Resonant Sound Spaces (Espaces résonants) is a spatialized version of Resonant Soundscapes (Paysages résonants), a work commissioned in 2001 by the city of Basel and dedicated to Gerald Bennett. The 8-track spatialization has been realized in 2002 at Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Marseille (GMEM) thanks to the spatialization software Holophon by Laurent Pottier. (There is also & 4-track version).
Our hearing seems to be well-equiped to sort sounds in terms of the pervasive paradigm excitation-resonance. Five Resonant Soundscapes was not intended as a systematic study of the phenomenon of resonance, but the sound material calls mostly for resonant tones, both synthesized, recorded and processed : percussions and plucked strings (free vibrations of excited solids), brasses and horns (forced vibrations of air masses), resonant filtering, reverberation.
The adjective resonant also serves as a metaphor. It refers to one’s strong reaction to certain sounds or sound sequences, in particular to the symbolic connotations of their apparent origin - even though this origins may be illusory. The piece evokes or quotes sonic elements to which I strongly resonate : the bell tone at the onset of Varèse’s Poème électronique, motives sung or performed by Irène Jarsky, Denise Mégevand, Michel Portal and Serge Conte, bell concerts organized by Llorenc Barber, tones from the percussion instrumentarium of Thierry Miroglio.
The spatialization turning soundscapes into sound spaces has been effected from the multiple tracks of the Pro Tools sessions, that is, starting from multiple sound sources before their stereophonoic mixing. The spatial dissemination of sounds enhances depth is the litteral sense, but also in the figured sense : it helps hearing to sort out the multiplicity of sound sources, thus facilitating for the listener a personal exploration of the proposed sonic territory. But it also proposes specific spatial figures.
The total duration of the piece is about 14 mn 30 s. The titles proposed for each of the five sections - five different soundscapes - refer to the material or the process used. However these may be illusory or “virtual” - for instance, all the “bells” of the second part of section V (except one) have been synthesized : no metal, no percussion. The sections are entitled as follows:
Bell, brass, metal (2mn45s). This section mostly resorts to recorded sounds processed in simple ways : frequency changes with ot without change of duration, time reversal. At the beginning, one can hear three synthetic variants of the bell tone opening Varèse’s Poème électronique, from an analysis realized by Vincent Verfaille. Spatialization locates various sounds in various places - only exceptionally does it suggest motions of sound sources.
Filters (2mn52s). After calls and responses from brass tones, a filtered echo introduces tiled clarinet arpeggios ascending toward a A, a B or a F, heard through a set of resonant filters tuned to certain harmonies. The feeling of giration is reinforced by illusory spatial rotations (in the sense of stars for the A motive and in the other sense for the others. Toward the end, two fixed percussions introduce a rapid and swiftly moving flute motive, and a bird circling around further and further.
Plectra (1mn54s). Thanks to the computer control of the motions of hammers and dampers, the Yamaha Disklavier mecanized piano of the “Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique” of CNRS in Marseille helpsto produce sounds on direct actions upon the strings, like using plectra, thus turning the piano into a variant of the harp. Putting fingers at specific positions along the strings inhibits certains partials and reinforces other ones. The spatialization attempts to suggest resonances expanding on large harmony boards.
Reverberated (3mn17s). This gloomy section was realized in the aftermath of september 11, 2001. Crowds, screans and laughs, rumors, cymbals, choruses, voice, organ, through an ample and slowly moving reverberation. The section is concluded by distant explosions from an obscure disaster.
Bell, horns (3mn40s). Scansed by ship horn calls, the fifth section alludes to the book Les cloches de Bâle : recordings and reconstitutions of material bells are answered by a virtual chime of synthetic tones enregistrements ou reconstitutions de cloches matérielles répond un carillon virtuel de sons de synthèse. This chime unfolds structures composed in non-real time twenty five years earlier, which can now be invoked through real-time gestures to yield bell-like tones as well as fluid or rebouncing textures. The spatialization fills the space by demultipling the sources and dematerializing them through illusory motions.
Resonant Soundscapes has been realized in Marseille with my own laptop G3 computer. I have used the following software : MaxMSP, ProTools, Sound Hack, Peak, MusicV. I recorded certain sounds on the Yamaha Disklavier piano of the CNRS Laboratoire de Mécanique et d’Acoustique in Marseille - I managed key actions by computer and modified the tones by acting directly on the strings. Resonant Soundscapes is a piece for “tape” (for recording medium, but it has used certain tools - specially MaxMSP and the Disklavier - which permit to control sounds in real-time. Thus resonant filtering - tuned to specific “chords” was performed in real-time, and so were inharmonic bell-like structures I synthesized in non-real time many years ago, and which are turned into fluid or bouncing textures. The spatiazation to 8 track, yielding Resonant Sound Spaces, has been realized on a G4 computer of the Groupe de Musique Expérimentale de Musique de Marseille, using the powerful Holophon software implemented by Laurent Pottier.
I wish to warmly acknowledge in this respect the work of Denis Lorrain, Antonio Souza Dias, Daniel Arfib, and of course Laurent Pottier. I also thank Vincent Verfaille and Jérôme Decque for their help.
The realization of the piece and the collaborations are described in the following article (in French):
J. C. Risset, D. Arfib, A. de Sousa Dias, D. Lorrain, L. Pottier. “De Inharmonique à Resonant Sound Spaces : temps réel et mise en espace.” Actes des 9èmes Journées d’Informatique Musicale, Marseille, 29-31 mai 2002, 83-88.