Wave Files - Seán Morgan-Rooney

In an expanded live version of his new EP “Wave Files”, music for piano and electronics, the Irish pianist Seán Morgan-Rooney shares a personal artistic response to Maurice Ravel’s Miroirs suite for solo piano through his own compositions for piano and electronics, as well as through original films created together with Boris Peters. The intertwined media create a dialogue between the performer and Ravel, exploring the significance of nature in their respective emotional worlds, while also celebrating the pastoral heritage of the performer's family.

“The eye sees itself not, but by reflection, by some other things...”
Maurice Ravel cited this particular quote from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as the inspiration for his piano suite "Miroirs".

The quote describes how we do not see ourselves directly, but rather perceive ourselves in the reflections of external sources. In composing Miroirs, Ravel was seeing his own humanity reflected in nature - the night moths, the melancholy birds, the boat on the ocean...

In this performance, four pieces written by the performer for piano and electronic track bring an extra dimension to the idea of reflection. These original works reflect the natural themes of Miroirs and communicate a personal musical response to Ravel's suite. The performer organises the suite according to the natural elements: air (“Noctuelles” and "Oiseaux Tristes" ), water ("Une Barque sur l'Océan") fire ("Alborada del Gracioso") and earth ("La Vallée des Cloches"). In turn, each original work is inspired by a different natural
element and is compositionally intrinsically connected to its Ravelian counterpart. The performer exploits the possibilities of electronic music to incorporate more literal sonic depictions of nature.

"Pneumaplume", the piece inspired by Oiseaux Tristes and the element of air, is built on a phrase constructed from electronically manipulated birdcalls, and integrates Ravel's birdcall theme into its texture.

"Wavephile", depicting the element of water, incorporates water sounds and wave-like textures, as well as audio samples from the performer's recording of Une Barque sur l'Océan.

"Ignis Beat" uses an audio sample from De Falla's "Ritual Fire Dance", a nod to the fire and Spanish influence of Alborada del Gracioso, while "Aardchor" is inspired by the movement of tectonic plates, and aims to echo the earthy quality of "La Vallée des Cloches".

On a parallel plane, a similar process of reflection occurs in the visual material accompanying this music. The performer has created original films which reflect the music's natural themes and which aim to convey an inner emotional world through reflections, memories and scenes of the nature in which he grew up. The performer’s mother plays a role in conveying the connection to the land through spoken memories and poetry. With his original music and film, the performer explores how autobiographical elements can be incorporated in an intentional way, setting out to dissolve the boundaries between art preservation and art creation.

Repertoire:
Overture
Seán Morgan-Rooney

Miroirs: I. Noctuelles
Maurice Ravel

Miroirs: II. Oiseaux tristes
Maurice Ravel

Pneumaplume
Seán Morgan-Rooney

Miroirs: III. Une barque sur l’océan
Maurice Ravel

Wavephile
Seán Morgan-Rooney

Miroirs: IV. Alborada del gracioso
Maurice Ravel

Ignis beat
Seán Morgan-Rooney

Miroirs: V. La vallée des cloches
Maurice Ravel

Earth - tether - ether
Seán Morgan-Rooney

Seán Morgan-Rooney - piano

This performance has been made possible partly with the support of AFK and Amarte fonds

Photo: Marco Borggreve