Echo

Belma Beslic

Composition for piano and video projection, 2008

DESCRIPTION

ECHO II The idea was to test interactions between the visual inputs and generated shadows, real and false images, live generated and pre-produced sounds. Final goal was to create a picture of one parallel reality. The analysis of the movie “La dolce vita” brought to light three different sound layers. Each one represents specific visual component of the movie. The music is the reflection of the story, but focuses on philosophical, psychological and sociological aspects of it. It reflects the emptiness and the false happiness of the postwar jet-set society.

COMPOSITION

The audiovisual composition Echo II is a unification of two sonic and visual parallel worlds.

The primary world is displayed in the reality of the performance itself, whereas the secondary world is presented as a superimposed video projection from a previous perfomance of the same piece. The principle of cause and effect between interactions has been suspended.

By means of video projections visual shadows are generated which constitute a reflexion of reality in both worlds. Both layers constitute ‘the world’ and a shadow of the world at the same time. Thus emerges a third, fusioned reality, which is perceived as the ‘true one’. This conceptual state, when physically interpreted, could be compared with the search for a Unified Field Theory.

The sonic overtone spectrum can be understood as a transdimensional space of the visual, the psychological, and the philosophical. All sonoric properties occurring throughout the piece were chosen for their coherent characteristics.

Echo II employs the following acoustic categories:

- sound masses – punctualism – melodics

SOUND MATERIAL

Sound masses

  • Cluster tremolos on strings (sub-contra, contra octave)
  • Glissandos on strings (various registers)

Punctualism

  • Singular tones (c, fis)
  • Flageolets
  • Singular plucked strings (various registers)

„Melodies“

  • Ordinario (regular playing, e-c-g-h)
  • Plucked strings

OVERVIEW

Duration: ca. 9 minutes
Video requirements: Video projector plus projection screen, VGA cable, DVD player
Audio requirements: PA stereo system (loudspeakers)
Place: Dark space
Premiere: Graz, AT – KUG, 06.12.2008, 18:00h
Performances: VORTEXPROJECT I Zagreb, SC, 2009 I Vienna, Alte                                                                               Schmiede, 2009 I Ljubljana, Tovarna Rog, 2009 I

    Audio Excerpt: http://www.belmabeslic.com/echo-two.mp3