Gerard Pape - Ascension to Purgatory

(b.1955)

mode 167

Mode Records - A Record Label Devoted to New Music

Gerard Pape - Ascension to Purgatory

Funeral Sentences  (1998)   (2:59, 2:51, 2:38, 5:12, 3:45)
for 2 soprano voices & percussion
    Janet Pape & Armelle Orieux, sopranos
    Roland Auzet, percussion
    Alain Bancquart, conductor

La Naissance du Son  (2002)   (9:02)
    Rohan de Saram, amplified cello

Weaveworld Prologue  (1998)   (10:39)
for bass, flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone,
  horn, percussion, 2 violins, viola, cello, contrabass
    Nicholas Isherwood, bass
    Atelier de Musique Contemporaine du CNR de Versailles
    Lionel Arnaud, conductor

For Maurizio  (2003)   (3:48)
    Maurizio Barbetti, amplified viola

Ascension au Purgatoire  (2004)   (6:10, 1:42, 5:13, 1:11, 3:55)
for percussion and computer ("Stochos" program)
    Roland Auzet, percussion
    Sinan Bokesoy, Stochos programming
    Stefan Tiedje, musical assistant (CCMIX)

Le Fleuve du Désir IV  (1994-2002)   (12:33)
for 8 solo violins
    Irvine Arditti, violins

This is Pape's third monographic CD with Mode Records. Whereas his last Mode CD ("Electro-acoustic Chamber Works", released in 1998) presented his ground breaking works of 1993-1996, this new CD presents a selection of his more recent pieces composed from 1998 to 2004.

While Pape continues his fascination with composing with chaotic sound in Le Fleuve du Désir IV and Weaveworld Prologue, it is his new approach to composing with packets of granular time that predominates on this CD.

In La Naissance du Son, sound is born from pulsating rhythmic noise that gradually attains discernible timbre and pitch.

For Maurizio is the first piece in which Pape explores temporal flow in composition as deriving, not from fixed durations or steady beat, but rather as a consequence of composing continuously speeding up and slowing down scales of tempo pulsations - regulating the speed of pulsating/oscillating sound elements. This new approach to time is further enriched by the use of computer generated sequences of percussive sound that are mixed "live" with a virtuoso part for percussion solo in the Ascension to Purgatory piece.

The works are performed by world-class soloists and ensembles.

Related Resources:

Gerard Pape on Mode:
Chamber Works with Arditti Quartet and others (mode 26)
Electroacoustic Chamber Works (mode 67)
Alain Bancquart: Le Livre du Labyrinthe (mode 120/121, 2-CDs)

Roland Auzet on Mode:
Roland Auzet: Percussion(s) (mode 189-192)
Alain Bancquart: Le Livre du Labyrinthe (mode 120/121, 2-CDs)

Nicholas Isherwood on Mode:
"In the Sky I am Walking": (mode 68)
Gerard Pape: Electroacoustic Chamber Works (mode 67)
Gabriel Valverde: 5000 Voces (mode 94)
Mauricio Kagel: Phonophonie (mode 127)

Rohan de Saram on Mode:
Luciano Berio: The Complete Sequenzas and Works for Solo Instruments
      (mode 161-163)
John Cage: The Works for Violin 6, The String Quartets 4
                  (mode 144/145)
                  Vol. 19 - The Number Pieces 2 - Five³ (mode 75)
Elliott Carter: Quintets and Voices (mode 128)
Chaya Czernowin: Afatsim (mode 77)
Roland Dahinden: Silberen, Lichtweiss (mode 138)
Alvin Lucier: Navigations for Strings; Small Waves (mode 124)

Irvine Arditti profile
The Arditti Quartet profile/discography
Arditti Quartet Web Site
Roland Auzet profile
CCMIX (formerly Atelier UPIC) web site
Nicholas Isherwood profile
Gerard Pape profile