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Notes
[1] An example of this process would be Omaggio a György Kurtág for contralto, flute, clarinet, tuba and live electronics. The initial version of this work was performed on 10 June 1983 during Maggio Musicale Fiorentino held in Florence. The definitive version was first performed on 6 June 1986 during the Giornata della nuova musica held in Turin.
[2] Telephone conversation between Fabbriciani and Laura Zattra, 7 June 2011.
[3] Haller recounts that digital technology was introduced to the Experimental Studio of the Strobel Foundation during the 1980s for two reasons: to enlarge and refine control functions, such as the sequencing of events (Haller, Citation1995, 2: 111), and to analyse acoustic data (Haller, Citation1995, 2: 141).
[4] In the 1970s, Peter Lawo and Hans Peter Haller developed an apparatus that enabled composers to better control the movement of sound in space by combining four envelope oscillators (Hüllkurvenoszillatoren) and four gates. Otto Tomek, then head of the SWF and President of the Strobel Foundation, named the device the HAllerLAwoPHON (Haller, Citation1995, 1: 77).
[5] Publishing houses often produce and circulate preliminary scores that can be tested in concert performances before a definitive version is published (Marco Mazzolini interviewed by Zattra, 26 April 2011).
[6] Mazzolini interviewed by Zattra, 26 April 2011.
[7] The numerous fermatas in the score and the varying acoustic properties of the concert spacemean that length of each performance will differ somewhat, but not by more than approximately 30 seconds. Telephone conversation between Fabbriciani and Zattra, 7 June 2011.
[8] For Molino the neutral level (also sometimes called the niveau matériel) represents the message or content of a statement understood outside of the process that brought it into existence, as well as outside of the various contexts within which it is received and interpreted (Nattiez, Citation1975, pp. 50–55).
[9] An example of a problematic interpretation can be found on YouTube (http://youtu.be/b3VTjtZdi4g). In this case, A Pierre was given a ‘network’ performance, with the three performers located in Belfast, Hamburg and Graz. Given the very slow tempo and the fact that interaction between the performers is part of the work, A Pierre is in fact an excellent choice for this type of performance. Unfortunately, the performers chose to use a bass flute instead of a contrabass flute, which automatically distorts the sounds that Nono intended the flute to perform. Furthermore, they ignored Nono's specific request to maintain their mouth pieces in playing position even during long pauses. In a proper interpretation, the live and processed sound sources should blend to create a kind of labyrinthine effect that leaves the listener wondering just where the sounds are coming from. In the YouTube concert, the performers should have been filmed at a distance and should have maintained their mouthpieces in place for the duration of the concert.
[10] Fabbriciani interviewed by Zattra, 21 March 2011.
[11] Fabbriciani interviewed by Zattra, 21 March 2011. Tape recordings of this material are conserved at the Archivio Luigi Nono.
[12] The statement was published in Italian, English and German together with explanatory texts by Stenzl & Haller (Citation1993).
[13] ‘Il decorso compositivo è fissato nei suoi dettagli, mentre la notazione è pensata come traccia per l'esecutore.’ L. Nono (Citation2001b).
[14] For a definition of the concept of ‘script’, see Cook (Citation2003), pp. 206–207.
[15] In his book detailing work done at the Strobel Foundation, Haller presents a picture of just such a diagram that Nono drew for Io, frammento dal Prometeo (Haller, Citation1995, 2: 119).
[16] In his German text, Haller described the elaboration and development of these ideas as the growth of thread-like tentacles of a medusa: ‘wie die fadenartigen Fangarme einer Qualle’ (Haller, Citation1995, 2: 118).
[17] Scattered references to A Pierre can also be found in the sketches and drafts pertaining to the first version of Risonanze erranti. Liederzyklus a Massimo Cacciari, composed in 1986 (however, this material has not been considered in this research).
[18] Fabbriciani interviewed by Zattra, 21 March 2011.
[19] Email from Fabbriciani to Zattra, 7 June 2011.
[20] Fabbriciani confirmed this in an interview and added that he purchased this new instrument, which had recently been made in Munich. Email from Fabbriciani to Zattra, 3 May 2011.
[21] This explanation was confirmed by both Fabbriciani and Vidolin: Fabbriciani and Vidolin interviewed by Zattra, 22 February and 21 March 2011, respectively.
[22] In a discussion with Friedemann Sallis in his home on 26 September 1998, Haller insisted that though he collaborated intensely with Nono for many years, he was not and should not be considered a co-author of the works. He understood his role as that of furnishing raw material for a building project rather than as the creator of a work. In Haller's opinion, Nono was the true architect of the building (see also Haller, Citation1995, 2: 117).
[23] The canon cannot be precisely notated because the delayed ‘voices’ are modified micro-tonally. Furthermore, the performers are explicitly instructed to react and adapt to the acoustics of each performance venue. Consequently, though correct performances will produce a work that is recognisable from one concert to another, the details of the musical outcomes can vary significantly.
[24] The musicians were chosen by the Banff Centre because of their experience with contemporary music (notably works involving live electronics) and their knowledge of Nono's work. We would like to thank the Department of Music of the Banff Centre (especially the Head, Barry Shiffman, the Artistic Director, Henk Guittart and the Head of the Audio Sector, Theresa Leonard) and the Faculty of Fine Arts (especially Dean Ann Calvert) for their generous support and encouragement. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for supporting the current interpretative phase of this research project.
[25] The protocol for recording the works was established in discussions between Friedemann Sallis, Ian Burleigh and the administration of the Music Department of the Banff Centre between August 2007 and January 2009. Sallis attended rehearsals, the concert and the post-concert recording session. He took notes and interacted with the participants, but remained a passive observer throughout the process.
[26] US Patents 3,997,725 (14 December 1976) and 4,042,779 (16 August 1977).
[27] The University of Calgary Theatre Services generously allowed us to borrow their Soundfield MKV microphone for this research project.
[28] There is a fundamental difference between recording sound for sound production (consumer edition) and for study. Surround sound techniques capture the ‘sense of space’, and reproduce an illusion of that space, ambisonic technology provides a more reliable reading of the space within which a musical event occurred.
[29] The minimum number of loudspeakers is four for horizontal sound, eight for a full sphere; however, more loudspeakers (6 and 12, respectively) are required for a stable sound image.
[30] Reconstruction of the concert performance of A Pierre using the ambisonic recording took place at a colloquium at CCRMA, Stanford University (Burleigh & Sallis, Citation2010), at the annual meeting of the Canadian University Music Society (Sallis, Burleigh & Rothery, 2010) and at the annual meeting of the American Musicological Society (Sallis & Burleigh, Citation2010).
[31] The exceptions that prove the rule are of course the cori-spezzati works by Giovanni Gabrieli.
[32] The spatial resolution of first-order ambisonics is limited by the slope of the virtual microphones cardioid pattern and therefore is ‘myopic’ to a degree. Images obtained from so-called higher-order (second or third) ambisonic signals provide much better results that match, or even surpass directionality of human hearing; this process has been successfully tested on synthesised higher-order ambisonic sound files. We are currently investigating the feasibility of recording such signals using microphone arrays, in particular, the Eigenmike® microphone array developed by mh acoustics LLC (http://www.mhacoustics.com/).
[33] Alastair Williams (among others) observes that as early as 1958 Boulez had hypothesised a continuum de timbres between acoustic and electro-acoustic sound sources. His efforts were thwarted because of the technical limits of the day (Williams, Citation2004, p. 512). In his discussion of A Pierre, Haller (Citation1999) speaks of ‘electronic sound extension’.
[34] Fabbriciani and Vidolin, interviewed by Zattra, 22 February and 21 March 2011 respectively.
[35] For example, the canon (based on the 12- and 24-second delay) that constitutes a structural scaffolding for the entire work should remain almost imperceptible in a correct interpretation of the work (Haller, Citation1991, pp. 48–49).
[36] The expression suono mobile orginates in the collaboration of the composer, the musicians and the technicians at the Experimental Studio of the Strobel Foundation in Freiburg, and derives specifically from the action of the live electronics on sound (Cecchinato, Citation1999, p. 135). Presenting the piece Guai ai gelidi mostri (1983), Luigi Nono wrote: «suono mobile non statico, per monolitismo delle formanti-microintervalli fino alla differenza di 1 Hz.—varie trasposizioni dello spettro acustico non pi[ugrave] unico—altre vibrazioni altri filtri per la diffusione con l'uso compositivo dello spazio appositamente da studiare» (L. Nono, Citation2001a). Milan: Ricordi; the complete text can be found here: http://www.luiginono.it/it/luigi-nono/opere/guai-ai-gelidi-mostri).
[37] We have maintained the order and groupings of the items as they appear in the catalogue of the Archivio. For an explanation of the organisational principles of this catalogue see, E. Schaller (Citation2004).