Neuroscientific studies demonstrate that music can alter moods by activating the brain’s emotional structures. Music is capable of awakening the core of the brain structures that create our emotional universe, generating various states within us. Emotions and music share the same region of the brain, as both are located in the prefrontal cortex, which is why music can provoke all kinds of reactions. These impressions and reactions can create a sensory, intangible description, producing more visceral responses.

Emotional artificial intelligence is a tool that allows for much more natural interaction between humans and machines. While humans have an advantage in reading emotions, machines are gaining ground by using their own strengths. In this field, psychology is once again applying artificial intelligence to emotions, aiming to artificially understand a person’s emotional state. The goal is to create algorithms capable of processing and identifying emotions.

The technological revolution has brought about great transformations in how we relate to others, and musical composition has not been immune to these changes and transformations. One could say that this technological revolution has also changed the way we can communicate artistically, through the use of advanced electronic technological means.

The program presented by saxophonist Xelo Giner consists of works that fluctuate within an interactive compositional system, creating a connection between Giner and each of the composers in the program. The works are the result of using state-of-the-art multimedia technology. The composers engage in a feedback process with the saxophonist during the composition process, and all the works are specifically composed for Giner.

PROGRAM NOTES

Isabel Latorre (1984)
‘Saint Witch’ (2022)**
For tenor saxophone, electronics, and video

Dedicated to Xelo Giner and premiered at Les Arts in Valencia in June 2022. The work is based on a previous project by the composer on the filmmaker Maya Deren (1917-1961). This Ukrainian author can be considered a pioneer of avant-garde cinema and video art. From her (never edited) film in collaboration with Marcel Duchamp, ‘Cradle’ (1943), suggestive scenes remain, drawn with a seductive, almost ritualistic cinematic language. The images convey a strong illusory component, reflecting the dreamlike vision of magic-makers during the Middle Ages, which Maya Deren views with immense fascination. Her camera defies time and space, reflecting a mental state that precedes any kind of illustration or consciousness.

This ties in with Isabel Latorre’s fascination with medieval music, specifically the spirituality of the music from Orthodox rites, present in Deren’s country of origin. Within this liturgical music, another pioneer stands out, though not very well known in our country—Kassia (810-967), a poet and composer from the Eastern Roman Empire. In fact, she is one of the first women whose works have been preserved in written form, and after her death, she was beatified. The starting point for the piece is her “Troparion” ‘The Fallen Woman,’ about Mary Magdalene, which, according to legend, is an autobiographical poem still sung during Orthodox Holy Week. When it is performed, prostitutes are said to come to the temple to listen to it.

Carlos David Perales (1979)
‘Loving with Robots’ (2024)*
For tenor saxophone, electronics, and video (8 min)

‘Loving with Robots’ is a piece that reflects on the emotional relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, drawing inspiration from the ideas of Richard Feynman, Carl Sagan, and Isaac Asimov. In ‘Chant’, the initial encounter between humans and robots is depicted, echoing Sagan’s idea that we are a manifestation of the universe contemplating itself. ‘Poem’ immerses us in emotional synchronization, illustrating how the relationship between the human and the artificial can be an expression of our cosmic connection and an example of human creativity driving technological innovation, as proposed by Feynman. Finally, in ‘Ballade’, the frenetic promise of a shared future between humans and technology is addressed, an explosion of emotion and symmetry. The tenor saxophone and electronics intertwine in a musical embrace, celebrating the possibility of a joint dance in a binary world. As Asimov would say, the love between humans and machines becomes an eternal echo, a song that never stops resonating in the human heart and the artificial mind.

Joan Gómez Alemany (1990)
‘GlitXiner’ (2024)

This composition explores the phenomenon of the glitch, that is, a computer malfunction that can distort both the image (pixelating it in a very pictorial and abstract way) and the sound (producing white noise, scratches, sinusoids, etc.). At the same time, this work has a hidden circular structure, emphasizing extreme register sounds at the beginning, jumping abruptly from very high to very low, and progressively converging until reaching unison. Once here, the reverse path is followed, completing two series in an X shape, constructed from quarter-tone intervals.

This composition reflects on our digital reality, the creative potential of error, and flawless materials that can be used to create art outside ordinary conventions. ‘glitXiner’ is for tenor saxophone, video, and electronics, and was commissioned by Xelo Giner, to whom the composer dedicates the piece.

Pere Caselles Mulet (1987)
‘Xeliner’ (2024)*
For amplified saxophone, electronics, and visuals.

Commissioned by Xelo Giner, ‘Xeliner’ is an artistic experience that seeks to challenge the boundaries of the audience’s concrete and abstract understanding. Music, visual technology, and human perception come together to explore this boundary of comprehension, taking the audience on an introspective journey, delving into the relationship between the concrete and the abstract, between the recognizable and the unrecognizable.

Miguel Ángel Berbis (1972)
‘X-elo’ (2023)**
For amplified tenor saxophone, electronics, and visuals

‘X-elo’ is a composition that explores the artistic expressive capabilities of saxophonist Xelo Giner, to whom the piece is dedicated, highlighting every aspect of her personality. To achieve this, extensive and innovative technological means have been employed, interacting live with the performer and using pre-recorded life-size images. This creates a synergy between both, while also exploring how these mediums fluctuate and simultaneously enrich each other, generating new forms of expression and meaning. This work reflects aspects of the performer’s personality and her artistic expression through developments in multimedia technology.