Winner of the 2010 National Arts Award in the “Electronic Music” category at the Conservatory of “Nicola Sala” in Benevento and finalist at the 8th International Competition “City of Udine” (2010).
“In bilico” is a four-channel acousmatic work in which the composer proposes situations of great unstable tension, using sampled instrumental source sounds: trumpet, trombone, bandoneon, flute, oboe, and various broad or narrow band percussion. To these are added electronic sounds derived from spectral processing of instrumental sounds and synthetic sounds, which share structural elements with the previous ones: articulation (attack and decay envelopes), texture, internal rhythm, register, etc.
A trumpet transforms into a flute, the flute returns to being a trumpet, and later evolves into an accordion. Brass instruments were chosen as the structural spectral nexus because of their harmonic richness, which allows for numerous transformations of spectral content.
Surprise represents a key aesthetic element within the work. Sound objects that break into a phrase anticipate what will happen next. A material with isochronous rhythm serves as a transitional element for future changes and transformations, as repetition helps the listener become familiar with the characteristics of the protagonist sound object, making later changes more obvious.
Timbral transformations result not only from processes of true spectral morphing, but also from montage work, which groups together processed materials to create sets of sound objects that are similar in register, pitch, spectral density, texture, and articulation, while including contrasting features.
These transformations occur within virtual spaces created through discrete quadraphony. Displacement trajectories and the use of overlapping reverberations, assigned to different sound objects, transform space/time into an additional parameter of control over timbral changes.