RGBA - Paul Clift - Performed Live by Ensemble du Bout du Monde

RGBA
Paul Clift
Performed Live on November 2021
Wasserkirche - Zurich, Switzerland
Ensemble du Bout du Monde
Noa Mick, soprano saxophone
Simona Castria, alto saxophone
Salvatore Castellano, tenor saxophone
Don-Paul Kahl, baritone saxophone
Commissioned by Nicate-De Luze
www.ensembleduboutdumonde.com
www.paulclift.net
Programme Note (written by Paul Clift)
Generally speaking, the acoustic instrumental music of Paul Clift actively pursues the “synthesis” of timbres and effects which are traditionally associated with electronic music. He makes great effort to simulate processes such as filtering, delays, granulation, frequency shifts, etc. using purely acoustic means. For example, his other works for chamber ensemble which prominently feature woodwind instruments make heavy use of combinations of multiphonics, with the goals of exploring timbre polyphonically, and of creating microtonal textures whose densities seemingly exceed the sonic limitations of the ensemble. The saxophone, with its unmatched palette of multiphonics, as well as its versatility in terms of tessitura and timbral sculpting, is ideal for further exploration of these notions which have been at the heart of his musical style for several years.
In a more abstract sense, this work (RGBA) makes a strong conceptual reference to the work of Thomas Barrow, an American photographer (b. 1938) whose work-notably his series entitled Cancellations (1973-81)-is characterized by the intentional defacement of film negatives by various means (e.g. scratching with a knife, the use of spray paint or a hole punch, etc.) to disrupt the pictorial representation. Such a process is highly ambiguous; does this process merely draw attention to the medium itself, or are the distortions in the images a form of commentary on the subjects that they portray?