The Mosaic of Transformation

A lush garden, this new opus by the very talented Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, an ode to electricity, without which nothing she has conceived here would be possible… of course. Make no mistake, one can dodge disingenuity or, conversely, austere academism when tackling such a subject, and here is the amazing demonstration. The American composer and performer gracefully expresses her homage to electrical energy over eight short pieces conceived in her laboratory, all topped by a ninth of ten minutes and 36 seconds that could very well be played by a chamber ensemble, or even a symphony orchestra. There are still few composers capable of linking modern and contemporary music in the classical tradition, conceptual electroacoustic approaches, indie pop and traditional Asian music. The cohabitation of consonant and dissonant, tonal and atonal elements is very well balanced in each of these works, especially the last one on the program. This understanding of instruments and genres is all the more remarkable on the orchestration side: the multiple samples of strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion or singularly treated sounds, analog synthesizers and choral singing blend into an absolutely unique abundance of textures.