MUSICAL WORKS

HUI Steve Ngo-shan / 許敖山

2011

Self Loop / 不鼓自鳴
[Bu gu zi ming]

Birth Y: 1974 Birth C: HONG KONG Gender: Male

Dest: Concert

Media Specification: Computer music

Commission: Wuji Ensemble with sponsorship from CASH Music Fund

Performer(s): Wuji Ensemble

First perf.: Kwai Tsing Theatre, Hong Kong, 3 Dec 2011

Duration: 06:00

Perf. Country: HONG KONG

Instruments: stereo playback + lighting/staging

Perf media: Ableton Live, Cycling '74 Max/MSP

Prog. notes: From the Dunhuang Murals, there are images of “heavenly sound from the immeasurable light”, and “the sound comes from no strings, no touch nor play”. It is a spiritual cosmos beyond our human imagination. Although I have never had such mystical experience, I have always been fascinated by the beauty of the interaction between sound and light. In this work, the musicians and instruments are replaced by computer software, which generates the sounds and also the score from a list of numbers and instructions. As the ancient Greek believe that music and numbers is the key to the whole spiritual and physical universe, what kind of state shall we enter through the number, sound and light in this work? 取材自《敦煌壁畫》畫中的光芒及其帶來的仙音，「無量光芒，光中天樂」、「無弦之音，不撫自聲，不鼓自鳴」，所指的是一種從天上而來，超乎凡間的感官意象。雖然本人從未有過這般神秘經歷，卻一直著迷於聲音與光影互動的化學作用。這次創作我棄用現場演奏的樂手與樂器，取而代之是同時負責演奏及創作的電腦程式。透過自動衍生的數字作曲手法，當一系列數據及指令輸入後，能產生永不重覆的電子音色。正如古代希臘人相信數學與音樂是宇宙中主宰物理定律以至精神領域的關建；當數字化成樂音再與燈光結合，我們進入的可會是天花亂墮的極樂世界？

Editor: Ka Lun CHEUNG

Comment: See: http://www.hugodisc.com/upload/無極旋風中英曲目介紹.pdf, http://www.rhapsoarts.com/2011_Wuji_e.html.