Bio
Born in Le Puy , France , Jean-Charles Risset studied piano with Robert Trimaille and Huguette Goullon, music composition with Suzanne Demarquez and Andre Jolivet, and engaged in scientific studies at the Ecole Normale Superieur, Doctorate es-Sciences with Pr. P. Girivet. Subseqently, he worked three years with Max Mathews at Bell Laboratories (NJ) to develop the musical resources of computer sound synthesis, including imitation of real timbres (brass synthesis, 1965; pitch paradoxes , synthesis of new timbres and sonic development processes, 1967-9). In 1969, he published a catalog of computer synthesized sounds. Risset set up the computer sound systems at Orsay (1970-1), at the University of Marseille-Luminy (1974), and at IRCAM, where Pierre Boulez asked him to head the Computer Music Department (1975-9). He has been Professor at the Faculte de Luminy, University of Aix-Marseille (1979-85), and is presently Director of Research at CNRS in Marseille.
Mr. Risset has won numerous awards for his work, including first prize at the Bourges International Electronic Music Competition (1980, 1992); Grand Prix SACEM de la promotion musique symphonique (1981); Golden NICA, ARS ELECTRONICA, 1987; Silver medal, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1988; and Grand Prix National de la Musique, 1990.
Attracteur etranges
for clarinet and computer, was commissioned in 1988 by ARCAM. The work is dedicated to Michel Portal. The soloist dialogues with a tape which at times echoes his playing, and at other times plays contrasting material. A substantial part of the tape material comes from clarinet phrases processed digitally, either with the real-time processor SYTER or by an extended version of the MUSIC V program. As the title indicates, several aspects of the piece are inspired from processes encountered in the study of dynamic systems.
The work is made up of four sections of uneven length: 1) Initial – the pitch material revolves around a high A, as a point attractor. 2) Vocal – A brief encounter between clarinet and voice, slowed down, made noisy, or crossed with the instrument. 3) Vertical – the clarinet excites filters similar to Aeolian harps; then multiphonics and turbulent sounds from the clarinet echo deep, radically processed inharmonic tones. 4) Horizontal – here the melodic aspects dominate: the clarinet dialogues with its illusory shadow. Certain figures appear at different scales, as in fractal structures.
