Marc Sabat
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Marc Sabat (born 22 September 1965) is a Canadian
composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...
based in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, Germany, since 1999.


Works

He has made concert music pieces, works with video, and installations with acoustic instruments and, in some recent pieces, computer-generated electronics, drawing inspiration from investigations of the sounding and perception of small number relations (
Just Intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to ...
), American folk and
experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
s,
Minimal Art Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or conc ...
. His work is presented internationally in radio broadcasts and at festivals of new music including the Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik,
Donaueschinger Musiktage The Donaueschingen Festival (german: Donaueschinger Musiktage, links=no) is a festival for new music that takes place every October in the small town of Donaueschingen in south-western Germany. Founded in 1921, it is considered the oldest festiv ...
,
MaerzMusik MaerzMusik is a festival of the Berliner Festspiele and has been held annually since 2002 in March at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and other venues. It is the successor festival to the Musik-Biennale Berlin and is considered one of the most im ...
, Darmstadt and
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...
. His works do not fall into a single personal style, but they generally share a crystalline clarity of texture and a seek to focus listeners' perception of sounding structures into a process of musical 'thinking'. Sabat is a frequent collaborator, having worked often with visual artists and other composers, including brother painter and filmmaker Peter Sabat. Other collaborators include
John Oswald (composer) John Oswald (born May 30, 1953 in Kitchener, Ontario) is a Canadian composer, saxophonist, media artist and dancer. His best known project is ''Plunderphonics'', the practice of making new music out of previously existing recordings (see sound co ...
, Martin Arnold, Nicolas Fernandez, Matteo Fargion,
Wolfgang von Schweinitz Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 7 February 1953 in Hamburg) is a German composer of classical music and an academic teacher. Career Schweinitz studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, from 1971 to 1973 with Gernot Klu ...
, Stefan Bartling, and Düsseldorf-based artist Lorenzo Pompa. Sabat's music may be heard on the Plainsound Music Edition YouTube Channel.


Research

Since the early 1990s, Sabat has been reinvestigating harmony by studying the theory and musical applications of
Just Intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals Interval may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Interval (mathematics), a range of numbers ** Partially ordered set#Intervals, its generalization from numbers to ...
. Together with
Wolfgang von Schweinitz Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 7 February 1953 in Hamburg) is a German composer of classical music and an academic teacher. Career Schweinitz studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, from 1971 to 1973 with Gernot Klu ...
he conceived and developed a method of staff notation for JI ratios called The Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation. He has also studied JI intervals empirically on string and brass instruments, developing a list of so-called "tuneable intervals": ratios within a three-octave span which can readily be tuned by ear using electronic or acoustic sounds. These intervals appear frequently in Sabat's compositions and also are the basis of a self-tuning computer algorithm ("Micromaelodeon") which is currently under development. The HEJI notation was updated and slightly revised in 2020, in collaboration with Thomas Nicholson with contributions from
Wolfgang von Schweinitz Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 7 February 1953 in Hamburg) is a German composer of classical music and an academic teacher. Career Schweinitz studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, from 1971 to 1973 with Gernot Klu ...
,
Catherine Lamb Catherine Lamb (born 1982 in Olympia, Washington) is an American composer and violist, and a winner of the 2020 Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. Biography Lamb describes her music as exploring "the interaction of tone, summations of shapes and ...
and M.O. Abbott.


Recent projects

Recent projects include works for orchestra, chamber orchestra, and various ensembles. Sabat is one of few composers composing for larger forces with the sounds of extended just intonation.


Studies, teaching, residencies

Largely self-taught as a composer, Sabat studied violin at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, at the
Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...
in New York, as well as working privately with improviser
Malcolm Goldstein Malcolm Goldstein (born March 27, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York (state), New York) is an Americans, American-Canadians, Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. ...
and composers
James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microtonal ...
and
Walter Zimmermann Walter Zimmermann (born 15 April 1949) is a German composer associated with the Cologne School. Born in Schwabach, Germany, Zimmermann studied composition in Germany with Werner Heider and Mauricio Kagel, the theory of musical intelligence at ...
, among others. He attended courses in electronic and computer music at
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
. In 2008-9 he took part in a postgraduate pilot project initiated by the Berlin University of the Arts, the Graduiertenschule für die Künste und die Wissenschaften. He teaches courses in composition, acoustics and experimental intonation at the
Universität der Künste Berlin The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...
, and has been a guest artist at the
California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...
, at the Liszt Academy Budapest, the Escola Superior in Barcelona, the Janáček Music Academy in Brno and the
Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...
. He has been a regular lector at the Ostrava Days Festival and Institute since 2017. In fall 2010, he was artist-in-residence of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, followed in 2011 by a one-year Stipendium at the German Academy in Rome, Villa Massimo. Previous residencies include
Akademie Schloss Solitude The Akademie Schloss Solitude is a foundation under public law. The main aspect of the Akademie is to promote mainly younger, particularly gifted artists and scientists by means of residency fellowships and also by organizing events and exhibitio ...
(1997–98, music juror: Christian Wolff),
Herrenhaus Edenkoben ''Herrenhaus'' (German, literally "House of Lords") may refer to: * a manor house or mansion, * the Prussian House of Lords, * ''Österreichisches Herrenhaus'', see House of Lords (Austria) The House of Lords (german: Herrenhaus; cs, Panská s ...
(1996, music juror:
Peter Eötvös Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...
).


Career as violinist

Beginning in the 1980s, Sabat has also been active as a performer on violin and adapted viola, concentrating primarily on American
Experimental Music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...
of the 20th Century, including his own work. He has recorded CDs of music by
James Tenney James Tenney (August 10, 1934 – August 24, 2006) was an American composer and music theorist. He made significant early musical contributions to plunderphonics, sound synthesis, algorithmic composition, process music, spectral music, microtonal ...
,
Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...
, Christian Wolff, and
Maria de Alvear Maria de Alvear (born 1960 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish-German composer living in Germany who was born to a Spanish father and German mother. She studied with Mauricio Kagel at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, completing a course in new ...
, amongst others. In the 1990s, whilst living in Toronto, he formed a duo with pianist Stephen Clarke, as well as performing with the Modern Quartet and Arraymusic. In recent years Sabat for the most part has concentrated on creating and playing his own music. Together with colleagues
Catherine Lamb Catherine Lamb (born 1982 in Olympia, Washington) is an American composer and violist, and a winner of the 2020 Ernst von Siemens Composers' Prize. Biography Lamb describes her music as exploring "the interaction of tone, summations of shapes and ...
and Rebecca Lane he is a founding member of the collective
Harmonic Space Orchestra A harmonic is a wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'', the frequency of the original periodic signal, such as a sinusoidal wave. The original signal is also called the ''1st harmonic'', the ...
.


List of works

source:
Official Worklist


References


External links


Plainsound Music Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabat, Marc 1965 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Experimental composers Microtonal composers Just intonation composers Just tuning and intervals Canadian classical composers Canadian installation artists Canadian video artists Canadian sound artists Living people Artists from Ontario Musicians from Kitchener, Ontario Canadian expatriates in Germany Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian composers Pupils of James Tenney 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians