Since the beginning of time, musical instruments have undergone modifications that allow them to adapt to the expressive demands of their time. Some instruments such as those that form the modern string quartet (violin, viola and cello) have a history that dates back to the first monodic instruments such as the Rebecq of the troubadours. Among the most important modifications we will note the addition of the sound post to increase the low volume of the instruments and thus obtain a greater projection, the curvature of the bridge allowing only one string to be played at a time, the tension of the strings and the addition of the cello endpin to stabilize the instrument.
In the second part of the XX century is affirmed a new source of inspiration for composers and their quest for new means of expression: the electronic music. Thus writing parts for electronic sources mixed with instrumental sources, called mixed pieces is becoming increasingly important in the panorama of contemporary music. These pieces are created under different broadcast systems: stereo, quadraphonic, 5.1, 8.0, etc.
This new concert situation has definitely changed the viewing habits of listeners, and their attention was brought to focus on the dissemination of music through the speakers. In other words, the instrument is no longer the main source of projection. This has brought new opportunities in musical writing, especially regarding the physical space of sound and moving. However, we lost some notions of ontological. The performer is often cut off from the overall result of the play, even if a return system is proposed. The cause-effect relationship is often unknown of the performer, because of its isolation, behind the speaker line, we can say that often the result is approximate.
In the interest of developing my musical research for composition, and inspired by the explorations conducted by Adrian Mamou-Mani (Acoustics researcher) in «instruments augmentées», I was interested in the construction of “hybrid” instruments. These are classic instruments that have the ability to project electronic processing and sounds by themselves. This new, offers us the opportunity to re-forge the link between causality and dissemination of sound, replace the performer at the center of the management of the resulting sound and also allows to consider joint concerts in places not equipped with the possibility of wider dissemination.
Smaqra, like the “hybrid string quartet” is a hybrid word. With this piece I continue my exploration work on the different types of “distortion of the causal listening” and translate into music the notion of masking to create a sound illusion between the acoustic sound of instruments and treatments used internally their sound boxes.
Smaqra was commissioned by the Henri Pousseur Center, under the direction of Marie-Isablle Collard, the Center for Musical Creation Art Zoyd, under the direction of Monique Hourbette and the Tana string quartet. The two violins, the viola and the cello were hybridized thanks to the collaboration with the luthier Lucas Balay and the acoustic researcher Adrién Mamou-Mani. Its creation took place on January 15, 2015 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Strasbourg by the Tana quartet.