Reminiscenze

Reminiscenze: vague and distant memory, nearly lost in oblivion. Form and structure of the past to which the author refers consciously or unconsciously.
The pieces aim to translate the sound quality of the voices of Renaissance music into acoustic saxophones through the use of multiphonics.
The structure of the composition Reminiscenze is based on In te domine speravi by an anonymous composer, Miserere mei Deus by Fabrizio Dentice and Per non dir ch'io moia by Michelangelo Rossi. The material of coda is based on common cadenzas used in the Mannerism period while the form refers to Extended Circular Music n. 4 by Jürg Frey.
Cosimo Fiaschi is a soprano saxophonist, improviser and composer born in Florence in 1998. A musician dedicated to a deep exploration of the spectrum of timbral possibilities of his instrument, with particular attention to the sphere of multiphonics. He plays in improvised and contemporary music contexts, both solo and as part of heterogeneous ensembles.
Michał Biel is a Polish sound artist based in Copenhagen, whose work spans the fields of sound engineering, composition, cinematography, and performance. Currently engaged in creating documentary films, instrumental compositions, and tape works. Part of Ensemble Ektòs, a group of composers of contemporary music. Author of small tape archives of intimate sound events in Copenhagen.
credits
released July 27, 2024
Cosimo Fiaschi - soprano saxophone, compositions
Michał Biel - baritone and soprano saxophone
Recorded in Copenhagen in July 2020 and February 2022.
Mixed and mastered by Michał Biel.
Artwork by Vieri Cervelli Montel, based on Nudo maschile di profilo (1517-1518) by Jacopo Pontormo.
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An interview between Zhu Wenbo and Cosimo Fiaschi
Z: Did you start learning to play the saxophone in Italy? How old were you then? Why did you choose the soprano saxophone as your instrument?
C: I started playing the saxophone at the age of 10, after a short experience with the clarinet. For many years I played the alto and the baritone then I moved towards the soprano in a very instinctive way until I felt other needs from an instrumental point of view.
Z: When did you start making the style of music you are doing now? What prompted or influenced you to choose your current musical direction?
C: As soon as I started to make music of my own, mostly improvised, I began to practice multiphonics and long-tones in a very sparse way. Even though I’m part of projects that involves other musical languages I’m pretty sure that these, as well as silence and space as a musical parameter, are my musical directions.
Z: When did you move to Denmark? Was it to study music? Can you tell us a little bit about what you specialised in at school? How did your major overlap or differ from the music you are doing now?
C: I spent only one year in Copenhagen. I choose that destination thanks to a professor (Torben Snekkestad) that was teaching there whose research resonated with me. Also the general policy of that school was very different from Italian’s institution: way more focused on production, with pro and cons. Even though I had wonderful teachers back in Italy, what I’ve studied in the bachelor has very little to do with what I’m doing now. For sure the best thing was the opportunity to get to know fellow students with whom I share similar interests.
Z: With the multiphonics of the saxophone, do you think it kind of varies from person to person in terms of technique and sound? Or is it something that can be trained into a very standardized sound (like in a marching band)? What are your personal experiences with this technique? Do you have any learning sources you can recommend?
C: For sure, given the instability and a certain sense of unpredictability of those sounds, there are great differences between the instruments, the conformation of the mouth,, the space in which you are playing as well as the surrounding sounds (if you are playing with someone else) and so on. But I guess that, in a way, you have to treat multiphonics as “standard sounds”. Even though the overall sound could be still perceived as “alien” the way of producing it is basically the same of regular tone or harmonics! What I mean is that the instrumentalist has to internalize, embodied those sounds, methodically. By doing so you will achieve the consciousness of their characteristics and you will be able to use them as a material with different approaches in different context. I can recommend a very good book: The Tecnique of Saxophone Playing by Giorgio Netti and Marcus Weiss . The authors have a very deep knowledge about this material and it is treated both from the composer prospective as well as the performer point of view. But, for a player that want to investigate the compositional potential within a single, acoustic sound source, I suggest to use it as a starting point to conduct further experiments.
Z: How did you and Michał Biel meet and start working together? What is your usual way of working together? Besides this album, do you have any other musical collaborations in other directions?
C: I met Michał through Francesco Toninelli. We had a quartet named Ensemble Ektòs (together with guitarist Hein Westgaard) for quite some time working on Wandelweiser repertoire as well as new music with a focus on contingency and silence. During my time in Copenhagen we recorded an album named Semèia Kài Tèrata released in ’22 by 901 Editions. I’m very fond about that release! Also, we were both part of Messe (You are where you need to be), a piece for large ensemble (21 musicians) lead by Calum Builder and published by ILK Music in ’21. It was a wonderful experience and, since we had three concerts in Denmark in winter ‘22 I took the opportunity to work with Michał on what became the second track of this tape.
Z: The two compositions on this tape were recorded in 2020 and 2022. Which piece is earlier? Are they both compositions from these different periods as well?
C: Yes, Reminiscenze was composed and played in 2020 and coda in 2022. As I wrote in the liner notes the aim of the pieces is to translate the sound quality of the voices of Renaissance music into acoustic saxophones through the use of multiphonics. Due to instability and intonation it was very challenging to find a final form. The process of making both pieces was very intense, with many trial and errors: what worked “on paper” did not sound at all as intended! So, together with Michał, we tried to find the overlap of multiphonics that create those choral phrases. In a way it was like trying to reach something very simple with a complex material. Of course, the result cannot be summed up by thinking exclusively of chords: it is a timbral event. The second piece was supposed to be much longer, with many other sections. In the the end I decided to maintain only the final part, the “coda”. In this sense the piece is like a “coda for a non existing piece”.
Z: Renaissance music is hundreds of years old, but the saxophone has a very short history, and the multiphonics is an even more modern extended technique. How did you come up with the idea of combining these two musical elements together? Do you also listen to a lot of Renaissance music in your daily life?
C: I think that the main reason could be traced by thinking about sound quality. If we take the second piece I have the feeling that the two soprano saxophones merges into one instrument. The blending between those sounds reminds me a lot about the sound quality of a group of four/five mixed voices. If we listen to that repertoire (especially in a recorded context) the internal part are very mysterious, almost indefinable: as the “shadows” of multiphonics. When I was thinking about those pieces I listened a lot of music from that period but, in the last year or so, I’m listening to something else.
Z: Where does this Renaissance music appear in Europe nowadays? Where else would people hear this music other than on CDs and at church events?
C: I have no idea! I had the chance to attend those concerts a few times (I’ve listen live the complete last madrigal’s book of Gesualdo). I think that for many reasons mostly concerning a specific idea of classical repertoire this music is basically forgotten by most of the people, also by many musicians that do not operate in that particular field.
Z: I have a feeling that re-examining Renaissance music (e.g., harmony, tonality, and its more ancient musical origins) seems to be a certain direction of interest and trend in contemporary experimental music. I don't know if it's just me. Do you think it is? If you think the answer is yes, what do you think about this phenomenon?
C: Yes, I think that too. Although it is quite common that "new music" digs into the past to find the forgotten or even the unheard, there is for sure a tendency to rediscover the Renaissance music (or medieval) in some contemporary music fields, both with modern or historical instruments. We can mention the label Discreet Editions, Early to Late by Frey and Granberg or Curva Triangulus by Lamb among the most significant work that I know in this direction. It is also interesting the renewed interest in different tuning systems like “just intonations”.
Z: Do you have any other future plans of this duo project?
C: Sure! I’m trying to find a place that is willing to host us for an artistic residency so that we can work on new materials. I cannot say much but what I have in mind a very different sound. I really hope that I can manage to make this happen!
Z: What do you do for a living? Is it possible to make a living in Europe by creating and performing this kind of music? Do you have other sources of income?
C: In the last couple of years or so I’ve been working in some music archives and I’ve been doing other intermittent jobs (plus the income for live concerts). I think that with only this musical approach (let’s call it experimental just for understand each other) it is very difficult. I’m not saying that it is impossible (maybe someone can do it) but, for sure, this cannot be an excuse to not try your best for the music you make. Most of the people find a teaching job or plays in very different musical context or find something completely unrelated to music.

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