ON FIRE (2001) - generative sound environment for Fabrizio Plessi

ON FIRE is a sonic intervention by Karlheinz Essl for the space-filling installation ONLY FIRE by the Venezian artist Fabrizio Plessi. It was presented at the Essl Museum between 28.11.2001 and 17.02.2002. The sound of a fire blaze which is permanently filling the space is enriched with sonic gestures that are generated in real time by a special version of Karlheinz Essl's sound scape generator fLOW. The sound material on which it is based focusses on several aspects that are related with fire: steam and engine, heat and power, comfort and destruction. Taking advantage of algorithmic models and chance operations - Karlheinz Essl's field of interest since the mid 1980ies - the sound structures emerge in realtime in an unpredictable and surprising manner. Instead of being a reproducible work, ON FIRE is an infinite process that develops like the uncontrollable power of fire. The two sound sources for this installation are spatially distributed and separated: the constant sound of burning fire which was supplied by Fabrizio Plessi himself fills the entire space of the Grand Hall of the Essl Museum, whereas Karlheinz Essl's gestural sound scape ON FIRE is projected with 4 loudspeakers onto the curved wall of the so-called Rotunda: a circular room which opens itself into the Grand Hall like a funnel and through which the sounding of ON FIRE is transmitted into the installation space where it combines itself with the noise of the fire blaze. The visitor, walking through the installation, will listen to different combinations and interferences of the two sound layers which constantly changes due to the move he takes.