SINTAGMA
non-deterministic investigation of electroacoustic hyperinstruments
SINTAGMA is a research and sonic exploration project focused on the non-deterministic investigation of electroacoustic hyperinstruments. These are conceived as reactive semi-chaotic systems, each characterized by its own internal rule structures.
A first phase of work titled "SINTAGMA - sistema I, interazione", initiated in January 2024 as a commission from CRM (Centro di Ricerche Musicali), led to the creation of three hyperinstruments around which an aleatoric piece was composed and performed by the Blow Up Percussion ensemble (Flavio Tanzi, Pietro Pompei, Alessio Cavaliere) during the ArteScienza 2024 festival, on July 14, 2024, at the Goethe Institut in Rome.
SINTAGMA - sistema II, costruzione
In this second phase of research and experimentation, the work focused on the relationship with the performer (Alessio Cavaliere) and on the integration of the system from a performative/improvisational perspective.
Algorithms for timbral analysis and interpretation of the performer’s gestures on the hyperinstrument are used to control specific parameters of a modular synthesizer setup. This, in turn, is routed through a simple 8-channel analog mixer configured with multiple feedback loops (closed circuit). This configuration stems from the desire to embrace chaos as an intrinsic characteristic of a complex system, where human intervention is simply another intricate network of variables acting upon it, and improvisation becomes the method for exploring and building “familiarity” with the instrument.
SINTAGMA - sistema III, solo
In the third chapter of study and research, the project turns inward, focusing its practice on establishing a direct link between lutherie thinking and sonic-performative thought.
he hyperinstruments are explored and used as reactive sound machines, and improvisation—or the use of open forms—becomes a tool of inquiry to uncover musical expressivity and gesture. The vibrating drumheads act as a resonant material in feedback between the various transducers. Even the slightest variation in tuning or pressure applied to them alters and animates an unstable yet highly expressive sonic matter.