Joy, dance, celebration…

Rhythm and its taboos in acousmatic music…

This piece questions the limits of our art — although in art limits are always temporary. What are these limits? Their contours? Their evolution? (We do know where they came from.) What is the farthest a composer can go, and are these limits real?

Danse de l’aube is also an extension of the work I have been doing for years to develop “spatial polyphony,” a concept that increases the live readability of acousmatic pieces by integrating a work’s spatial dimension right into the initial act of studio composing using various multitracking techniques.

This piece explores the phenomenon of sonic “relief” through the possibilities offered by a composition/playback system on eight real tracks.

— Patrick Ascione [English translation: François Couture, ii-15]

Danse de l’aube [Dance of the Dawn] was realized in 2000-02 in the studio of the Ina-GRM and premiered on June 15, 2002 as part of the Ina-GRM’s Cycle acousmatique presented at Salle Olivier Messiaen, Maison de Radio France (Paris, France). It was commissioned by the French State (Music Office) and the Ina-GRM (Paris).

Premiere

• June 15, 2002, Multiphonies 2001-02: Concert, Salle Olivier Messiaen — Maison de Radio France, Paris (France)