Investigating the impact of Electroacoustic Music in Greek Culture, through a portfolio of Electroacoustic Music works based on original recordings of Traditional Greek Instruments. by Epa Fassianos

ABSTRACT My research investigated the practicability of diverse electroacoustic music compositional approaches which were applied in a series of works that explored specific relationships between real-world and abstracted sound materials, through the strategic use of pitched, melodic and non-pitched materials (and specific characters and behaviours of those materials) as integral elements in the compositional process. My main aim was to explore all of these different levels in a musical way via electroacoustic music and to present transformed aspects of Greece. In addition, I attempted to explore new electroacoustic music territories by undertaking a journey from real-world instrumental and concrete soundworlds based on Traditional Greek Instruments towards abstract soundworlds. BIOGRAPHY Epameinondas P. Fasianos (Epa Fassianos) is a Greek Composer of Electroacoustic Music. He was born in Athens in 1982. He holds a PhD Degree in Electroacoustic Music Composition. He obtained his PhD from the University of Manchester (NOVARS Research Centre), under the supervision of Professors David Berezan and Ricardo Climent. His area of interest was: Creating works of Acousmatic Music based on aspects of Greek Culture (Religion, Traditional Greek Instruments, Mythology). His works have been selected and performed in many Electroacoustic Music Festivals around the world. His work “Chromatocosmos” has been awarded the First Prize in Category A in MUSICA NOVA 2018 Competition of Electroacoustic Music in Prague, as well as the Third Prize in MUSICWORKS 2018 Competition in Toronto. In 2019, his work “ElectroSantouri” received an Honorary Mention in FORUM WALLIS 2019. Website: https://www.epafassianos.com

Chromatocosmos and ElectroSantouri examined the ways that concepts of cultural identity could be spread out within an acousmatic work.

In these two works, I attempted to show how the baghlamas and santouri are related to aspects of Greek culture. The transformations themselves create melodic contours which directly refer to the way these instruments are performed, but with completely different attributes in terms of timbre and gesture.

In addition, I also made an attempt to expand the concept of “cultural identity” to broader boundaries by creating soundworlds which are totally detached from the original concepts of tradition, either in terms of melody, or in terms of innovative textural and gestural soundworlds, such as the bubbling water sound textures or the dinging textures in rapid motion in ElectroSantouri, and the harmonic dinging resonant textures or the harmonic resonant pinches in Chromatocosmos.

The significance of the expansion of the “cultural identity” concept, was the fact that traditional concepts concerning the performance of the santouri and the baghlamas got interpreted in innovative ways, but at the same time, this new interpretation preserved the link to the Greek tradition.

In addition, the expansion of the “cultural identity” concept has set new boundaries to the works Chromatocosmos and ElectroSantouri, by producing new soundworlds, completely isolated from any sort of link to the Greek tradition.

Conclusions

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