Before Sound: Re-Composing Material, Time, and Bodies in Music

This thesis aims to understand the premises and consequences of a major change in my compositional practice, a change that emphasizes the temporality of sound and, more recently, the relationship between sounding body and musician. Such a shift calls into question the traditional conception of composition and its relation to sound material. This thesis accordingly investigates the theoretical and aesthetic reasons for this shift by interweaving aesthetic reflection on my work with historical research on the notion of musical material and the theory of sound production. The relationship between music and sound was conceptualized in classical Greece by distinguishing pitched sound, which was considered the constitutive element of song, from sound in general. Since then, music has been conceived as synthesis, that is, etymologically, as composition of such elements. The advent of modern acoustics and the introduction of electronic devices allowed avant-garde composers of the twentieth century to identify the element of music no longer in pitched sound but in the sine wave, thus questioning the distinction between musical sound and sound in general, as well as the conception of music as language. In order to further pursue this appropriation of sound, in my early works dating back to the 1990s, I attempted to rethink musical composition in relation to the transitory character of sound rather than to pitch or timbre differences. To illustrate this compositional approach, I examine two of my early works: En flottant (1995-97) for clarinet and Flatus vocis (1999) for flute, as well as Nel labirinto (2003) for ensemble, which represents a turning point in my musical production. The definition of sound material always involves a corresponding conception and use of sounding bodies. Thus, the rationalization of song as composition of pitched sounds in ancient Greece meant subordinating the body to the production of sound, reducing it to a mere instrument. This trend is brought to completion by the new electronic and digital devices, which make it possible to increase control over sound, by separating it from its source. Today, traditional acoustic instruments no longer seem suitable for the exploration of timbre due to their finiteness. This new situation, I argue, provides an opportunity to rethink the nature of the musical instrument, the relationship between instrument and musician, and the very position of sound in music. My more recent works, in fact, give prominence to the temporality of the musician's gesture as determined by the instrument. As an example of this renewed approach to composition, two of my most recent pieces are presented: A quattro mani (2015) for solo piano and Sui moti apparenti (2014) for two pianos.

Publication year:2022

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