Hymnes sans paroles

"Hymnes sans paroles, with solemn vocals, melancholic drones and harsh beats, are at once musical get-well wishes and his expression of gratitude to colleague Dale Jonathan Perkins…" Review in Bad Alchemy.

This album by Adam Stanović, released by Empreintes DIGITALes available on CD and as a digital download, has been described as “Outstanding” by Silence and Sound, “Visionary and Moving” by Il Manifesto and “Impressive” by Radiohoerer.

The collection of works is dedicated to Adam's wife, Inja Stanović, "who has been endlessly supportive, interested, and encouraging. Hvala, draga moja žena!" Tracks include:

 

We are the Voices of the Wandering Wind

"I was inspired to write this piece whilst on the 2018 Klingler ElectroAcoustic Residency (KEAR) (Ohio, USA). Each day, the endless wind blowing across the Ohio plains found its way through a tiny gap in the studio window, producing a high whistle, that I eventually managed to record. A few months later, in Lisbon (Portugal), I heard the wandering wind again. This time it was soft and low, and as I listened, half in sleep, it turned to song… a moan, a sigh, a sob, a storm, a strife!" - Adam Stanović

We are the Voices of the Wandering Wind was realized in 2018 at the studio of Sydney Conservatorium (Australia), and premiered on October 26, 2018, as part of the festival L’Espace du son at Théâtre Marni in Brussels (Belgium). The piece was commissioned by the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN). Thanks to Damien Ricketson and Daniel Blinkhorn for their generous support and to Adrian Moore and Dale Jonathan Perkins for donating additional materials used in the piece. We are the Voices of the Wandering Wind was substantially recomposed in 2022 at the composer’s studio in Sheffield (England, UK).

 

Baltazar’s Adventure through The Great Machine

In early May 2019, composers working in the city of Sheffield (England, UK) recorded sounds in and around its Kelham Island Museum, using these to create musical works that resonate with the space and place of Kelham Island. In much the same way as one might imagine the transformation of the spaces of heavy industry, such as Brooklyn Works becoming residential accommodation, the ten sound artists transformed the sounds of Kelham Island, giving them a new home.

This piece imagines the huge machines as if from a child-like fantasy. It follows the journey of fiction character — Baltazar — as he travels into, and through, the greatest machine of all. Join Baltazar as he journeys through The Great Machine in search of its beating, mechanical heart. As the machine judders and splutters into life, will he avoid the pistons and valves, cogs and bursts of steam? Warning: contains scenes of mild peril.

Baltazar’s Adventure through The Great Machine was realized in 2019 at the University of Sheffield Sound Studios (USSS) (UK), and premiered on July 17, 2019, during the concert From Brooklyn Works to Brooklynism: An Evening of Sonic Art and Poetry at the Kelham Island Museum in Sheffield (England, UK). The piece was commissioned by the Kelham Island Museum — Sheffield Industrial Museums Trust, and Arts Enterprise — The University of Sheffield. Thanks to Amanda Crawley-Jackson. Baltazar’s Adventure through The Great Machine was a finalist in the Musica Nova 2021 International Competition of Electroacoustic Music (Prague, Czech Republic), and at the Prix Russolo (Annecy, France, 2021).

 

Helix

"In early 2017, during a residency at the Holst House in Aldeburgh (England, UK), I started work on a new compositional method in which materials were joined together in a sequence, or chain, and then rotated around a central axis. This method allowed me to work with a selection of disparate materials whilst retaining a sense of continuity in terms of their overall behaviour. Initially, the method was very slow, and only allowed me to work with granular materials.

During a residency in 2018 at Mise-en_Place Bushwick, Brooklyn (New York, USA), I discovered a similar method for rotating sets of sustained materials, and this enabled me to continue working on the piece. Helix was further developed, later in the same year, at the studio of Sydney Conservatorium (Australia). The title and form of the piece reference the method of working." - Adam Stanović

Helix was realized in 2018 at the studio of the Holst House (England), Mise-en_Place Bushwick (USA), and Sydney Conservatorium (Australia) and premiered on October 7, 2018, during The Fourier Festival in Vienna (Austria). Under its working title Circle of Fifths, Helix was awarded 2nd prize ex æquo at the >SYNC.2018 International Competition of Electroacoustic Music and Multimedia (Yekaterinburg, Russia, 2018).

 

To read the full information about all tracks on this album, visit the Track Listing Detail on the Electrocd website.