Abstract

The present paper is a description of a compositional project within the context of my work as researcher student at the University of Sheffield Sound Studios. My research scope addresses the relations that hold between human voice, meanings through language and pure abstract vocal sounds, poetry and sound poetry, all within the acousmatic framework. In a first stage, the expected outcomes are a series of acousmatic pieces in the musique concrète tradition, intermedia works and the subsequent texts on these developed issues. For a second stage the results of the investigations should be focused on some aspects of algorithmic composition. It will be considered the feasibility of integrate the acousmatic path, based in fixed media, Schaefferian theories and sound spatialization, with the algorithmic tools and aesthetics, from poetry procedures (Tristan Tzara, OULIPO) until computer programs. As a inspirational source of artistic materials, the Latinamerica's poetical heritage will be addressed, specially the work by the Chilean poet Vicente Huidobro, father of the first vanguard movement in South America during the early Twenty century. The work in progress described here is part of the first stage mentioned above. Vicente Huidobro, part of the first avant garde movements of the Twenty century, has a interesting poetical work, remarkable and with a notorious imprint on the Spanish-speaking literature. Founder of the 'Creationism', the first original Latin American artistic vanguardist movement, was a pioneer in the creation of intermedia pieces and a referent for sound poetry and sound art. Huidobro lived between Santiago de Chile and Paris and not only wrote both in Spanish and French but defended the poetical image and the sound richness of the words allowing the translation of poetry from one language to another. Within my compositional task, several famous poems by Huidobro are in process of creative development at this moment. Nevertheless, I have selected one idea just suggested by the poet in an interview for a Chilean newspaper in 1919, where Huidobro states about a project that finally was never done. Why this selection? As is shown below, the project is very suggestive for the aims of my research as a whole and for the current state of the art concerning acousmatic composition, sound art and contemporary art in general. The original idea by the Chilean bard, it considered voices recorded in fixed media, sound spatial possibility and the suggestion of a sort of proto-acousmatic compositional approach. The current project in progress, described here, is was conceived as a Cycle or group of pieces: Overture, interlude, French Section, interlude, Spanish Section, interlude, English Section and Final. The nature of each part is already defined, although they have a margin to evolve during the composition, a proper characteristic of the acousmatic creative process. However, until the moment of this paper, there are three pieces for eight channels completed. In the following paper will describe the general aspects of the Cycle ‘La Lumière Artificielle’ and the three works mentioned, focusing in the third, namely ´the French Section´, covering its precompositional method, formal aspects, sound object organization, metaphors and structure.