Saariaho Biography/Context Flashcards
What is the nationality of Kaiji Saariaho?
Finnish. She was born in the capital of Finland - Helsinki. She later moved to Germany and then Paris (France).
When was Saariaho born?
She was born in 1952.
What is the IRCAM and how does it relate to Saariaho?
IRCAM stands for ‘Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics/Music’ (Paris). This is an area that Saariaho has been interested in since the 1980s.
Explain what computer assisted composition means.
Saariaho mixed using electronics (music created synthetically) with classical acoustice instruments to make a new type of sound world. She is particularly regarded for her ability to make the cross-over sound seamless.
She likes to play around with the sounds acoustic instruments can make that make them sound like electronic music.
What types of ensemble has Saariaho written music for?
Orchestra, opera houses, electronic soloists.
What features can you describe about her orchestral writing?
This has an emphasis on slow transformation of dense masses of sound (e.g. the piece ‘Verblendungen’).
Saariaho’s music is often described as ‘celestial’. What does this mean?
The word ‘celestial’ in this context means starry/heavenly/other worldly. The music can sound like its from another world or place beyond earth. Petals could be a good sound track for landing on Mars!
Why is timbre so important in Saariaho’s music?
Timbre and its varying colours is central to the identity of Saariaho’s music. it is what makes it have shape, structure and sense.
Who pioneered ‘spectralist’ music?
Gerard Grisey (1946 to 1998) and Tristan Murail (b. 1947).
Saariaho’s music is sometimes described as ‘spectralist’. What does this mean?
A ‘spectrum’ is to do with the gradation of something (e.g. the gradual change of different shades in the colour spectrum). In music it is concerned with the gradation of pitch and timbre beyond what is normal. In most music we work with tones and semitones. In spectral music there will be quarter tones and maybe even eighth tones or smaller distances in pitch between 2 notes (micro intervals). Computers are used to help make these features happen in the music. Computers analysis of sound is used for the basis of composition.
