Mapping Chopin

title

2010

year

Paweł Janicki

author

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synopsis

Mapping Chopin (2010) is an immersive interactive environment that allows users to experience music in an intuitive and unstructured way. Specially designed software combined with a motion—detection system generates variations on digitized scores of Chopin’s music, based on the behavior of the audience. Janicki’s installation uses Chopin’s Etude in A—flat major Op. 25 No. 1, Valse Brillante in A—Minor Op. 34 No. 2, Tarantella in A—flat major Op. 43 and Nocturne in G minor Op. 15 No. 3. Various musical parameters of the works — such as the dynamic range, tempo, articulation, etc. — are associated with data provided by the motion—detection system, so that people within the installation space can — through their own activity — generate phrases and longer passages. More ↓↑

The data from the motion—detection system are also mapped onto the vertical and horizontal axes of the musical score, creating a graphic allusion to the physical installation space. The score — visually represented as a projection on the floor — is treated as a space in which the users can discover in real time various sound events and influence the relationships among them creating their own musical compositions. The data flow modulates the typical piano voicings, enhancing the „natural” quality of the sound and heightening the participants’ sense of direct control over the music being generated. Because the installation’s sensitivity and main parameters are continually adjusted to the number and nature of input stimuli, it can be therefore experienced by single participants or groups in both galleries and public spaces.

Place and date of recording: Where is Chopin? exhibition, 53rd International Festival of Contemporary Music Warsaw Autumn, Warsaw, September 2010

video

artist's bio

Paweł Janicki (PL), b. 1974, works with generative music and algorithmic composition of sounds and images. He is co—founder of the Mikro Orchestra (ex—Gameboyzz Orchestra Project), a collective, exploring „lo—fi” esthetics, using computer gaming consoles. His performances, installations, web and interactive applications often refer to the electronic and electro—acoustic avant—garde, as well as utilize revitalized military and commercial technologies.