Poland / Germany / Netherlands, 2021, modern classical / electroacoustic
Orkiestra Muzyki Nowej / musikFabrik / E-Mex-Ensemble / LutosAir Quintet / Lutosławski Quartet / Maciej Koczur / Szymon Bywalec / Johannes Schöllhorn / Christoph Maria Wagner / Marco Blaauw / Agata Zubel – Acousmatic Music (Marcin Stańczyk): Acousmatic compositions written by Marcin Stańczyk between 2016 and 2018 and released on CD in 2021. The whole concept is insanely fascinating to me. Just the fact that the inspiration for this kind of musique concrète could come from Pythagoras’ teaching style is the last thing I would’ve ever expected in a listening experience! Unfortunately this kind of performance is meant to be experienced live, with the audience blindfolded, and the performers moving silently about the room so the listeners have no idea where sounds will come from, separating the sounds from the sound-makers, just as Pythagoras would sometimes stand behind a curtain to lecture so that his students would focus on what he was saying and not on him. Hence the word “acousmatic”, coming from the Greek word akousmatikoi, referring to the students who were limited to pure listening. I did my best. I lay down on my bed, put on my headphones, turned off the lights, hit play, and closed my eyes. Not gonna lie: there are some rather alarming (mildly terrifying?) moments herein. My advice to anyone who’s interested is don’t click the above link right now. Wait until you’re in a silent, dark place without distractions.
Museum Musica 