“My piece Champs de fouilles pays tribute to the singular history and personality of the city of Québec. With this work, I wanted to further explore the cohabitation of electroacoustic media and what I call phonoculture, or the audio heritage of a specific community or area.”

This piece focuses on referential sounds, sounds that can be recognized, sounds rooted in reality. I have worked on them in the studio to transcend their anecdotal nature and turn them into materials conducive to the appearance of something musical. These sounds served as symbols, metaphors, clues, which means that a narrative-based conception of the sonic phenomena underpinned my approach. Also cohabiting in this piece are non-referential sonic materials obtained by slicings or treatments meant to either shape the soundwriting into phrasing, act as signals, or play a totally abstract part.

The title Champs de fouilles alludes to the archeological digs that were under way in the city while I was making the piece.

— Martin Bédard [English translation: François Couture, i-13]

Champs de fouilles [Dig Site] was realized in 2008 at the composer’s studio and premiered (under the title Excavations) on May 11, 2008 at Chapelle du Musée de l’Amérique française in Québec. It was commissioned by Erreur de type 27 (E27). Thanks to Gisèle Ricard, to Vincent Breton who helped a lot with field recordings, and to the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ). Champs de fouilles was awarded the 2nd prize at the 7th Prix collégien de musique contemporaine 2014-15 (Sherbrooke, Québec), a 2nd prize at the Sound in Space competition (Boston, USA, 2011), a Distinction at Prix Ars Electronica (Linz, Austria, 2010), a 1st prize at Computer Space (Sofia, Bulgaria, 2010), an Honorable Mention at Prix Ton Bruynèl (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2010), and a 1st prize at the 2nd International Electroacoustic Music Contest (CEMVA) (Varginha, Brazil, 2008).

Premiere

• May 11, 2008, Under the title Excavations: Concert, Chapelle — Musée de l’Amérique française, Quebec City (Québec)

Awards

• 1st prize, CEMVA International Electroacoustic Music Contest 2008, Varginha (Brazil)
• Finalist, Category A (fixed medium), Musica Nova 2008, Prague (Czech Republic)
• 1st prize, Computer and Electronic Music, Computer Space 2010, Sofia (Bulgaria)
• Distinction, Digital Musics & Sound Art, Prix Ars Electronica 2010, Linz (Austria)
• Mention, Prix Ton Bruynèl 2010, Netherlands
• 2nd prize, Sound and Space 2011, Boston (Massachusetts, USA)
• 2nd prize, Prix collégien de musique contemporaine 2014-15, Québec