Electro-ethnomusic
ver. 3. Korea Aerospace Research Institute, Daejeon, KR. 2024
ver. 2. Kimmel Center - Grand Hall, New York, US. 2019
ver. 1. Ulster University - Grand Hall, Derry, Ireland. 2018
Sound Performance. 8ch 2D audio
Algorithmic Pattern Generator, Pyeongyeong Physical Modeling
vid. ver. 1 concert (Click to play)
pic. A Picture of a pyeongyeong
This electronic and generative music is composed entirely of sounds from a physically modelled pyeongyeong (a Korean traditional stone chime instrument mainly used for royal ancestral ritual). A physical pyeongyeong consists of sixteen stones, and it is activated by percussion with an implement made of cow horn. Each stone is generally tuned to a different pitch, with thicker ones producing frequencies of greater magnitude. It can be modelled discretely with finite difference method, which is widely used to mathematically model the sound of percussion and other musical instruments.
Liu postulates that in the world of audio synthesis, synthesizers seem to generate culturally 'neutral' sounds as they do not possess ethnological roots, yet they originate from Western European and North American cultural paradigms as well. Even a sine wave, which is often regarded as the most neutral sound in the world of electronics, should be considered as the sound of Europeans. It was invented by them, and has been presented to the rest of the world.
While Western sonic aesthetics possess inherent validity and cultural significance, a question remains: what is purely synthesized sound of Asia?
In this regard, this work is a decolonized approach to synthesis, exhibiting characteristics of distinct ethnicity in sound by modeling the sound of the most valuable Korean traditional instrument, pyeongyeong. Pyeongyeong has been regarded as a sacred instrument that connects the heavenly bodies and earth, and was also used as a reference to tune other instruments in Korean traditional orchestra. It also has a history where all of the instrument makers perished during Japanese colonization, and it was revived based on remaining documentations.
While composing, he decided to involve spectromorphological gestures by morphing the shape and density of the pyeongyeong, which makes glissando-like or spectral techniques possible—something not possible with a physical pyeongyeong. Liu decided to use a 2D version instead of the generally used '3D mesh to physical model' approach, as the 2D version gives sound with more clarity and dynamics. The digitally coded and crafted instrument was played algorithmically and generates patterns in real-time. After Liu clicked the play button, the SuperCollider-based musical collaborator unfolded the entire performance.
pic. Part of the C++ code. This part is for creating a spectromorphological gesture that gradually morphs from a fragmented Pyeong to a complete one.
pic. UI window of the Pyeongyeong physical modeling synthesizer, used for ver. 1. and ver. 2.