place to make friends, grow interdisciplinary ideas, and have a coffee at Café Gato Rojo.

As one of the house music fellows, I am proud to announce the first Dudley House Music Festival. It is taking place this Sunday, May 10th, 2009 in Dudley House Main Dining Hall.

The Chorus will kick off the event with Haydn's Theresa Mass conducted by Michael Barrett.

Then, the World Music Ensemble will perform music from around the world, including original arrangements and new compositions. Multi-instrumentalist Behtash Babadi is the musical director.

Jazz Creative Combo & Big Band

The jazz combo's philosophy is to play creative jazz and have fun. By bringing in new arrangements of old music, or brand new compositions, we try and keep the spark of jazz well alive.

The Big Band during the recent Spring Swing
Picture by Jonathan Ruel, Café Gato Rojo manager

I am very happy to feature in the Big Band program the music of great composers. Duke Ellington, "of course", will be represented with two works. But we will perform as well unpublished works by Bob Mintzer and Mathias Rüegg, two majors big band leaders in the United States and in Europe.

The big band program

And the Angels Sing Johnny Mercer and Ziggy Elman, Benny Goodman band, 1939
Concerto for Cootie Duke Ellington, 1940
Starfire Benny Golson, Maynard Ferguson band, 1959
Theme from The Asphalt Jungle Duke Ellington, 1961
Coconut Champagne Denis Di Blasio, Maynard Ferguson band, 1983
Modern Day Tuba Bob Mintzer, 1993
Albert Einstein - Time is what you feel Mathias Rüegg, 2005
Josephine Baker - She need never regret! Mathias Rüegg, 2005

See you on Sunday! You will never regret.

Performance at Arts First Dance Festival 2009

2009-04-30T08:53:00.001-04:00

On Saturday, May 2nd, I will be performing the premiere of PPP, a new series of three short studies for dancing clarinetist:

Puppet a reflection on puppetry in music and dance
Perpetuum mobile remembering a Butoh performance
Pipo a clarinet is just a piece of wood

Arts First is Harvard's huge annual celebration of the arts. This year, hundreds of students and faculty take part to performances all around the campus, from April 30th to May 3rd. The crazy Performance Fair is taking place on Saturday May 2nd, 1-5 pm in 12 sites around Harvard Yard.

I'll be performing on Saturday at 2:30pm in the Dance Festival, in Lowell Hall. If you attend, make sure to stop by and say hello after the performance!

Ballade - A New Dancing Clarinetist!

2009-04-20T17:14:00.011-04:00

Today April 25th, my friend Megumi Tabuchi is performing my composition Ballade for dancing clarinetist. Megumi Tabuchi is a great clarinet player, and I am thrilled that she chose this piece as part of her musical theater recital. She decided to link the Ballade to "Dance", a text by the composer Georges Aperghis, with whom she has been working a lot. Thank you Megumi!

Score

For this occasion, I engraved the music. It's still a draft, but compare to the manuscript!

Aqua Solo - Composition for solo double bass

2009-04-19T17:30:00.004-04:00

You are invited to the premiere of Aqua Solo, taking place on Saturday, April 25th, 2009, 8pm, in Paine Hall, Harvard University.

Aqua Solo is a solo for double bass written after my double bass concerto Aqua.

I have been working for several weeks with the soloist Alex Tarbert, a complete bass player and very sensitive musician. He sounds great on both arco and pizzicato, and I'm sure the performance will be stunning.

Three excerpts of my manuscript

Inspiring bass solos

The double bass solos that I listened to when I was composing the concerto included:

Maknongan, by Giacinto Scelsi
In & Out, by Pascal Dusapin
Valentine, by Jacob Druckman
Trittico per G.S., by Brian Ferneyhough
The Ozell Tapes: The Official Bootleg, by Marcus Miller

I also used the book Les modes de jeu de la contrebasse/Modes of playing the double bass by Jean-Pierre Robert. This great bilingual book comes with 2 CDs and is a reference for composers and performers. You can find it through the French online store fnac.com.

Program notes

I just wrote program notes for this last HGNM (Harvard Group for New Music) concert of the 2008-2009 season:

In 2001, I founded the Ensemble New Flore. For our 2004 tour “Spirales”, I composed Aqua for double bass solo, aquaphone, clarinet, and live electronics. The piece was played by the Ensemble New Flore in Strasbourg, Bouxwiller, and Geneva, and by the Ensemble de Musique Interactive in Montbéliard, and at the French Institute in Florence (see pictures of this performance, with the aquaphone, on http://www.flickr.com/jfcharles ). Aqua Solo is a set of two pieces for solo double bass. The first part, Prelude, is played arco, and reminds us that the double bass is a descendant of the viol. The second part is a Blues, played pizzicato.
During the coming months, I intend to turn it into Aqua Duo, a work for double bass solo accompanied by clarinet and live electronics.
Aqua is the fourth part of the Arc-en-ciel. This cycle includes Magma, for contrabass clarinet, stones, and live electronics – Wu jú sè, for clarinet, double bass, Chinese opera gongs, and dancer – Rêver, for singing dancer and dancing clarinetist – Zygomatic, for voice and live electronics – Passage libre, for percussion and live electronics.

Update

Audio live recording of the concert.

Huseac Studio Users Group

2009-04-14T20:26:00.001-04:00

Huseac, the Harvard University Studio for Electroacoustic Composition, is one of the great resources the Harvard Department of Music offers. I like most the history section of the web site!

The Studio Users Group is an informal forum for all the Huseac studio users to meet, share, and learn from each others. Last week, Robin Hodson of Avid/Digidesign/Sibelius was here to demonstrate features of the integration between Pro Tools DAW and Sibelius notation software.

The next meetings

This Wednesday, April 14th, 2009, from 2 to 4pm, I'm sharing my most recent Max/MSP/Jitter patch. I'll explain not only the patch "under-the-hood", but also the process I followed to get from the idea ("intelligent" or "transient-aware" granulation) to the working patch.

That's the idea. Together, we'll see how to get to the Max patch...

Next Wednesday, April 21st, Ean White, technical director of the studio, will explain & demonstrate the use of the new SoundField Surround microphone system.

April 28th may be a Max/MSP/Jitter patches mixer. Composer and Teaching Fellow Bert Van Herck will show how he used Max/MSP to model a real-world micro-tonal organ he will be composing for, and all participants are encouraged to bring patches of their own.

Lapalu - Viola and Live Electronics

2009-04-07T08:34:00.003-04:00

Here is the live recording of Lapalu, a composition for viola and live electronics.

Garth Knox, viola - Jean-François Charles, live electronics - Bert Van Herck, sound diffusion.
February 14th, 2009, Paine Hall, Harvard University.
You can also listen to the track on last.fm.

Spectral Sound Processing in Performance Time

In this composition, all of the electronic sounds are generated live, processed during the performance out of the viola sounds.

The instrument that I developed for this piece is an implementation of many of the graphically-based audio techniques I described in the article "A Tutorial on Spectral Sound Processing with Max/MSP and Jitter". For instance, you can hear some transient-aware time stretching as soon as 00:28. The live electronics are playing back the first viola arpeggios considerably slower. Details of the vibrato in the initial pizzicato chords become audible.

Sonic transformations that used to be done in studio can now be realized during the performance of a piece. That is what I call performance-time sound processing.

Spring Swing 2009 at Dudley House

2009-03-31T17:55:00.001-04:00

The Spring Swing is a great dance night. It is happening this Saturday, April 4th, in Dudley House, Harvard University's Graduate Students' House!

Come at 8:30 for the dance class, and from 9:30 on, you will dance to the sound of the Dudley House Big Band and its singers.

This year, our program will look like that:

All Of Me
And The Angels Sing
Basie Straight Ahead
Concerto For Cootie
Cute
I'm Just A Lucky So And So
I Will Survive
In The Mood
Jumpin' At The Woodside
Knock On Wood
Launching Pad
Mack The Knife
Main Stem
Pennsylvania 6-500
Sweet Home Chicago
They Can't Take That Away From Me
Tickletoe
When I Fall In Love

I really enjoy this event. It's a lot of fun to play, and the dancers have a great time. But most importantly, I love to take part to such a dance party featuring live musicians!

A Third Stream dinner

2009-03-28T16:30:00.000-04:00

Gunther Schuller, Theodore Antoniou, and Alan Lenarcic after the première of Viola palustris.

On Monday, March 23rd, Alea III performed my most recent composition, Viola palustris, in its "Composers' Workshop" concert (see announcement). After the concert, the conductor Theodore Antoniou invited all the composers to dinner. That was great to spend some time with this authentic music lover.

Gunther Schuller was excited about the piece and about the soloist Alan Lenarcic's playing. The first thing he told me was: "C'est une vraie composition du Troisième Courant!" ("It's a true Third Stream composition!") Then, he talked a lot with Alan about improvisation and saxophone players. Notably, he defended Charlie Parker's album Charlie Parker with Strings (result: I just ordered the CD).

Thank you Alan Lenarcic, Gunther Schuller, and Theodore Antoniou, for your enthusiasm for music!