Immersive Acousmatic Music of Robert Normandeau Spatialization of Anadliad, Melancholia, and Tunnel azur
Nguyen, David Quang-Minh
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/128303
Description
Title
Immersive Acousmatic Music of Robert Normandeau Spatialization of Anadliad, Melancholia, and Tunnel azur
Author(s)
Nguyen, David Quang-Minh
Issue Date
2025
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Tipei, Sever
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Tipei, Sever
Committee Member(s)
Lund, Erik
Fieldsteel, Eli
Scholwin, Richard Michael
Department of Study
School of Music
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
A.Mus.D. (doctoral)
Date of Ingest
2025-05-09T13:37:15-05:00
Keyword(s)
Normandeau
Acousmatic
Spatialization
Cinema for the ear
Language
eng
Abstract
This project discusses three works by the Montréal-based acousmatic composer Robert Normandeau (b. 1955), utilizing different approaches to analyze his immersive
audio works Anadliad, Melancholia, and Tunnel azur. This thesis provides an introduction to acousmatic music, spatialization within the medium, a specific type of spatialization Normandeau uses in his works, and methodologies for analyzing electroacoustic music.
Analysis of Anadliad will primarily focus on Normandeau’s method of diffusing sound called timbre spatialization. The primary focus of Melancholia will be analyzing energy
models of the multichannel sound objects, interpreting them as metaphors within the work. By examining the behavior of these energy models, we can determine their spatialization as well as their physical and metaphorical immersion. As Tunnel Azur is considered a piece
of "cinema for the ear," a subgenre of acousmatic music, the analysis follows Normandeau’s approaches, drawing from cinematic language to construct the work. In the
conclusion, I propose additional areas of interest for developing spatialization techniques. Acousmatic music is a media art influenced by other mediums, particularly within the "cinema for the ear" genre. As technology advances, we can draw more parallels to cinema and refine the vocabulary and syntax used in the description and analysis of “cinema for the ear” acousmatic music, enhancing both the physical and metaphorical immersion.
In addition, I applied cinematic techniques and timbre spatialization to my recent immersive compositions Whale Song Stranding and Textures Arc The Points. However,
Whale Song Stranding is more related to cinema for the ear due to the recognizability of sound sources and use of layered cinematic techniques to orchestrate spatialization.
Textures Arc The Points employs micromontages, but it is not considered as a work for cinema for the ear, as I do not draw from the cinematic language and the sound sources are strictly violin sounds that are abstract and not anecdotal. This work is more inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s paintings, by composing vibrant arcs, points, and lines like those found in many of his works. Textures Arc The Points is my first attempt at borrowing
Kandinsky’s concepts found in his book Point and Line to Plane, where perhaps Textures Arc The Points can fall under another sub-genre of acousmatic music labeled as “painting for the ears.”
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