24. November 2023. the resonances, part 1 & 2 is an immersive sound performance for two brass instruments created for CUTTING THE VOID by Laurie Schwartz and inspired by the expansive, minimalist installations of Andreas Schmid and Asako Tokitsu. The work investigates the possibility of creating a sonic architecture as counterpoint/amplification of the visual dimension, happily taking full advantage of the remarkable expanse of space offered by the Center for Contemporary Art. The work was conceived with choreographed movement and in two distinct parts to highlight the very different ways that architecture and the visual sculpting of an architectural space are explored in the two installations.
In a clear reference to the minimalist, essential nature of CUTTING THE VOID, the musical materials for both parts 1 and 2 of the resonances are reduced to a bare minimum, each in very specific ways. the resonances, part 1 sonically frames 5 different sculptural constellations within Andreas Schmid’s sweeping installation, focusing on microtonal fluctuations of single pitches and subtle variations in timbre produced by alternate fingerings, varied articulation, and different combinations of mutes. For the resonances, part 2, the sounds of the brass are, in effect, immersed in the imaginary sculptures created by Asako Tokitsu. While cognizant of the specific points in space necessary to position themselves in order to perceive each of Tokitsu’s 13 expansive 3-dimensional drawings, the performers fill the space – and the installation – with varying combinations of the first overtones + first undertone of a harmonic series based on 2 different fundamentals. The performance concludes after all 13 images have been inhabited.
the resonances is about “grasping” the space and “grasping” the sculptures that may be perceived within it, the word here intended in both senses of the word: “to understand, perceive, comprehend” and “to seize, take hold of”. And doing this with SOUND. Here, the sonic dimension intersects with and amplifies the visual, pointing to potentially new ways of experiencing the works. It is also about perceiving the wealth of sound to be discovered in the resonance of two remarkable instruments in a remarkable space.
