This working method provides direct contact with the spatial and temporal characteristics of the locations chosen. Thus the work becomes geographically anchored…By contrast, eco-composition emphasizes the relationships between the compositional processes and the geographical, ethnographical and historical factors that inform the piece (Keller and Capasso 2000). From this perspective, the creative context becomes an integral part of the work. (58)
Concepts in the Ecological Framework
- Structural coupling: “[S]tructural coupling [is] a mutual determination between the individual and its environment. Thus, it is not a mental representation that establishes the formation of perceptual processes but actual corporal interactions. These interactions are constrained by the possible actions that can be exerted upon the objects. In ecological parlance we define these constraints as ‘affordances’” (57).
- Attunement: “The perceptual manifestation of structural coupling is what Gibson (1966) defined as ‘attunement’. The permanent cycle ‘action / perception/ attunement / new action’ is at the core of the process of adaptation to a new environment” (57).
- Personal environment: “Bringing the concepts of structural coupling and attunement to the realm of musical experience suggests a very specific process that demolishes the idea of music as a universal language. As we have extensively argued, music phenomena need to be understood as resulting from an individual’s record of sonic experience. The concept that defines an individual’s specific listening history is called the ‘personal environment’ (Keller and Capasso 2000). The personal environment places the work within the listener’s cultural context and re-enacts his previous sonic experiences. Thus his interactions with the sonic environment, including sounds labelled as ‘musical’ and ‘non-musical’, determine his aesthetic experience” (57).
Key Terms
- Eco-composer: “characterize[s] the first author’s role in the creation of this work. The term seems to summarise the two basic aspects of the paradigm we have been working on during the last eight years: (i) the construction of a theoretical framework grounded on perceptual and cultural data; and (ii) the subsequent development of synthesis techniques and compositional strategies coherent with this theoretical scaffolding” (56)
- Ecological paradigm: “materials were selected and organised to create a spatially and temporally consistent environment (Keller 1999). Ecological modelling (Keller 2004; Keller and Berger 2001) was used for the synthesis and spatialisation of environmental sounds” (55). “The ecological framework is also applied to the distribution of the elements in space: the installation layout reflects the concepts of circularity, recurrence, duality, complementarity and mimesis suggested by the cultural perspective adopted for this piece” (62).