ACUSMATRIX (binaural) by Pablo Palacio

Acusmatrix is a sonic reflection on the complexity and musical richness of birdsong. The piece is entirely generated by a process of sound metamorphosis of short sounds produced by four European birds. As composer and ornithologist Olivier Messiaen stated, birds are probably the most stunning sound virtuosos over the planet, and their repertoire covers a stunning spectromorphological range of absolute contemporaneity, ranging between complex noise sounds to delicate pitched tones. This composition is an electroacoustic-acousmatic piece inspired in the musical bird treaty this master created for piano.


The structure of the piece is divided in six movements, in which short sounds emitted by four bird species are the source of all the music of the piece. Each movement is dedicated to a single bird. At the outset of each piece, the original bird sound is heard, and it is then followed by a series of gradual transformations of the original sound source produced by each bird. Acusmatrix develops a sound generation method with a tree structure. Starting with the former sound the transformations successive metamorphosis of the original are produced, creating a genealogy of perceptually interconnected sound characters, sounds with multiple junctions and branches. These transformations exploit the multidimensionality of sonic space and reflect the fact that sound is a continuum in constant transformation.

Acusmatrix is the music for the ballet of the same name choreographed and performed by Muriel Romero, and it was the first creation of the company Instituto Stocos

The birds:

Tetrao Urogallus (Western Capercaillie)
Silvia Atricapilla(Blackcap)
Lagopus mutus (Ptarmigan)
Tachybaptus Ruficollis (Little grebe)


The scenes:

1- Tetrao Urogallus (1st Part):
2- Lagopus mutus
3- Silvia Atricapilla (1st Part)
4- Tetrao Urogallus (2nd Part)
5- Silvia Atricapilla (2nd Part)
6- Tachybaptus Ruficollis

Pablo Palacio is a music composer, researcher and director of Instituto Stocos, a project focused on the transfer of concepts between art and science in a performative context. His work focuses on the establishment of perceptual connections between algorithmic processes, physical movement, and sonic images. He is a very active composer for dance, designing multiple interactive musical instruments

stocos.com