Megumi Masaki performs Hitchcock Études for piano, glitch and film (2010) by Nicole LizéeJUNOfest Classical Showcase. Scarboro United Church, Calgary AB. 2 April 2016

Nicole Lizée: “The premise for Hitchcock Études is centered around my ongoing preoccupation with the fallibility of media. Technology has the potential to fail and can fail in spectacular ways, creating fascinating sounds and visuals. How to capture and replicate those beautiful mistakes? All of the soundtrack material and visuals are from “middle period” Hitchcock films. The source material is deconstructed, spliced and otherwise “damaged”, resulting in layers of disjunct, erratic rhythmic material, twisted melodic lines and harmonies. These imperfections and errors are woven together to create a new sonic landscape over which the accompanying acoustic material is performed live. The sound materials extend beyond Bernard Hermann’s soundtrack and into the foley sounds and other audio artifacts present in the film. The glitched sound material is precisely notated to enable the live piano to synchronize and interweave in tandem with the “malfunctioning” track and video. Notation or transcription is an important component of the work. It is coaxing material from existing material by altering its physical state; illuminating hidden melodies, gestures, and rhythms. In his 24 Hour Psycho (1993) the Glasgow-based artist Douglas Gordon sought to uncover the unforeseen ‘micro-narratives’ lurking in Hitchcock’s film by slowing it down to approximately 2 frames per second. I approach these études with the same basic motivation in mind, extending the search to sound in film – and then extending it still further by creating a new work with my findings."