Audio Control Turn on Yuval's sonic flow

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Audio Control Turn on Yuval's sonic flow
Audio Control

In memory of Syd Barrett
REC Festival
Teatro Cavallerizza, Reggio Emilia, Italy – November 13, 2013

Quintet (piano, viola, cello, bass clarinet, flutes) + live electronics, Mobile Sound theater (32 loudspeakers), visuals (back and frontal screens), crowd music ensemble

The Wagnerian concept of a “total opera” meets the psychedelia in a poetic study dedicated to the controversial personality of Syd Barrett, founder of Pink Floyd.

A total opera where sounds, images, gestures, objects and actions complete one another thanks to the creative partnership of a truly unique Italian “task-force”: soloists from the Teatro alla Scala, legendary artists from the electronic music scene, a great visual artist, dancers, performing everything from ballet to avant-garde theatre, with post-punk and contemporary musicians. All will be performing as one, guided by the psychedelic creation of the visionary composer Yuval Avital, giving life to one of the central dramas of the cultural scene in the second half of the 20th century.

The icon – sonic opera Noise for Syd features no arrangements or citations from Syd Barrett’s or Pink Floyd’s music. And yet, Avital’s psychedelic score – a detailed graphic work that blends stage cues, traditional notations, iconic images, drawings and quotations – is a map of signs, motifs, sound metaphors, gestures and symbols that recall intimate and detailed aspects of Syd’s story: his early departure from the music scene and his withdrawal into self-imposed exile at his mother’s house in Cambridge for over 30 years; his fantastical and psychedelic dimension that mixed Lewis Carroll’s surrealism, art, spirituality, urbanity, blues and rock, all with almost a childish freedom; the world of hallucinations in which Barrett lost himself; testimonies of his band mates and family members and, most of all, the wound he left, that smarted for many years afterwards, drawing in the rock scene tears of sound – as with the celebrated Pink Floyd songs “Shine on you crazy diamond” and “Wish you were here” – and fuelling a variety of theories and legends about his life that, when publicly discussed, still have the power to arouse heated debates to this day.

“Syd never understood celebrity,” his sister Rosemary stated in a radio interview a few years ago. And indeed, Avital’s opera distances itself clearly from the cult of Syd Barrett as a celebrity “to be exploited” and shuns the way the media capitalized from the mysterious circumstances of his death. Instead, this is a work that aims to create a staging of a human archetype which, as in the myth of Icarus, reaches the light and then burns his wings.

Yuval Avital – Composition, direction, video, electric guitar, noise effects Matteo Guarnaccia – slideshow, overhead projector, body painting Giovanni Cospito – electric bass & live-electronics Lorenzo Colombo – extended drum-set & percussions Paolo de Gaspari – bass-clarinet & ethnic reeds Riccardo Sinigaglia- MOOG, VCS, grand piano (to be played inside) Simone Beneventi – Noise objects, percussions Anna Kolesarova & Marta Mazzoleni – Dance Isabella Spinelli – Stage design & assistant director Paolo Latini – Light design

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Massive Sonic Works:

/ˈmæsɪv ˈsɒnɪk wɜːrks/

Large-scale performances using collective participation to create powerful sound masses.

Yuval Avital’s “Massive Sonic Works” or “Opera di Massa Sonora” involves the creation of large-scale performances that utilize collective participation to craft a unique sound experience. These works focus on forming powerful sound masses through the collaboration of numerous performers, exploring new possibilities through sound rituals. The compositions often include graphic visual elements, written music, and easy-to-read instructions to allow interpretation by individuals without prior musical experience. This approach, sometimes involving hundreds of participants, aims to create what can be described as “crowd music.”

Some key works in Avital’s repertoire include:

– GARON (2012): An opera for 45 bass tubas do, percussions, and a crowd of performers.

– KARAGATAN (2013): A composition for 100 gongs and bamboo in the Philippines.

– REKA (2014): Commissioned by the Warsaw Autumn Festival and co-produced by the MiTo festival in Milan, involving traditional singers from unique cultures such as Tibetan, Zulu, Sardinian, Mongolian, and Samarkand traditions.

One of Avital’s significant compositions is MISE EN ABÎME, a milestone work that marks the beginning of his “Massive Sonic Works” series. Premiered in 2011, this composition involves a large ensemble of 100-200 non-musician vocalists, accordions, bass tubas, soprano, bass clarinet, percussions, didgeridoo, and conductors directing the performance in an immersive setup.

Another notable work is URLA, an immersive sonic experience with over 300 performers, showcasing diverse musical traditions in Matera, Italy. This piece combines traditional elements with modern instrumentation, theatrical actions, and innovative technological approaches, reflecting Yuval Avital’s interdisciplinary and transcultural artistic vision.

Yuval Avital’s creations blend complexity, cultural diversity, and technological innovation to create immersive and participatory sonic experiences that push the boundaries of traditional music composition and performance.