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News | Researchers represent INET-md at the European Platform for Artistic Research in Music 2024
INET-md researchers Helena Marinho, Henrique Portovedo and doctoral students Helvio Mendes and Huayma Tulian attended the European Platform for Artistic Research in Music 2024, one of the most important events in the field of artistic research in music. The event, which took place between 21st and 23rd March at the Ljubljana Academy of Music in Slovenia, brought together several music researchers, musicians, teachers, performers and composers.
The European Platform for Artistic Research in Music (EPARM) is an initiative of the Association Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen Européenne des Conservatoires, Académies de Musique et Musikhochschulen (AEC) that aims to promote discourse around Artistic Research in the context of Higher Education in Music. During the 11th EPARM conference, INET-md researchers had the opportunity to present their projects and performances, as well as explore and discuss different approaches and methodologies for artistic research in music.
INET-md, through the Universidade de Aveiro, has been a member of the AEC since the beginning of April 2023.
Huayma Tulian and Helena Marinho | A Transcultural Approach to Composition-Performance
This proposal presents and discusses the creative process of Danza Imaginaria Nº2 (2023), a part of an artistic research project that develops experimentation on composition/performance based on Argentine dances. Danza Imaginaria Nº2 explores the concept and methodology of transcultural composition (Locke, 2009; Piedade, 2021) through the incorporation of traditional music from Northwestern Argentina—namely, elements from bagualas and vidalas. The use of these traditional patterns, associated with indigenous peoples, presents ethical, compositional, and performative challenges. This research is based on the following research questions: How do interrelations between composition and performance unfold in the exploration of traditional music content? What ethical and artistic commitments are assumed throughout a creative process involving traditional music? Thus, the research aimed to understand the dialogue between individual artistic practice and the concepts of exoticism, nationalism, and transculturality, to identify the aesthetic decisions and expressive needs that arise during the exploration of contents related to traditional music, and to understand my role as a composer/performer in the creation process of a transcultural musical work. An autoethnographic approach (Ellis, 1997) was employed, based on the experience as a composer-performer, applying the following methods: study of the concepts of exoticism, nationalism, and transculturality; contextualization of the selected traditional contents; auto observation and description of the experimental lab-work undertaken during the creation process; discussion of the interaction between composition and performance and of the associated ethical issues. The results unveiled the complexity inherent to using musical materials from socioeconomically disadvantaged communities for personal benefit. While literal and superficial references were avoided to respect traditional materials throughout the creative process, the engagement of the artists’ outlook was identified, based on personal experiences as a listener and performer from this cultural background, as a crucial procedure to prevent hostile appropriation. Throughout the creative process, the relationship between performance and composition remained intertwined, with the performative practices playing a pivotal role. Traditional materials transformed performative practices before being applied to the overall structure of the piece. Creative decisions were often AEC European Platform for Artistic Research in Music (EPARM) 2024 Academy of Music, University of Ljubljana (Ljubljana, Slovenia) Parallel Session shaped by performer’s skills, emphasizing transculturality based on experiential knowledge throughout the composition process.
Henrique Portovedo | Flung me, Foot trod Multidimensional Performance in the Post-Humanism
From a post-humanist perspective based on the principles of distributed cognition, hybridity and mutation, computing becomes fundamental to artistic practice and aesthetic experience. Since the end of the 20th century, there has been an emergence of artistic genres and expressions according to two principles: the integration of tradition and technological means; and the rupture of all contexts that cannot be seen as directly derived from digital technology. This means that the path of the creative process is based on understanding the adaptability of technical and technological realities, while at the same time being aware of technological potential as a means of achieving an artistic result. Flung Me, Foot Trod for Alto Saxophone and Electronics composed by Michael Edwards is a work that can be seen as based on Post-Human concepts, but as well as Post-Digital. In its creation, the origin of all sounds comes from the acoustic instrument, which is further processed, beyond the organological possibilities of the acoustic instrument, through the use of electronics, thus amplifying their references. Sound, silence, impulse, energy and noise, are embraced in a unitary process, which groups the two sound sources, acoustics and electroacoustics, in a single instrument, despite their different dimension. Although the electronics present recognizable saxophone sounds, on the whole, it is in its sonic realm, marrying itself with the solo part only in its presentation of similar material types (driving rhythms, scurrying textures, etc.). It was not the composer's intention to create the effect of an "orchestra of saxophones", or to have the saxophone play against itself on tape. On the contrary, flung me, foot trod takes its precedence more from the solo concerto, pitting two unequal forces against each other, their only common ground being material and, hence, structure. On the more technical side, the samples were processed using Bill Schottstaedt's "Common Lisp Music", the note lists were created with Heinrich Taube's "Common Music", and the mixing was accomplished with Paul Lansky's "Real Time Mixer" application.
Helvio Mendes | The creative process and performing xylophone solo and live looping: Affordance and sonic expansion
This presentation proposal explores the impact of combining the sonic possibilities of the xylophone and live looping (LL) technology, within the framework of the concept of affordance concept (Gibson, 1971). The creative and artistic research process was developed through collaborative work involving the pieces Xyloops (by the author, Alex Duarte and Cesar Traldi, 2018), Quasitude (Samuel Peruzzolo, 2022), and Under the Wood (George Alveskog, 2023). The research questions were: What are the artistic possibilities that arise from a sonic and collaborative exploration of the xylophone? How do the LL technological tools contribute to a sonic expansion of the xylophone, an instrument with recent history as regards its contribution to contemporary creation? The sonic exploration was developed in a lab context, aiming to achieve unusual or uncommonly used xylophone timbres, through the experimental use of varied materials and performing techniques. The sounds obtained were described, classified, and stored in a database, and applied through the collaborative creation process of the pieces. Regarding LL technologies, the research was centered on acquiring and developing the required skills to master the devices, namely the Loop Station pedal, the DAW Ableton Live, and the app Garage Band, which integrated the MIDI pedal with the instrument. Applying Chaib’s (2012) intellectual gesture concept, the work on percussive gestures was developed in 4 stages: the attention stage, which ranges from a technical understanding of how the device works to the analysis of movements and interaction with the set-up; the intention phase, related to the mapping of gestures; the decision stage, concerning the rationalization of the execution; and the precision stage, which coherently coordinates gestures and performance. The process involved interpretative challenges for the performer since it required a gestural and postural adaptation and the development of LL technology skills, as well as a thorough collaborative participation of the composers and the performer during the creative process. This sonic exploration also led to the creation of an expanded set of timbre resources for the xylophone, which complements current and conventional xylophone uses.
