Youtube Variations

YouTube Variations (2019) [ 11:23 ]
Stereo mixes composed as an Artist’s Proof before the creation of the 8-point source installation, Untitled: Social Commentary. © Gustavo Matamoros. Subtropics Editions


Untitled: Social Commentary 
a.k.a. YouTube Variations | 11:23

Aria da Capo | Goldberg Variations
J. S. Bach ( from 15 found versions )
start: 00:00 – duration: 02:41

Tempo di Gavotta (Allegro) | Concerto Grosso No9 in A Major, Opus 5
Arcangelo Corelli ( from 20 found versions )
start: 02:41 – duration: 03:37

Felicissimo Sonno | Madrigals, Book 5
and Galiarda del Pricipe di Venosa
Carlo Gesualdo ( from 11 versions of the madrigal and 4 versions of the Galgiarda )
start: 06:18 – duration: 05:04

For each of the three well-known musical works of historical significance cited above, I collected numerous performances posted on YouTube. Respectful of the inconsistencies between all of the different interpretations, I combined them all to create each of the three variations that make up this collection. — Gustavo Matamoros


Exhibition, Talks and Listening Sessions

20190511 | world premiere
Untitled: Social Commentary
a sound installation by Gustavo Matamoros
Dimensions Variable, North Miami, Florida

20190515
Untitled Listening Tour
listening session and conversation
around Untitled Social Commentary
Dimensions Variable, North Miami, Florida

20190602
Untitled Listening Tour
listening session and conversation
around Untitled Social Commentary
Dimensions Variable, North Miami, Florida

20190727
Untitled Listening Tour
listening session and conversation
around Untitled Social Commentary
Dimensions Variable, North Miami, Florida

20190801 | world premiere
Untitled: Social Commentary, Closing Event
Carlos Explains (2018)
a computer voice lecture, Q & A, plus Listening Session
Dimensions Variable, North Miami, Florida


Carlos Explains (2019)
Carlos is a synthetic computer voice designed to read out loud from transcripts written in the Spanish language. It is the voice I selected to deliver a statement in English about the installation Untitled: Art and Social Commentary. This is both a statement and a speech-synthesis sound poem. It is the result of typing the English words phonetically and is accomplished by the use of unusual characters and spellings and peculiar punctuation strategies to fool the computer and help Carlos smooth his accent and improve his English pronunciation. Carlos Explains is my tribute to Les Luthiers—the beloved satiric ensemble of creative musicians from Argentina. It was premiered during a lecture scheduled at the closing of Untitled: Social Commentary on August 1, 2019 at Dimensions Variable. © 2019, Gustavo Matamoros. Subtropics Editions.


Press Coverage

2019-05-21
Dimensions Variable Returns with New Building, Artists and Business Model, George Fishman, Artburstmiami.com
“Rather than generating sounds or using field recordings, Matamoros downloaded and overlaid multiple versions of three historical compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach, Arcangelo Corelli and Carlo Gesualdo. Differences of tempo, volume, instrumentation and key in each performance were revealed by selective crossfading, causing subtle discrepancies among the “stacked” renderings of what was the same music — in name — but performed differently.”