Prisma

Release date: September 2001
Naive MO782087

 

Dawn Upshaw, Anssi Karttunen, Camilla Hoitenga, Florent Jodelet

 

Track listing:
CD1 – Prisma cd-rom
CD2 – Private Gardens cd
Lonh
Près
NoaNoa
Six Japanese Gardens

 

Prisma: Discovering Contemporary Music through the Works of Kaija Saariaho
An original, creative and didactic cd-rom
Grand Prix Multimedia Charles Cros 2000

An object of musical and graphical creation – the whole sound environment has been composed specially by Kaija Saariaho -, “Prisma” collects a vast set of multimedia data, original texts, sound recordings, extracts of pieces, documentary videos, creation film, photos, diverse archives and animations.

This cd-rom is probably one of the very first, if not the first, dedicated to a contemporary composer (also a women composer), and treating questions linked to musical creation.

The interactivity allowed by the cd-rom is exploited here at its best with an interactive musical game : Mirrors. This game allows the user to realize himself a version of an ‘open work’ by combining musical fragments of cello and flute created specially by Kaija Saariaho.

The contemporary instrumental writing, its interpretation, as well as the use of computers for composition, are constituting entry points in this project allowing to initiate oneself to today’s music while discovering the work of Kaija Saariaho.

This cd-rom is probably one of the very first, if not the first, dedicated to a contemporary composer (also a women composer), and treating questions linked to musical creation at this end of century.

An object of musical and graphical creation – the whole sound environment has been composed specially by Kaija Saariaho -, Prisma collects a vast set of multimedia data, original texts, sound recordings, extracts of pieces, documentary videos, creation film, photos, diverse archives and animations.

Indeed, the cd-rom, by combining images and sounds, allows to clarify the relation between musical notation (score), the gesture of the performer (video), and the musical result (sound). This feature is particularly interesting for the full understanding of contemporary instrumental techniques, sound synthesis and control of timbre. It allows also, in the case of mixed pieces, to split instrumental sounds and electronic sounds in order to understand better each one’s contribution to the whole. Moreover, the quoted works as well as extracts of scores reproduced may be accompanied by their musical realization under a sonic form, which facilitates the understanding.

The interactivity allowed by the cd-rom is exploited here at its best with an interactive musical game : Mirrors. This game allows the user to realize himself a version of an ‘open work’ by combining either freely or according to explicit composition rules, musical fragments of cello and flute created specially by Kaija Saariaho. By choosing fragments through listening and considering three types of graphical representation (solfegic notation, spectrum variations in time, amplitude variations in time), the user can compose his own piece by assembling them.

The musical material of this game is extracted from work composed specially, Mirrors, the only piece played in its integrality on this cd-rom. The piece is presented together with an artistic video film realised by Jean-Baptiste Mathieu.

Two aims:

– first, to create a new multimedia object, together didactic, playful and creative, which, through the work of a particular composer, allows to the music lover or the newcomer, whatever their mastering of theoretical musical notions and techniques, to enrich his knowledge on the composition of our times ;

– second, to answer to the needs expressed by international audiences for a complete information tool presenting the work of Kaija Saariaho.

Prisma is published under the form of a package including a cd-rom and an audio-CD including pieces for solo instruments and electronics (Lonh for soprano, Près for cello, NoaNoa for flute, Six Japanese Gardens for percussions) from the Ondine Label. The cd-rom is for both Macintosh and PC-compatible computers, French and English versions are published separately.

Prisma was produced by the Finnish Music Information Center, with the collaboration of Ircam – Centre Georges-Pompidou, and Chester Music.

 




error: