Silap Inua
Intermedia Performance for two Audionauts and Piano, 2013
A collaborative composition by Belma Bešlić-Gál & Bernhard Gál
Premiere: Atelierkonzert für Neue Musik 2013 | Künstlerhaus | Salzburg, Austria [23/02/2013]
Performers: Belma Bešlić-Gál & Bernhard Gál (piano, performance) | Photo Credits: Artists
DATA
Duration: ca. 10‘
Instrumentation: Piano, two Performers
Equipment: Mobile Sound Systems
This is the second compositional collaboration of the Austrian composer / sound artist Bernhard Gál and the Slovenian-Bosnian composer / pianist Belma Bešlić-Gál, preceded by the composition flut, for bass flute and quadrophonic sound projection (2011), and the joint concert projects Vortex (2009) and Void (2011).
The act of composing is commonly regarded as a solipsistic activity, which more or less rules out the possibility of creative teamwork. This collaboration is an experiment where individual aptitudes, mannerisms and modes of operation, as well as specific conceptual and technical approaches at creating music are united under the umbrella of a mutual aesthetic perspective.
List of performances
Atelierkonzert für Neue Musik 2013 | Künstlerhaus | Salzburg, Austria [23/02/2013]
Atelier für Neue Musik, Radiofabrik | Salzburg, Austria [03/03/2013]
Von schwarzen Bergen und Eiswüsten | Kunstverein Alte Schmiede | Vienna, Austria [29/05/2013]
*Performers: Belma Bešlić-Gál & Bernhard Gál (piano, performance)
ABOUT
Silap Inua is the second joint composition by Belma Beslic-Gál and Bernhard Gál, after flut, for bass flute and sound projection which premiered at Stift St. Peter in Salzburg in November 2011. The idea for this new piece was instigated by the Austrian painter Astrid Rieder, and her invitation to present a new work in conjunction with her annual studio concert event, the Atelierkonzert für Neue Musik 2013.
In Inuit mythology Silap Inua is the ‘possessor of spirit’, the ‘primary ingredient of all that is’; it is also being described as the breath of life resp. a method of locomotion for any movement or change. Other sources describe Silap Inua as ferocious sylphs who mislead travellers with blizzards and emit a distinct cold aura effect.
Two audionauts move through the concert space. Carrying mobile loudspeakers, the movement of the performers results in constantly changing sound-space-constellations. Reaching the stage, the second part of the piece starts – a transference of breath, and of coldness.