OBSERVATIONS
[2025]MULTI-CHANNEL INSTALLATION [OCTOPHONIC] & COMPOSITION
LIVE ELECTRONIC PERFORMANCE
‘NOTATIONS’ FESTIVAL · YEREVAN STATE PHILHARMONIC · ARMENIA
Curated by Kay Nystagmus
This multi-channel (octophonic) installation was created using live traditional Armenian instruments: Qanun (Mar Margaryan), Qamancha (Ashot Ghazaryan), and Duduk and Zurna (Hayk Karoyi). The score moves between acoustic instrumentation, synthesizers, and field recordings from the Orgov Telescopic Observatory.
The opening percussion, referencing Avet Terteryan’s Symphony No. 3, is composed from the resonance of Orgov’s telescope, sampled with contact microphones placed along the edge of the observatory. Improvisational Duduk, Qanun, and Qamancha move through synthetic textures, building into a frenzy before resolving into a delicate call and response. The piece blurs the line between organic and electronic sounds, which at times become indistinguishable, reflecting the hypnotic and ritualistic qualities of Terteryan’s symphony.