Expansion (2021, 15 min) is a piece for amplified ice blocks and sound spatialization, commissioned and performed by Architek Percussion. The work is an immersive performance where ice blocks are used as sound instruments.
The title of the work refers to the expansion in volume of water when it freezes. The intention is to evoke the bonds and behaviours of molecules in different states of matter, imagining a parallel with the bonds and behaviours that may characterize human relationships and the relationships between people and nature. With Expansion, I continue to explore the theme of tension between humans’ desire for control and the unpredictability of natural events, using ice, a material with unpredictable sonic, physical, and visual behaviour. This is a theme that characterizes other works of mine.
The aim of Expansion is to highlight the physicality of sound, inviting the audience to immerse themselves in this sonic material. Each of the four percussionists plays a block of ice, using various instruments such as chopsticks, guiros, sandpaper and saws. The diversity of the sounds created depends as much on the physical characteristics of the objects, such as the spacing of the teeth of a saw, as on the playing techniques, such as the pressure and speed of the rubbing. I developed a notation system for the playing techniques and made a video score to guide the performers. Hydrophones, frozen in the ice blocks, amplify sounds, which are played through a multi-channel speaker system. The sound of ice, because of its rich and unpredictable spectrum, can be easily located. The position and movement of the sounds are related to those of the performers: their physical gestures are amplified through sound trajectories that extend their gestural expression into space. For example, a forward/backward motion of a saw on a block of ice is related to a sound trajectory of the same type that propagates throughout the concert hall.
The ice blocks, initially in parallelepiped forms, evolve throughout the performance. The artists’ actions sculpt them, culminating in a finale where boiling water melts the ice, creating unpredictable shapes and sounds. These sounds are spatialized through slow rotations immersing the audience in an uncontrollable sonic storm.
The work was composed in the multichannel music studios at the University of Montréal.
Expansion was premiered on December 2, 2021, by Architek Percussion at the “Project Object II” concert as part of the Live@CIRMMT series at the Multi-Media Room (MMR), McGill University, Montreal (Canada).
Architek Percussion :
Noam Bierstone
Ben Duinker
Alexander Haupt
Alessandro Valiante
CIRMMT team / Équipe du CIRMMT
Directeur / Director
Fabrice Marandola
Directeur associé, recherche artistique / Associate Director, Artistic Research
Philippe-Aubert Gauthier
Directeur associé, recherche scientifique et technologique / Associate Director, Scientific & Technological Research
Rachel Bouserhal
Responsable technique et systèmes / Systems and Technical Manager
Julien Boissinot
Technicien électronique / Electronics Coordinator
Yves Méthot
Responsable de Production / Production Manager
Sylvain Pohu
Administratrice du centre de recherche / Research Centre Administrator
Jacqueline Bednar
Coordinateur des conférences et des événements spéciaux / Conferences & Special Events Coordinator
Darko Dimitrijevic
I wish to thank Architek Percussion, CIRMMT, FRQSC et and the Faculté de musique de l’Université de Montréal.
