Partita Tripla con Galilei

Partita Tripla con Galilei

Azione musicale per altoparlanti ed installazione centrale
Piazza d' Erbe
La Giornata dell’Ascolto
Terza edizione Padova - 24 maggio 2009.

In uno spazio reale e in un tempo immaginario, un raro madrigale di Vincenzo Galilei (compositore rinascimentale, padre del celebre Galileo) viene innestato in un corale di Johann Sebastian Bach, scritto un secolo più tardi, da tre compositori di oggi, seduti attorno al tavolo virtuale di Internet. Nel centro della piazza il mercato dei giorni feriali proseguirà, soltanto con I suoi suoni, durante la tutta la Giornata dell'Ascolto – impermeabile alle elucubrazioni musicali vicine e lontane.

Il madrigale di Vincenzo Galilei è In Exitu Israel cantato in tutte le sue parti da Alessandro Carmignani (per gentile concessione dell'esecutore), il corale di Bach è il primo corale della cantata BWV12 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, I compositori di oggi sono Maura Capuzzo, Neil Leonard e Marco Braggion coordinati da Nicola Bernardini. L'installazione sonora nel centro della piazza è stata curata da Gil Frison assistito dagli studenti del corso di Tecnico di Sala di Registrazione del Conservatorio C.Pollini di Padova coordinati da Francesco Morosinotto.

Partita Tripla con Galilei

Musical event for loudspeakers and center installation
Piazza d' Erbe
La Giornata dell’Ascolto (Listening Day)
Third edition, Padova - May 24, 2009.

In a real space and in an imaginary time, a rare madrigal by Vicenzo Galilei (renaissance composer and father of the celebrated Galileo) is implanted in a choral by Johann Sebastian Bach, written a century later, by three composers of today sitting around a virtual table via the Internet. In the centre of the piazza the disembodied sounds of the daily market continues during the entire Giornata dell' Ascolto - impermeable to the musical events held in close and distant sites around the city.

The madrigal of Vicenzo Galilei is In Exitu Israel, performed acappella by local singer Alessandro Carmignani (and used with his kind permission). The Bach chorale is the first chorale of the cantata BWV12 Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen. The composers are Maura Capuzzo, Neil Leonard and Marco Braggion coordinated by Nicola Bernardini. The sound installation in the center of the piazza was curated by Gil Frison assisted by the students of the Tecnico di Sala di Registrazione (Music Recording and Engineering program) of the Conservatorio C.Pollini di Padova and coordinated by Francesco Morosinotto.

Computer Music Journal review of Rondo da Passeggio

Computer Music Journal - Volume 33, Number 1, Spring 2009

PDF version of review by Amalia de Götzen

EXCERPT FROM THE ARTICLE:

According to Mr. Durante:

Its theoretical background (here drastically summarized) is that modern culture provides a superabundance of objects (musical objects in our case) but less and less opportunities for appropriate listening conditions. During the day a number of ''different ways of listening" are offered to the citizens (and visitors) of the city to help them retrieve the very sense (and sensibility) of the act of listening. The musical “repertoire” becomes a function of the psychoacoustic and social processes under way rather than an object of fetishism. In order to reach the goal, a relatively broad range of listening experiences are selected, from Persian poetry of the 13th century sung in the 13th-century City Hall building—the Salone della Ragione, to historical Western repertoire, to newly composed music. This was the case for Rondò da Passeggio, which was especially conceived for the listening conditions of a Paduan portico. (electronic mail communication)

Mr. Durante continues:

The idea to produce a multiple linear installation over a stretch of 350 meters is in itself original, but despite that the event reached the national media in the simplified representation of a curiosum, originality per se was not the goal: more important was the choice of collective composition, one that de-empasized the centrality of egoin the compositional processes of the West (a centrality which significantly runs across both ''high" and ''low" musical cultures). On the other hand the project faced and focused some characteristic problems of post-avant-garde music: the listener ''walked through" music rather than joining the crowd at the concert hall or standing in front of one single installation. In this way the listener defined (or rather interacted with) the form of music according to one's walking speed and/or to the special interest for each individual installation, slowing down, speeding up or stopping. At the same time, the installation compelled the casual passer-by to come to terms with sonorities that did not (probably) belong to his or her daily experience. This represents, in itself, a statement within an urban culture (in Padua as anywhere else) that exposes individuals to the daily violence of sounds “not chosen.” Not least, the project posed compositional problems of interrelationship (formal, stylistic, textural) between different parts of the installation. These problems may have been successfully solved (or possibly less than successfully solved); but beyond this point, most important was that the new problems generated new reflections. Hence, the intention to repeat the experience at the next Giornata dell'Ascolto in 2009. (ibid.)

CMJ Reviews http://204.151.38.11/cmj/reviews/33-1/deGotzen-Padua.html

Sharpening the Cutting Edge

Dear friends,

I just wanted to let you know about some of the work I did in Europe this summer. The Berklee's Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship was one of the sponsors.

Best wishes,
Neil Leonard

The article in its entirety is posted here:
Newbury Comics Faculty Fellowship Grants: Sharpening the Cutting Edge
by Susan Gedutis Lindsay

Sharpening the Cutting Edge - online

uscir ad ascoltar le stelle…

Photos of Rondò da Passeggio can be found here:

Nicola Bernardi's photos of Rondo da Passegio

RONDÒ DA PASSEGGIO

RONDÒ DA PASSEGGIO
Giornata dell'Ascolto 2008
Padova, Via Roma, May 18th 2008, 10:00 AM – 08:00 PM

Would you like to taste music like an ice-cream to go? Or walk on a sunny afternoon without the usual annoying presence of daily chores? You may want to try the Rondò da Passeggio (Rondeau to Go), a musical form that can only be completely appreciated by walking under the beautiful porticoes of Padova, in via Roma, on Sunday May 18th, 2008. The second edition of the Giornata dell'Ascolto (the listening day), the entire day will dedicated to the activity of listening in all its forms.

The Rondò da Passeggio takes place in the context of a musical installation that will rebuild the classical form of a seven-part rondeau (a b a c a b a) in a central street of Padova, Via Roma. Along its 900 feet of porticoes, where no cars are allowed, seven distinct compositions, each lasting 10 hours (from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM), will accompany walkers, strollers and joggers. Instead of the usual disturbing collection of sonic junk – dazed and confused – that emanates from pedestrian audio appliances that surround us, music will meet the city. Streets, squares, boulevards and buildings, a whole city will start whispering, playing and singing.

A “composition of compositions,” the Rondò da Passeggio is created by eight composers and installed by a horde of sound engineers. While each composition will be a distinct vision by a specific composer, the seven compositions will all be tied together by the formal scheme of the rondeau.

Rondò da Passeggio is a project commissioned by Prof. Sergio Durante (inventor of the Giornata dell'Ascolto) to the Conservatory “C.Pollini” of Padova and coordinated by Prof. Nicola Bernardini. The project involves numerous Conservatory teachers, composition students, electronic music students, and students from the Sound Engineering curriculum with the extraordinary participation of Neil Leonard and two of his students from Berklee College of Music, Boston.

Francesco Babolin, Anthony Baldino, Nicola Bernardini, Giovanni Bonato, Marco Braggion, Mirko Brigo, Gennaro Cantoro, Maura Capuzzo, Davide Ceccon, Andrea Cera, Raffaele Cipriano, Davide Corsato, Matteo Costa, Dario Dassenno, Pierluigi Duravia, Giacomo Frega, Gianni Giacomazzo, Francesco Guerra, Neil Leonard, Michele Marelli, Francesco Marescotti, Francesco Morosinotto, Marco Petrone, Matteo Pilotto, Spencer Putnam, Alberto Schiavo, Stefano Trento, Luca Uggias, Michele Vaccarotto, Andrea Versolatto, Riccardo Xotta. Rondò da Passeggio: 31 participants, 10 hours of music, 7 compositions, a single project.

Uscir ad ascoltar le Stelle - May 18th, Padova

The Giornata dell'Ascolta (Listening Day) festival commissioned the site specific sound installation, "uscir ad ascoltar le stelle…,” for the entrance of the Santa Maria dei Servi Church in the medieval city of Padova, Italy. As listeners enter the church for Sunday mass, they will experience an audio triptych that echoes themes and structures linked to the ancient architecture, painting, literature, and sounds that are essential to Padova's cultural heritage. Sound will emanate from the top of the portico structure, an architectural hallmark of the city.

I created the sound in collaboration with composer Maura Capuzzo, using sounds of sacred music from around the world. The title,  "uscir ad ascoltar le stelle....,"  is derived from the final words of Dante's Inferno: "Then we came forth, to see again the stars." The title suggests the idea of listening to, and feeling, something immaterial that comes from another word, the world of  sacred feelings and attitude. In the case of our installation, the title asks our listeners to "listen to the sacred world of our collective civilization ..."

The piece is a departure from any work that I have done in the past. Our commissioners asked for ten hours of continuous, non-repeating sound. I tell my composition students that duration is the first consideration when planning a work. Setting out to create a ten hour sound installation changed the way that Maura and I approached everything, from sonic result to process to artistic dialog. In addition, the site itself suggested things that were new, such as devising a three speaker configuration to match the theme of the trinity.

"uscir ad ascoltar le stelle...."  is one of seven sound installations that will adorn a 400-meter stretch of Padova's main boulevard, via Roma. Together, these seven installations form a rondeau form (i.e., A1 - B1 - A2 - C - A3 - B2 - A4). Nicola Bernardini (Berklee '81), installation organizer and director of electronic music at Padova's Pollini Conservatory, titled this series of installations "Rondò da Passeggio" or "Rondeau to go." This is a pun on the classic rondo form and an ice-cream they do in Venice, the 'gianduiotto da passeggio'. It's an ice-cream that you pick up and stroll around with, you are not supposed to eat it on the premises (double whipped cream: top *and* bottom). Festival director Dr. Sergio Durante is encouraging all stores and restaurants to give their radio and CD playback a rest for the day and emphasize the unique sounds of the city and its musicians.

Berkee alumni Anthony Baldino and Spencer Putnam assisted in the realization of the audio.

Site for Giornata d'ascolto installation

This is the site of a sound installation presented by the Giornata d'Ascolto. My collaborator is Nicola Bernardini from the C. Pollini Conservatory, Padova. Maura Capuzzo and I are creating the sound installation for this point. Here is a frontal view of the church.