 |
 |
Collaborative Composition For Intercultural Improvisers with Pandits Rajan and Sajan Misra, Francis Silkstone, Amelia Cuni & Michael Young Initiated by Francis Silkstone, AHRC Fellow in the Creative and Performing Arts, Music Department, Goldsmiths. A Public Workshop, Sharing Our Initial Creative Processes For Two Works-In-Progress Thursday 7th August 2008. 19.30 to 21.30 The Great Hall, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London SE14 6NW Admission free. AVATARS: Human-Computer Interactions In The Realm Of Dhrupad with Amelia Cuni & Michael Young Embodying sonic spectra through tuning systems . Dhrupad singing has the longest history of all current forms of Indian art-music. Compared to khyal, it is slow, dignified, often introverted. For more than 10 years, the Italian composer Amelia Cuni, studied dhrupad in India. The rigorous training of dhrupad voice-culture develops a resonant, flexible voice as a holistic outcome of a deeply relaxed, highly sensitized vibrating human body. For more than 20 years Cuni has extended her amazing voice in new directions through her pursuit of experimental intercultural music, including extreme micro- tonal tunings (www.ameliacuni.de). We will share results of three days of experiments exploring interactions between her vocal improvisation and Max/MSP systems operated by Michael Young and Francis Silkstone. Max/MSP enables us to zoom in upon and then magnify or transform any part of the sound spectrum. We aim to incorporate artificial-intelligence systems into this work, and hope to share some preliminary experiments in this area. SRINGAR: Love Songs... with Pandits Rajan & Sajan Misra Pandits Rajan and Sajan Misra are two of India’s greatest middle- generation khyal singers. Passionate and constantly evolving, khyal is the central strand of contemporary Indian art-music. Improvisation is its essence. We will share our experiments exploring how these virtuoso Indian singers can interact with an equally virtuosic improvising new-music ensemble: Corrado Canonici double bass; Isabelle Carré flutes; Emily White trombone; Karin Dornbusch clarinets; Sascha Armbruster saxophones; Yvon Bonenfent extended voice; Amy Moore soprano, and four Baroque string players from the OAE, led by Kati Debretzini. This is the culmination of five days of workshops at Goldsmiths. Rajan Misra and Francis Silkstone started co-composing four works, in India, in May. Like most khyal repertoire, all four are love- songs, including two works created in response to Purcell’s Dido’s Lament, and Schubert’s Du bist die Ruh. We are exploring ways in which Indian and European new-music can interact with each other, in a dialogue with contemporary re-interpretations of some of the greatest love songs of both traditions. Dr Michael Young Deputy Head of Department Music Department | Goldsmiths, University of London | New Cross, London | SE14 6NW +44 (0)2079197659 | fax +4(0)2079197644