Sheng! L'orgue à bouche - 13th seminar
Fallings for shō (and u), viola and cello by Daryl Jamieson: The expression of an intercultural thought
with François-Xavier Féron (CNRS, Ircam-STMS)
Fallings (2016) is the second part of a trilogy entitled Vanitas Series (2014-2017) that reveals the intercultural approach and the tropism for traditional Japanese culture developed by the Canadian composer Daryl Jamieson. In this work, two Western string instruments – the viola and the cello – dialogue with the Japanese mouth organ – the shō or u which is an octave lower. During this communication I will first look at briefly the background of Jamieson who is lived in Japan for over fifteen years now. I will then look at the genesis and dramaturgy of the trilogy, before focusing on the analysis of Fallings: I will reveal the sources of inspiration and will show how the idea of collapse is explored within a cyclical form.
Shō and u: An exploration of physical and generic limitations through a decade of collaboration with Ko Ishikawa
avec Daryl Jamieson (Kyushu University)
Over the past 10 years I have written five chamber or solo pieces for shō and/or u, all of which were written for Ko Ishikawa. These are Spectral (for Kazuo Ohno) (2012), fallen fragments (2015), fallings (2016), Stravaig (2017), and Descnats 1 (2020). Over these five pieces, I have been exploring the limits of what the shō and u can do. Working at the borders of instrumental and conventional limitations, I have been experimenting in order to discover where perceived limits are actual and hard (ie, immutable facts based in the physicality of the instruments), and where those limits are merely conventional and in reality quite porous (and thus able to be transcended).
In this paper, by reexamining this decade-long process of collaboration and experimentation, I will show how my approach has changed/is changing through growing familiarity with the instrument (which I do not yet play myself), with its tradition, and with Ishikawa-san as a performer. I will share some of my conceptual approaches to composition and how they informed my approach to writing for the shō and u, and I will also introduce some of the practical results of these experiments – things that the instruments can and cannot do.
14th seminar | April 19, 2022, 2:30-5:30pm
Une forêt de tuyaux - Retour(s) sur une création
avec Alexis Baskind - Wu Wei - André Serre-Milan
15th seminar | May 10, 2022, 2:30-5:30pm
Le fleuve de sons, analyse des modulations et masquages dans les accords du sheng
avec Mikhail Malt (Ircam-STMS, IReMus)
La visualisation des données pour la musicologie
avec Pierre Couprie (CHCSC, Université Paris-Saclay)