I wanted to discover more of electronic music in Ukraine and I decided to introduce you to Ostap Manulyak who was my teacher of electronic music in Lviv, Ukraine. Ostap Manulyak is a Ukrainian composer, performer and initiator of various art projects, Candidate of Art History, Associate Professor of the Composition Department of the Lysenko Lviv National Academy of Music.
He was born in Lviv in 1983. He studied as a composer at the Mykola Lysenko Lviv State Academy of Music (composition class of Prof. Viktor Kaminsky). He also participated in numerous master classes of new music under the guidance of such famous composers as: Samuel Andreev (Canada), Carola Baukholt (Germany), Stefano Gervasoni (Italy), Sergei Nevsky (Russia-Germany), Sergei Pilyutikov (Ukraine), Boguslav Sheffer Poland), Gerhard Stebler (Germany) and others.
In 2018-19, as a Fulbright Scholar, he implemented his project at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics at Stanford University (California, USA).
Ostap Manulyak is a co-founder of the Art Association NURT, director of the Festival of Electroacoustic Music VOX ELECTRONICA and head of the Experimental Educational Studio of Electroacoustic Music (EESEM) at the Lviv National Music Academy named after Lysenko.
"Saltations" is the work I wanted to share with you. "Saltations" is a general term for all sorts of wind erosion. This is a natural process, but due to climate change, wind erosion may become a concern in areas where the intensity of these processes has not been recorded previously. "Every year, we are all subjected to more and more severe climate change. Increased land degradation is perhaps the most serious threat: dust storms, exceptionally high levels of air pollution as a result of direct and indirect anthropogenic influences (forest fires, peat fires, etc.). All of these are phenomena that we are increasingly encountering in our daily lives" - composer says. The Pandemic Media Space platform gives data on wind speed, changes in temperature, and other indicators that directly or indirectly show climate change and the intensification of erosion. This work could exist in following forms: as a work for acoustic ensemble, a work for instruments and fixed recording, a work for instruments and live electronics, and an electroacoustic work for fixed recording. The composition is based on data from the Pandemic Media Space platform on temperature and wind speed variations, as well as spectrum analysis of wind registration and saltation process. The work's pitch is based primarily on the series produced from spectral analysis. The material's rhythmic arrangement is primarily a reflection of wind speed data. The work is based on processes in nature. It is unlikely that natural processes can be classified as "inhuman".
Dialog of clarinet and flute creates an image of the world before unusual winds and a section with electronics sounds anxiously and in some ways alarming. Inserts of short cut phrases played by winds is a metaphor for our current abnormal life that goes along with inevitable climate change. We can hear a delicate movement of the wind in the first part of the piece, but later it is transforming to more aggressive. It's absorbing all the negative human influences and becomes uncontrolled...
This is what I'm all about! I love it. Even if the music is foreign to a listener (in both style and character) this can still be an engaging experience for newcomers. The intersection of electronics and performers has been explored ad nauseam almost, but the intersection of electronics that both listen and respond to a live performer is much more interesting to me. If given the chance I would program this music in a heartbeat. I'm adding it to my list of pieces 'to-do.'
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Wow! This is super cool! I love their concept for the sonification parameters. Im always left wondering where this sort of conceptual work leaves the composer when much of it is constructed via algorithms. But overall the effect comes across and I found myself thinking of passages from Dune! The sparse textures and bowed percussion really brought up ‘desert landscapes.’ I wonder if it would have left the same impression without knowing the narrative behind it? Very cool piece and project.
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This is a really interesting piece. I love that the composer used data on wind/saltation to create the pitches and rhythms for the piece. The music definitely makes me think of some kind of desolate wasteland, which is an environment that climate change could cause if we do not address it. Thank you for sharing! - Noah Ward
ReplyDeleteWow, it is really interesting how Manulyak uses of climate data to set rhythms and pitch. It reminds me a bit of Boulez having a very fixed scheme for dynamics, and rhythms as well, although these differ in style GREATLY. The difference in timbre from the open statement in the winds and the introduction of the electronics provide such a great contrast between a static/desolate sound and the ups and downs of the acoustic instruments. Great work and will be looking into this composer more! Thank you for sharing! -Catharine Baek
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely unusual but super intriguing composer. The way he used climate data to influence his compositional process was fascinating. -Zack T
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