Music
My appreciation of baroque counterpoint and admiration for the music of J.S. Bach led me to specialize in harpsichord playing and basso continuo accompaniment.
I regularly play with other musicians in my baroque ensemble Harmonia Tangens and have performed at St Cecilia's Hall on several occasions. I have given guided tours on the history of the stringed keyboard instrument family, with live music demonstrations, taking advantage of the fantastic Russell collection of keyboard instruments at St Cecilia's Hall.
My main interest in music is in developing an articulate musical language at the keyboard. Since my musical training started late, during my PhD years in Edinburgh, improvisation has been a constant in my practice. I like to think of improvisation and composition as two extremes of a spectrum that I explore naturally. Incidentally, this practice is probably quite similar to how music was made in the classical European tradition; famously, most renowned composers were also great performers and improvisers.
More recently I have ventured into electronic music: creating beats and improvising live with loopers and synthesizers, and collaborating with electronic music producers in the context of SEMF. My main collaborator is Philip Klopp, also known as Tangled Tales.
I am interested in the phenomena of sound generation and sound perception, and in how musical traditions have explored and systematized aspects of these for aesthetic effect. As part of my contribution to SEMF, I produced, together with my good friend Pau Enrique, a series of videos introducing the basics of acoustics and sound perception.
Familiarity with diverse historical temperaments from harpsichord playing has led me to consider the foundations of tonal systems. I am developing ideas for a music theory precise enough to capture the richness of physical harmony but flexible enough to incorporate the very successful systems already used in practice, opening up the compositional possibilities of continuous counterpoint, reference pitch change, dynamic temperament, microtonality and synthetic harmonies.
More recordings on YouTube.
