1- Creation of "Light" by Samo Vidic
Light is a piece for accordion, movements, electronics, and light by Slovenian-born composer and conductor Samo Vidic.
Within this collaboration, the choice for Vidic was based on his work deeply anchored in (what I would describe as) meditative spectral minimalism, using slowly developing drones to explore timbral and microtonal distinctions. To achieve an effective conveyance of the nuances in extra-dimensional accordion playing, I was looking for an ear focused on these timbral nuances. Mirroring his musical models to ex. g. Éliane Radigue, Vidic was the perfect fit.
His work is a study of auditive impact. How does sound affect the audience? Often, there is even a physical aspect to it: you can feel the vibrations in your body.
The piece is intended to last 15 minutes. There are 5 different pitches in the score, chromatically descending from the highest possible note on the accordion. The accordion part is amplified with a delay of 20 seconds and a pitch shift of around 30 cents. Audio panning had a central role in the piece. In the performance, 4 speakers are used in which the sound travels circularly.
Vidic himself verbally expressed little programmatic meaning about the piece. I interpret Light as finding wonder in the "sparkling" of different frequencies, the piece "flickers" like TL-lighting!
March 11: acoustic rehearsal
In the first studio session, Samo and I focused on reading the score and conceptualizing the composition. The score was written quite strictly, with instructions on movements and exact timing. To make the piece work, movements had to be clear and exaggerated – however, the instructions were sometimes not feasible due to my bellows changes. We decided to let go of the exact instructions and leave it up to the performer.
Given the little musical material on the score, it is important for this piece to find different frequencies and characters through the movements and have a sufficient dynamical level, to allow different harmonics to come out. The timing structure (for which I was using a stopwatch on my phone) is a framework for dynamical climaxes.
March 15: connecting the two accordion layers (two speakers)
For this session, Samo brought a light spot causing a shadow on the wall of me playing the accordion. The shadow gives a visual interpretation of “amplifying the extra-dimensional accordion” - which I found very clever.
In the documentation of this research, it has been difficult to capture the whole experience on video/audio as the sound is panned specifically. Furthermore, I found it hard to hear myself playing in addition to the “tape”. This is why we decided, in the end, to pitch-shift the tape so that it became more distinctive. Questions were also made about the form and the duration of the piece. Originally, it is 15 minutes long. What is the impact on the listener of this slow development? Transcendence? Annoyance?
March 28: making it a surround experience
In the last studio session early on in March, we tried out the possibilities regarding the set-up of the speakers. Befriended sound engineer Reina Dreyhaupt joined us for technical assistence. For the panning, we used Reaper as a software. We ended up with 6 speakers in a circle around me. We noticed that I, as the performer, am like a 7th speaker.
However, the issues that we are now dealing with is the positioning of the speakers versus the audience - where should the audience sit? We decided to leave that for September...
June 9: try-out on my Final Master recital
For my Final Master recital, I decided to play a shorter version of Light, because of time restrictions and to fit in the program better. During the rehearsals coming up to that, we refined the idea and the technical execution: the accordion sound would be delayed and pitchshifted. The recital took place in a hall with a tribune for the audience to sit. We surrounded the audience with 4 speakers circularly panned. However, in the performance itself something went wrong at the front of house and the electronics came in only halfway the piece. Also, the effect with the light spot (we used another type) was not as strong as in the studio LOOS sessions. Anyway, it was an interesting try-out.