'Niwa', a soundscape in 5.1 surround RAMON HUMET

This new installation by Ramon Humet and Neu Records brings together three of the most representative works by the Catalan composer in 5.1 surround sound, performed by one of the leading new music ensembles: the prestigious London Sinfonietta. Recorded at London’s Watford Colosseum, a concert hall renown for its extraordinary natural acoustics, Niwa transports listeners to an imaginary garden in which processes of tension and distension coexist, an organic network of moving images, full of light and sound energy.

Unlike stereo sound, the 5.1 surround system makes it possible to capture and play back the different sound elements from any position in regard to the listener. Neu Records has made this powerful tool for sound capture and reproduction available to Ramon Humet, arranging the musicians in specific configurations around the listener for each composition to make the most of the 360º of listening strengthen the sense of sound immersion that the composer seeks.

The works presented are Quatre jardins zen, for three percussionists with resonant instruments, Jardí de haikus, for a trio with piano and three percussionists, and Pètals, which completes the timbral itinerary with a trio with piano. Each of the works ends with a track of Silence, designed to allow listeners to absorb the musical experience, creating a space of distension that is in dialogue with the work.

Following the audition, the musicologist Lluís Nacenta, music producer Santi Barguñó, and composer Ramon Humet will present the recording.

With the support of Catalunya Música and Catalan Arts.

More information at neurecords.com/