Contemporary Music Night #76 – Viral genoms and molecular sonics.
Tonight you can listen to the Monumentum project of Dutch composer and sonic artist Roland Emile Kuit. Monumentum is a fourty piece suite in memory of all victims who have died as a result of epidemics worldwide. To complete the five hour night Roland Emile Kuit made Loudspeakers, a special hommage to Dick Raaijmakers.
In memory of all victims who have died as a result of epidemics worldwide………
Overwhelmed by all news Roland Kuit felt he had to do something for the all-time-victims of pandemics. He created this sonic memorial to reflect on this horrific situation. This COVID-19 pandemic hovering as a noise through all societies and makes us more aware of who we are and the importance of art. Micro-movements of air as sonic genomes like a virus can exist in only the symbolic dimension of evolution until it finds a host. Like we can be hosts. 40 quadraphonic works of sound art resonating with our collective history. Therefore, MONUMENTUM is a timely reminder that death is a part of humanity that we can not escape and must embrace into sound. A sonic reconciliation of our commitment to society.
The starting point was to use the Kyma system to create the sound of 40 of the largest epidemics in history. Roland Emile Kuit developed new models for every pandemic forming viral networks as sonic genomes. The Kyma system generates these newest forms of non-standard synthesis techniques.
A Sonic Memorial for all time pandemic victims | Roland Kuit: Kyma
The radio premiere was at the Fondazione Accademia Musicale Chingiana on RADIOARTE ITALIA during the VI Chigiana International Festival & Summer Academy Siena Italia. Broadcasted in full across 36 countries simultaneously on September 1/2/3 2020 in Beyond the Silence.
01 – Influenza epidemic 1200 BCE
02 – Plague of Athens 429–426 BCE
03 – Antonine Plague 165–180 BCE
04 – Plague of Cyprian 250–266
05 – Plague of Justinian 541–542
06 – Japanese smallpox epidemic 735–737
07 – Black Death 1346–1353
08 – Mexico smallpox epidemic 1519–1520
09 – Cocoliztli epidemic Mexico 1576–1580
10 – Spain plague epidemic 1596–1602
11 – Egyptian plague epidemic 1609
12 – New England infections epidemic 1616–1620
13 – Sicily plague epidemic 1743
14 – Spain yellow fever epidemic 1800–1803
15 – First cholera pandemic 1817–1824
16 – Second cholera pandemic 1826–1837
17 – Uganda African trypanosomiasis epidemic 1900–1920
18 – Manchurian plague China 1910–1911
19 – Encephalitis lethargica pandemic 1915–1926
20 – Influenza A virus subtype H1N1 pandemic 1918–1920
21 – Russia typhus epidemic 1918–1922
22 – Influenza pandemic 1957–1958
23 – Hong Kong flu worldwide 1968-1970
24 – HIV/AIDS pandemic 1981–present
25 – Oju yellow fever epidemic 1986
26 – Bangladesh cholera epidemic 1991
27 – Chikungunya outbreaks India 2006
28 – Zimbabwean cholera outbreak 2008–2009
29 – Swine flu pandemic 2009–2010
30 – MERS-Cov Worldwide 2012–present
31 – Western African Ebola virus epidemic 2013–2016
32 – Indian swine flu outbreak 2015
33 – Yemen cholera outbreak 2016–present
34 – Gorakhpur Japanese encephalitis outbreak 2017
35 – United States flu season 2017–2018
36 – Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala India 2018
37 – Kivu Ebola epidemic Angola 2018–present
38 – New Zealand measles outbreak 2019–present
39 – Measles Democratic Republic of the Congo 2019 – present
40 – COVID-19 pandemic 2019–present
LOUDSPEAKERS – Roland Emile Kuit
Hommage to Dick Raaijmakers (Radio premiere).
As Dick Raaijmakers’ Five Canons (1964–66) deals with fundamental aspects of spatiality of sound, we could play with the factor time and accumulate all five of them in one layer, narrowing down the spatiality of TIME.
Instantly the file is ready to be forced into new time dimensions. For this, Roland build a time-machine in KYMA, a super computer for sound. Hyper fragments of audio is carefully placed in a spatial realm, all to the boundaries of the perception of sound.
This deregulation is almost tangible in the way the singing voice is recomposed by disturbance.
During the pandemic lockdowns, we learned to listen in new ways to a silenced world.
Transformation of the speaker boxes at home to autonomous sound sculptures.
Loudspeakers | Roland Emile Kuit
Loudspeakers 1 -9 (excerpts)
More information on www.rolandkuit.com
