Comptes Rendus
In Review
London
Katharine Norman
(p)NMC Recordings, Sonic
Arts Network (NMC D034) (1996)
Compte rendu par
Darren Copeland
London
Katharine Norman
(p)NMC Recordings, Sonic
Arts Network (NMC D034) (1996)
Reviewed by
Darren Copeland
Le disque compact "London"
de Katharine Norman parle des gens et des ambiances de Londres
en un tryptique "d'espaces sonores digitaux".
La guerre au Moyen Orient a eu un effet sur plusieurs adultes
nés après la deuxième guerre mondiale en
montrant que l'état de guerre n'était pas si loin
que ça. Dans un dialogue tranquille et réflectif,
Katharine Norman nous propose de partager avec elle les mémoires
et les années d'enfance de sa mère durant la deuxième
Guerre Mondiale.
Le morceau, intitulé "In her own time" comprend
deux charactères: Rita Norman et sa fille, Katharine,
la compositrice. .... un souvenir des vies perdues durant la
guerre.
"London E17" nous donne une toile sonore de la vie
habituelle des habitants de Londres, soutenue par des nuages
de sons d'ordinateur.
|
People Underground |
  |
Le troisième mouvement, "People Underground", construit une image sonore à partir des sons de réverbération enregistrés dans les tunnels qui passent en desous de la Tamise.
|
Trilling Wire |
|
Pour conclure, une oeuvre fluide et pétillante pour clarinette et ruban intitulée "Trilling Wire" confronte le clarinettiste Jonathan Cooper avec l'ordinateur. C'est une course entre les deux, passant par tous les registres sonores. Le moment décisif arrive quand les sons de l'ordinateur surpassent ceux du clarinettiste et forcent celui-ci à s'engloutir lentement dans l'espace sonore.
Darren Copeland
This CD touches upon the people and moods of London in a trio of 'digital soundscapes'. It also provides a mixed work for clarinet.
The Gulf War gave many post-war adults a slight chill, as war suddenly didn't seem as distant as before. Katharine Norman's mother was a youth during World War II and has retained many memories. Katherine Norman shares them with the listener in a quiet, reflective, and conversational work.
"In her own time" has two characters: Rita Norman and her daughter the composer. Whose computer music shrouds the atmosphere with a subdued darkness, a softly worded reminder of the lives wasted in war.
When we live in a city for a period of time, a family of reoccurring soundscapes compose our sense of place. In the next work, "London E17", Katharine Norman investigates worlds familiar to her day to day life as a Londoner. Simple snapshots of anonymous Londoners in anonymous lo-fi settings hang from a melancholic clothesline of c-sound tone clusters.
Again the mood is quiet and reflective. In the work that follows, "People Underground", the dark echoes of underground passage ways reverberate and rumble in a succession of events that fade in and out of black. The composer demonstrates a purity of purpose here, as all the elements in this work derive from soundscape recordings of foot tunnels beneath the Thames.
Rounding off the CD is "Trilling Wire" for Clarinet and Tape. Norman wheels out the computer again and the clarinetist, Jonathan Cooper, comes skipping and dancing along with her. The computer timbres are a kind of stream that the clarinet dashes through: bouncing off one register and then another, and gaining the speed and velocity to soar overhead for a while. The one moment where the computer sounds manage to snare the clarinet, and keep it still for a moment, is the most decisive. After this point, the clarinet drifts back and submerges slowly until the finish.
Darren Copeland
Vous pouvez vous procurer le disque compact London chez:
The CD on which this work appears - London - can be ordered from:
NMC/Sonic Arts Network
samantha@sonicart.demon.co.uk
271/273 King Street, Hammersmith
London, UK W6 9LZ
eMusic / Electronic Music Foundation
(EMF)
116 North Lake Avenue
Albany NY
12206-2710 USA
emf@emf.org
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