waterlilies in fontiform
2023 | 13:16
electroacoustic composition
field recordings + analog photographs
listening to Carlo Scarpa’s Tomba Brion
published by framework editions
digital
Thought as a continuation of the work for scarpa's fountains (see below), the composition waterlilies in fontiform weaves field recordings made in, on, and around the Tomba Brion in San Vito d'Altivole. Designed by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa in the 70s, this burial ground materializes as a garden guided by a multitude of lines made of concrete, metal, marble, and glass. Yet as one wanders in this peculiar landscape, one soon realizes that concrete isn’t the tomb’s primary material, water is. As if submerged, the graves are encircled by basins interconnected by a network of fountains, rivulets, and pipes. Water striders, sporadic frogs, vibrant fish and tapestries of waterlilies glide over sunken pyramidal stepped edges, echoing ruins of bygone architectures. An aqueous rhizome at the heart of the garden which steers us through the whole sanctuary. The composition brings listeners into the various materialities of the space and the underwater hums of the fontiform network's machinery. Moreover, subtle algae photosynthesis, muffled voices of human visitors, and the garden's avian inhabitants infuse with life the architect's carefully organized matter. Ambiguous feelings arise as if perched in equilibrium on the crests of the tomb's multifarious structures. The piece ends with openings (both geographical and temporal) as the uncanny murmurs of the flowing waters are joined by the drones of another (temporary) Venetian fountain, Claire Tabouret's sculpture "Deux Baigneuses'', before fading into the vespertine soundscape of a small Portuguese village. A midwife toad calls in the darkness, bells resound in a valley, as Brion Tomb’s architectonic specter lingers in the flowing waters.
> Note: Tomba Brion is also the resting place of Scarpa himself, who shared that "the place for the dead is a garden".
Recorded in the Tomba Brion in Altivole (april 2022), Palazzo Cavanis in Venice (april 2022), and in Peneda-Gerês National Park (may 2023) — with Aquarian H2a-XLR hydrophone, LOM Uši Pro, LOM Geofón, SoundDevices MixPre-6 II, Sony PCM-D100.
> published on framework radio’s editions as part of their seasonal series alongside contributions by Yenting Hsu, Steve Peters, and nula.cc → listen/download
(this piece joins for scarpa’s fountains in a collection of fontiform music dedicated to Carlo Scarpa’s architecture.)
︎
for scarpa’s fountains
2020 | 25:12
electroacoustic composition
field recordings + analog photographs
listening to Carlo Scarpa’s fountains
published by forms of minutiae
vinyl + digital
First release of forms of minutiae, a publishing platform dedicated to sonic ecologies, electroacoustic music, and attuning listenings — founded by Pablo Diserens and Mathieu Bonnafous in 2020.
for scarpa’s fountains is an ode to Carlo Scarpa’s carefully organized matter and instinctive approach to raw elements and their coexistence with water. In resonance with the architect's work, Diserens blends field recordings gathered in the Venetian city and Scarpa’s spaces — such as sounds of fountains from the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and the Giardino delle sculture — with drone and rhythmical improvisations on cymbals and glass. This 25-minute long piece is divided into three distinct parts, each investigating various structures, materials, and memories. The two firsts segments are direct tributes to the architect in which Diserens uses copper and glass as compositional tools to create imaginary spaces that translate the subtleties of Scarpa’s forms through circular drones and transients ballets. As one wanders through these sonic rooms, or perhaps gardens, one also hears the long chants of cicadas and faint murmurs of passing visitors guided by the fountains’ drizzles. In the last section, listeners emerge from these architectonic apparitions with a surreal soundscape of Venice at dawn. Seagulls cry in unison from a sleeping city’s roofs, while a lonely figure drags a suitcase on the stone pavement unveiling the street’s relief and narrowness. The piece comes to an end as it dives back into Scarpa’s dripping waters.
for scarpa’s fountains celebrates the juxtaposition of various (sonic) materials that produce triggering patterns of (acoustic) memory.
sounds and photographs gathered in venice, july 2019 — layered and processed in berlin, april 2020for scarpa’s fountains is an ode to Carlo Scarpa’s carefully organized matter and instinctive approach to raw elements and their coexistence with water. In resonance with the architect's work, Diserens blends field recordings gathered in the Venetian city and Scarpa’s spaces — such as sounds of fountains from the Fondazione Querini Stampalia and the Giardino delle sculture — with drone and rhythmical improvisations on cymbals and glass. This 25-minute long piece is divided into three distinct parts, each investigating various structures, materials, and memories. The two firsts segments are direct tributes to the architect in which Diserens uses copper and glass as compositional tools to create imaginary spaces that translate the subtleties of Scarpa’s forms through circular drones and transients ballets. As one wanders through these sonic rooms, or perhaps gardens, one also hears the long chants of cicadas and faint murmurs of passing visitors guided by the fountains’ drizzles. In the last section, listeners emerge from these architectonic apparitions with a surreal soundscape of Venice at dawn. Seagulls cry in unison from a sleeping city’s roofs, while a lonely figure drags a suitcase on the stone pavement unveiling the street’s relief and narrowness. The piece comes to an end as it dives back into Scarpa’s dripping waters.
for scarpa’s fountains celebrates the juxtaposition of various (sonic) materials that produce triggering patterns of (acoustic) memory.
additional cymbals and glass improvisations recorded in berlin, april 2020
formats: digital & transparent 12” vinyl with printed artwork in pvc sleeve - lathe cut and printed with care at disc_archive
forms of minutiae, 2020
review :
“The piece begins with a auditory chiaroscuro trained on a single dribble of water, rushing and bubbling into granular clusters of sound in that enigmatically compelling sort of way I attempted to explain above, but Diserens soon spreads the focus out and traces that outer boundaries of their lush, well-captured soundscape with the cold, clear clangs and drones of various metal objects being struck together.” Noise Not Music
