Emanuele Casale by Mdi Ensemble Sugiyama - Str37028 - Stradivarius - Classical - Our Labels

Two parallel areas of expression have characterised the music that I have written up to now: a ludic tendency and an inclination towards the meditative. The former pertains to the pieces in which I would like to discern an element of ironic theatricality, certain hints of the grotesque and a propensity towards groove (5, 7, 11 and Questo è un gruppo e pace); the latter is found in compositions oriented towards a search for the intimate and kind gesture (Esistere lago, nulla e un tempo and other pieces not included in this CD). In these two musical personalities there are some common elements, like the desire to seek a personal musical rhetoric, directness of expression and a yearning to avoid a sense of decadence. The implications of the direct expression are concision, explicit communication, structural transparency and an inclination towards classical formal equilibriums. These concerns have helped me to understand how difficult it is to arrive at simple architectures. As for the expression of decadence, I have heard it in music that transmits to me a sense of negative decomposition, and in Germany I perceived it in its most glaring forms: from the scratching and scraping on musical instruments in noise concerts in Berlin to the window displays in Frankfurt’s sex shops, where there wasn’t anything that wasn’t abrasive and distressing. Certainly, I’ve no reason to retract any of this, but at a certain point I thought that if any sadomasochistic musical ideas did come to me, I would tie them in with a good dose of divertissement, as if to dilute them in a game, or alternatively, would translate them into suave movement. Emanuele Casale studied double bass under Sebastiano Nicotra, composition under Eliodoro Sollima and electronic music under Alessandro Cipriani. He completed his musical studies at the Istituto Vincenzo Bellini in Catania. He went on to do advanced courses with Aldo Clementi, Salvatore Sciarrino (composition), Giorgio Nottoli and Barry Truax (electronic music). He also undertook advanced studies in electroacoustic composition obtaining an advanced diploma with first class honours at the Licinio Refice Conservatory. His thesis dealt with the relationship between traditional composition and electroacoustic composition.The works of Emanuele Casale are published by Casa Ricordi.