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P Roject C Aspar P R O J E C T C ASPAR OCUMENTATION OF THE R E V I V A L O F D D IADÈMES B Y M A R C - A N D R É D A L B A V I E 1986 [ ] BY KARIN WEISSENBRUNNER IN COOPERATION WITH ALAIN BONARDI, SERGE LEMOUTON & JÉRÔME BARTHÉLEMY REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................................. 3 A. DOCUMENTATION.......................................................................................................................3 1. INTRODUCTION: DOCUMENTATION OF DIADÈMES' PRESERVATION.....................................................3 2. LIVE-ELECTRONICS IN DIADÈMES...................................................................................................... 4 3. BASIC MATERIAL AT DISPOSAL ....................................................................................................... 5 3.1. SCORES & ARCHIVE MATERIAL ...................................................................................................... 6 3.2. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS VIRTUALISATION ATTEMPTS OF THE FM SYNTHESIS...................................... 8 4. THE FM SYNTHESIZER YAMAHA TX816............................................................................................8 4.1. RECORDING OF THE SYNTHESIZER SAMPLES.................................................................................. 9 4.2. CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................12 5. PROCESSING OF THE VIOLA: ELECTRONIC EFFECTS......................................................................... 13 6. SESSION WITH MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE .........................................................................................15 6.1. COMPARISON OF THE RECORDED SOUNDS ................................................................................... 15 I. Quality of dynamic..........................................................................................................................16 II. Sound quality: Timbre, ADSR-curve .............................................................................................16 III. Sustain, Fade-out.........................................................................................................................16 7. CONCLUSION OF THE DOCUMENTATION ..........................................................................................16 INTERVIEW......................................................................................................................................... 17 B. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................. 21 1. CONSIDERATIONS TO THE INTERVIEW..............................................................................................21 1.1. PRESERVING THE SOUND............................................................................................................. 21 1.2. INTERPRETATION WITH LIVE ELECTRONICS................................................................................... 21 1.3. SOUND AESTHETIC/ CHANGING AUTHENTICITY .............................................................................. 21 1.4. CONCLUSION...............................................................................................................................22 2. PRESERVING LIVE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT................................................................................... 22 2.1. MUSICAL COMPARISON OF PRESERVATION ACTIONS.................................................................... 23 2.2. TECHNICAL COMPONENTS TO PORT LIVE ELECTRONICS ...............................................................25 2.3. COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SOLUTIONS .........................................................................................26 I. Emulation/Plug-in ...........................................................................................................................26 II. Virtualisation.................................................................................................................................. 27 III. Sampling of recorded sounds ...................................................................................................... 28 2.4. AUTHENTICITY IN PRESERVING PROCEDURES................................................................................ 29 3. CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................. 30 2 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 A BSTRACT Here we document the preservation and the revival procedure in the framework of the Caspar Project of Diadèmes, written by Marc-André Dalbavie in 1986. The Live-electronic parts of this piece evoke problems now, because of the obsolescence and the instability of the technical equipment. We also illustrate our search for technical solutions to re-perform pieces using such live-electronic instruments as FM synthesizers. As it is not possible to preserve the original devices in the case of Diadèmes a new version is necessary, which has to satisfy certain requirements. From the beginning of electric music instruments or devices, people had to struggle for their longevity. On the one hand, they facilitated for the first time the materialization of a certain sound event within a medium. Additionally they enabled the creation of artificial sounds, e.g.the early electronic instruments Mixtur-Trautonium or Ondes Martenot. But on the other hand, as opposed to scores or acoustical instruments they are at the same time the shortest lasting artefacts. "We must always think that in music 50 years is a very short future."1 Notation also changes but not at the same rate and we can still read music from more than 500 years ago. Technological evolution is accelerating while at the same time the lifetime of electronic instruments decreases ever more. In the context of the CASPAR project, it is necessary to set a documentation to study the process, identify intentions and look for tools of preservation. The main focus is keeping the authenticity of the preserved version. A detailed documentation in part A shows the preparation of archival material, the technical procedure of migration of live-electronic equipment and the validation of the new version by the composer. Since there are many pieces for live-electronic machines, in part B we try to find more general methods for preserving pieces written during the last few decades. Additionally the analysis of the interview with the composer Marc-André Dalbavie will help to find overall key elements. After we reflect general considerations of preserving processes in the framework of the CASPAR project referring to the OAIS (Open Archives Information System) model. We try to point out the issues for the further handling of pieces using live electronics, which may no longer be reliable, to prevent losses of important musical information/elements. A. D oc u men ta tion 1. I NTRODUCTION : D OCUMENTATION OF D IADÈMES ' P RESERVATION The first FM-synthesizers or artificial effects like the first harmonizers commercialized by Yamaha in the eighties are examples of electronic instruments that have become obsolete. This commercial technique also offered new possibilities to composers of contemporary music. We will consider the musical piece Diadèmes, written in 1986 by Marc-André Dalbavie; it was his first piece realized at Ircam in Paris. Because of the integration of traditional instruments with digitally generated sound, Diadèmes won the Ars Electronica prize in 1987, after the first performance on June 16th, 1986 in Paris. What makes this piece special is the mixture of three musical groups: a classical orchestra next to an electronic orchestra, and electronic effects for live transformations of a solo viola. The electronic orchestra was realised with two Yamaha TX816 synthesizers based on FM synthesis, “played” by two Midi keyboards. The effects for the transformation of the viola were a harmonizer, an echo, reverberation and panning. Since these synthesizers are no longer produced and old models have become obsolete, a preservation effort for further performance is essential. A new performance of Diadèmes on December 5th, 2008 in New York necessitates its revival. The first step was to set an overview of the migration requirements in April 2008. At this time, the decision of preserving each sound of the synthesizer was taken. Serge Lemouton, a computer-music designer at Ircam in charge of Diadèmes, was responsible for finding a solution for a new version, especially for the FM-synthesizer. He focused already in April 1 BERNARDINI, Nicola, and VIDOLIN, Alvise. Sustainable Live Electro-acoustic Music. In Proceedings of the International Sound and Music Computing Conference, Salerno, Italy, 2005, p. 2 3 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 on the idea of programming a sampler, which would load all the recordings of the synthesizer sounds to replay them with a keyboard. After collecting all the material (scores and archive material), preparing and repairing the old Yamaha equipment, and finally analysing and interpreting the data, he started the realisation of this new version in July 2008 in CASPAR project's company. Marc-André Dalbavie came to Ircam on July 18th, 2008 to examine the results. 2. L IVE - E LECTRONICS IN D IADÈMES
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