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Morse Code Composition

Cynthia Zaven
005 / 8 May 2013
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'..And that sin and love and fear are just sounds that people who never sinned nor loved nor feared have for what they never had and cannot have until they forgot the words.'

W. Faulkner

 

 

.- -. -.. / - .... .- - / ... .. -. / .- -. -.. / .-.. --- ...- . / .- -. -.. / ..-. . .- .-. / .- .-. . / .--- ..- ... - / ... --- ..- -. -.. ... / - .... .- - / .--. . --- .--. .-.. . / .-- .... --- / -. . ...- . .-. / ... .. -. -. . -.. / -. --- .-. / .-.. --- ...- . -.. / -. --- .-. / ..-. . .- .-. . -.. / .... .- ...- . / ..-. --- .-. / .-- .... .- - / - .... . -.-- / -. . ...- . .-. / .... .- -.. / .- -. -.. / -.-. .- -. -. --- - / .... .- ...- . / ..- -. - .. .-.. / - .... . -.-- / ..-. --- .-. --. --- - / - .... . / .-- --- .-. -.. ... / .-.-.-

 

In 2012, Cynthia Zaven composed Morse Code Composition for flute and accordion by transcribing a William Faulkner quote into Morse code. Alessandra Rombolà on flute and Esteban Algora on accordion performed the composition during Irtijal, an experimental music festival that takes place in Lebanon annually. A longer version commissioned by the Institute of Contemporary Art was presented within Soundworks, as part of Bruce Nauman's exhibition Days, and presented in the lower gallery of ICA, London (19th June to 16th September 2012). For Zaven, the musicians/improvisers performing the piece take on the role of the 'protagonist', while the audience becomes 'witness', as the musical score and recording produce 'lasting documents'.

 

Therefore, it is not only the act of writing music, but also the moment of the performance, which has strong ties with narration and the questioning of time – the most essential components of her artistic practice.

About the author

Cynthia Zaven

Cynthia Zaven is a musician and artist based in Beirut. Since 1993, she has collaborated with filmmakers, visual artists and stage directors in live acts, as well as compositions and sound designs for theater and dance. Her solo projects combine a variety of media including video, photography, performance and the use of archive material to explore the relationship between sound, memory and identity through interwoven narratives. Recent works include Camouflage Lounge (installation, 2005), Untuned Piano Concerto With Delhi Traffic Orchestra (performance, 2006), Missing Links (installation, 2007-2009), Octophonic Diary (8-channel sound installation, 2009), and Dear Victoria (video, 2011).


In addition to performing as a pianist in various venues for improvised music, she has written soundtracks for award winning documentaries, experimental films and features which have been shown in festivals around the world, including IDFA, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Kassel Documentary film and Video Festival, Videobrasil, the Bern Kunstmuseum, the Institute of Contemporary Art and Oxford's Museum of Modern Art.


Her music has been published by the Berlin based label Staalplaat. She is currently a professor of piano at the Higher National Conservatory of Music in Beirut.