Nyx 27'50'' for 8 channel tape (24-bit, 44.1kHz)
| Nyx is the goddess and embodiment of the night. According
to Hesiod in his Theogony (11.116-138), "From Chaos came forth Erebus
and black Night Nyx; of Night were born Aether being the bright upper atmosphere
and Day Hemera, whom she conceived and bore from union with Erebus her
brother". Also from the Theogony (11. 211-225); "And Night borehateful
Doom Moros and black Fate and Death Thanatos, and she bore Sleep Hypnos
and the tribe of Dreams. And again the goddess murky Night, though she
lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the Hesperides who guard
the rich golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean.
Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates who were regarded
as old women occupied in spinning, Clotho the Spinner of the thread of
life and Lachesis the Disposer of Lots, she who allots every man his destiny
and Atropos She Who Cannot Be Turned, who finally cuts the thread of life
who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue
the transgressions of men and of gods, and these goddesses never cease
from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.
Also deadly Night bore Nemesis Indignation to afflict mortal men, and after
her, Deceit Apate and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife.
From that great work we find that Nyx produced a host of offspring. Other sources give Charon who ferried the dead over the rivers of the infernal region as being the son of Erebus and Nyx, although according to the Theogony he was born from Chaos. Also according to Aristophanes, Birds 693 ff, "in the infinite bosom of Erebus, Night with black wings first produced an egg without a seed. From it, in the course of the seasons, Eros was born--the desired, whose back sparkled with golden wings, Eros like swift whirlwinds". (by Ron Leadbetter) |
|
The work Nyx for 8 channel represents one of the first of my works,
and as well one of the first existing works which relay in its fundamental
musical structures on physical modeled compositional material. Not only
the sounds were modeled by Newton Law as well the playing structure was
modeled inside the environment of Genesis (ACROE, Grenoble).
As a kind of counterplayer a quote of Debussie's Sonata for flute,
harp and violin was used.
The composition took a strange way. Instead of creating an acousmatic
piece, relying more on sounds and noise than on pitch a kind of melodic
structure was evolving out of itself. While the acousmatic scetches got
more difficult I started playing with the Debussy quot and with an increadible
ease, the first 10 minutes were created in the first couple of days. And
all of this without me willing this.
Since the sounds where stretched, the harp turned into a voice the
flute into a violin flageolet and the solo violin into a string section.
They left the origin completley and became so strong on the piece that
I let them go and be the base for the layout.
The formal structure of the piece is a kind of bowed form with the
3 climax(es) in the middle of the piece (minutes 10, 15, 20). I never took
such a risk and usually tried to place the climax at the end to get a maximum
of tension. But this piece did not start with tension, it stays for 8 minutes
in ppp and long pitch clusters and the first climax is at minute 10. But
to end with a smooth kind of decrescendo without creating an "Epilog" kind
of Connex to the middle of the piece was a pretty difficult task and it
is allways risky for the listeners: in case they have lost attention out
of whatever reason there is nothing which drives them back into the piece.
This piece is more of a prosaic story with lots of colorful pictures. Different to listen, its more of nuances which drive the attention. Most of the time the pitch is the axis to go into, the glass to look inside of the structure of the sound. Rhythmic periodicity. The pitch is of course one layer of perception, probably the most obvious one. But when the pitch is known/understood than you should go inside of it. Go into space, timbre, rhythm or dynamics. You will find more.
