Robert Hasegawa (McGill University) [PI] with Carmine Cella (University of California, Berkeley), Pedram Diba, Jonas Régnier, Anqi Liu (UCSD), Jeanne Côté, Charles Eric Fontaine (McGill University), and external collaborators Alex Huyghebaert (McGill University), Matias Perenetti-Piniagua (McGill University), Éric Bourgeois (McGill University), Paul Celebi (McGill University), William Boivin (McGill University), and Seungwoo Han (McGill University).
Description:
The purpose of the Space As Timbre (SAT) project was to collect qualitative data in order to analyze and understand the perceptual effect of timbre in composing new spaces for an acoustic ensemble, thereby creating the opportunity to treat space as a form bearing element in music.
SAT enabled the collaboration between student composers and performers from two ACTOR partner institutions (McGill University, and University of California, San Diego) in the creation of new works for an ensemble of 6 instruments. Additionally, SAT composers used computer-assisted orchestration in the process of synthesizing various spaces for the composition of their works. The outcome of this research-creation project included a public presentation followed by the premiere of the pieces.
SAT’s research method focused on creating various spaces in a sound. This was achieved by applying different impulse responses to a recorded sound. By doing so, we were able to create a variety of spaces for that particular sound. These new sounds were then used both as sonic material and as a structural model for orchestral synthesis. The orchestral synthesis of these sounds/spaces was achieved by employing technology (computer-assisted orchestration) as well as the creativity of trained musicians.
For the technology portion, Orchidea was used to create various solutions for the orchestral synthesis of each target sound. During this process the goal was to experiment with various settings for partial filtering and sparsity to achieve the closest timbral result to the space of the target sound. In addition to Orchidea, the musicians of the ensemble were asked to listen to the audio files and to try to achieve the closest spatial effect of a particular sound by experimenting with various playing techniques (extended techniques, pedaling techniques, bow placement, etc.). These experiments were based on the results created on Orchidea; however, the musicians were also encouraged to come up with completely new solutions as well. This resulted in solutions with innovative playing techniques that Orchidea had not suggested.