Organscape / Xoán-Xil López (ES)
The sound ensemble that comprise this proposal, commissioned by the festival De Lugares e Órganos, Santiago de Compostela 2020, is framed around two elements that coexist and dialogue; the autonomous installation called Organismo I, a sort of automata that emulates a repertoire of sounds associated with the natural world, and a series of acoustic short pieces for organ, Organscape I – IV, composed by means of converting field recordings from different geographical locations to the timbrical characteristics of this historical instrument. This work arises from the idea of soundscape musical mimesis.
Based on research related to the special registers that we can find in some organs—mainly from the Baroque period, intended to imitate paramusical sounds, such as those of birds or thunder, Organscape delves into the idea of our audible environment representation through a series of works written for this instrument and a sound installation. In this sense, it is not so much an attempt to achieve a faithful imitation, but to outline certain acoustic characteristics of the evoked material, the wind or a swarm, for example. A tension that places us between utopia and dystopia.
The four scores cycle for organ has been written based on the extended acoustic possibilities of the instrument sited at the University of Santiago de Compostela, built by Manuel Sanz in 1802.
Orcanscape by Xoán-Xil López received an award on Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Xoán-Xil López
Organscape / Xoán-Xil López (ES)
The sound ensemble that comprise this proposal, commissioned by the festival De Lugares e Órganos, Santiago de Compostela 2020, is framed around two elements that coexist and dialogue; the autonomous installation called Organismo I, a sort of automata that emulates a repertoire of sounds associated with the natural world, and a series of acoustic short pieces for organ, Organscape I – IV, composed by means of converting field recordings from different geographical locations to the timbrical characteristics of this historical instrument. This work arises from the idea of soundscape musical mimesis.
Based on research related to the special registers that we can find in some organs—mainly from the Baroque period, intended to imitate paramusical sounds, such as those of birds or thunder, Organscape delves into the idea of our audible environment representation through a series of works written for this instrument and a sound installation. In this sense, it is not so much an attempt to achieve a faithful imitation, but to outline certain acoustic characteristics of the evoked material, the wind or a swarm, for example. A tension that places us between utopia and dystopia.
The four scores cycle for organ has been written based on the extended acoustic possibilities of the instrument sited at the University of Santiago de Compostela, built by Manuel Sanz in 1802.
Orcanscape by Xoán-Xil López received an award on Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica 2021.
Credit: Xoán-Xil López