Iconic Polyphony
for piano, live-electronic sounds and dance
Culver Center of the Arts
Performance | Wednesday, June 8, 2016, 7pm |
Gary Barnett, piano
Faith Jensen-Ismay, dance
Paulo C. Chagas, live electronics
Iconic Polyphony, a work for piano and
live-electronics by Paulo C. Chagas, was composed for the exhibit "Icons
in Transformation" by the Russian artist Ludmila Pawlow and performed by
Gary Barnett at that All Saint's Episcopal Church in Riverside in December 5,
2015. The current version is a new premiere of the work that includes a new
choreography conceived and performed by Faith Jensen-Ismay.
Iconic Polyphony tries to capture the forces
underlying the spiritual universe of Ludmila Pawlow's artworks that offer a
contemporary vision of the transformative power of the traditional Russian
icons. The piece articulates a plurality of musical events occurring at
different temporal levels combining acoustic sounds of the piano with
live-generated electronic sounds. The score proposes a modular structure in
seven parts, each part consisting on three different layers. For each layer
there are five different possible versions of the same material, whereby the
pianist is free to choose one version or to combine different versions. The
composition for piano creates polyphony by exploring a reduced material based
on the concept of "harmonic networks", which consists on a set of
three-dimensional intervals with specific harmonic qualities. The
electroacoustic sounds are short impulses shaped by filters and delays; they
share the harmonic qualities of the "harmonic networks" that
organizes the piece. The acoustic sounds of the piano and the live generated
electronic sounds complement each other in a stream of musical objects and
resonances recalling iconic associations and links between the past, the
present and the future. The performer should develop "iconic"
gestures to emphasize this multi-layered flow of acoustic and electro-acoustic
events. The music of Iconic Polyphony aims to unleash a imaginative
power that connects the senses of hearing and seeing and engages the whole body
in the process of creating meaning. Faith Jensen-Ismay’s choreography is
reflective of the music, images, and natural human connection.
Gary Barnett is presently a music faculty member at
the University of California, Riverside and holds a Ph.D. in historical
musicology from the University of California, Riverside, as well as a DMA in
piano performance from the University of Kansas. Lately Dr. Barnett has been working
with composers from various electronic studios in the United States and Europe
with experimental music with piano and computer and live audio/video. This past
year, he has premiered new works for piano and electronics in various new music
festivals and concert series including Paulo C. Chagas, Liviu Marinescu, Martin
Jaroszewicz, and Alvaro Lopez. Publications and presentations at symposiums and
conferences include the 2015 Enescu Symposium and Festival and the 2015
Festival of New Music (SIMN) at the National Conservatory of Music, Bucharest.
Apart from piano and electronic music, Barnett has performed
as a keyboard soloist and collaborative artist throughout the United States,
Latin America, and Europe, with recent performances throughout Southern
California and Central Europe, including The Culver Center for the Arts,
Riverside, California, and the George Enescu Palace in Bucharest, Romania.
Previous master classes and lecture-recitals include the Royal Academy of Music
in London, Saint George’s School in Rome, the Nanyang Academy of Arts in
Singapore, and the National Conservatory of Music in Quito, Ecuador. Following
a guest appearance with the Pasadena Symphony, the Los Angeles Times described
Barnett as a “thoughtful and meditative piano soloist.” The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah, USA) has
capitalized Barnett’s talent as being “a virtuoso of the highest order.”
Faith Jensen-Ismay is the Executive / Artistic Director of Mojalet Dance Collective, and serves on
the dance faculty at SD Mesa College. She has an extensive history as a
dancer, teacher, and choreographer working throughout the entire county of San
Diego and beyond. She is a founding Director of Mojalet (in 1991) with Mary
Neuru, and Linda Zambrano. She became
the Artistic Director in 1997, presenting her work and performing in Mexico,
Switzerland, London, France, and Germany, and Mediterranean Countries as well
as the East and West Coasts. Faith spent 22 years teaching dance at the college
level at San Diego State University, University of California at San Diego,
Palomar Community College, and the San Diego Community College District. Faith has been offering educational dance
residencies to youth throughout San Diego County for over 20 years through Arts
Education, Young Audiences and Mojalet Dance Collective. Currently, Faith is part of the dance faculty
at Mesa College and offers classes through Mojalet in Rancho Bernardo at "The
Vine"
(Mojalet’s training and performance venue), and Arts for Learning of San Diego. http://www.mojalet.com
Support has been provided by UCR College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CHASS) and the City of Riverside
