>>> Several compositions have been written for Amelia in various musical settings by: CHICO MELLO (TODO CANTO for dhrupad singer, soprano, piano and tabla - 1996), TERRY RILEY (WHAT THE RIVER SAID for singer, baroque violin and cello, surbahar and percussion-1999), ROLAND PFRENGLE (METALL for singer, gong, tamtam and live electronics-2000/1) . This composition is part of the music/theatre piece AN SICH - Bilder/Stille (Pfrengle, 2002) a coproduction Hebbel Theatre and Maerzmusik/Berliner Festspiele 2003.
Spanish/German composer Maria de Alvear has written for Amelia 'FLORES', (for female voices, trumpet and ensemble), premiered at the New Music Festival: FORUM NEUE MUSIK in Cologne 2003 and produced by Deutschland Radio.
With New Music ensemble Die Maulwerker she has participate to a rendering of the complete SONG BOOKS by John Cage (where 18 raga improvisations are to be found) at the Bielefeld Theatre (2001).

>Amelia Cuni is preparing a solo performance of pieces by contemporary composers including JOHN CAGE's SOLO #56 from the SONGBOOKS (18 microtonal ragas)

COMPOSER ROLAND PFRENGLE ABOUT 'METALL' :

14 different frequencies inside a Balinese gong form the base of the pitches for voice and electronic sounds. The scale is non-tempered. The background sounds, representing the gong spectrum, serve as a kind of constantly varying drone. Using spectral analysis of gong and voice sounds, a direct coupling of playing/singing of an acoustical 'instrument' and synthetic sounds is given in realtime via computer. This set up can enhance the inherent acoustic of gong and voice or give them added sound context.
Voice pitches control very different musical activities, as in Indian classical music where the various intervals have specific functions and emotional contents and are not dependent on the central European tonal context. In METALL voice pitches are often manipulated by electronic modulators to increase these differences. The tone itself may influence synthetic sounds, starts or stops, or even switch to the next program part. In this way, one gets a scale of different musical values, ranging from a 'beautiful' tone to a technical 'switch tone'.
The progress of the piece is controlled only by voice and gong sounds, not by pushing buttons. Therefore in METALL, the electronic sounds depend on realtime interactions with the performer in varying degrees of intensity.

One of the main purposes of this work is to use the experience of Indian classical music without exoticism. The form of the piece reflects the musical flow of a Dhrupad. Technology is not the mainstay, it is subverted to fit the musical needs.

METALL is written for Amelia Cuni. She sings Indian classical music and therefore uses non-tempered scales. She is able to communicate the physicallity of such microtonal phenomena.

ROLAND PFRENGLE, born in Germany in 1945, studied composition and sound engineering in West Berlin with Heinz Friedrich Hartig, Frank Michael Beyer, Isang Yun a.o. He has held grants at the Electronic Studio in Utrecht and the Villa Massimo in Rome and has received the West Berlin "Förderpreis Musik" award. He has collaborated with different contemporary music ensembles both as a performer and a composer. He founded the improvisation group ‚No Set' in 1968 and was a member of the ‚Gruppe Neue Musik Berlin' and the ‚Berliner Gesellschaft für Neue Musik'. He performed his music in France, England, the Netherlands, Belgum, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, USA, Canada Japan, Korea, Hongkong, several times at the ‚Warshaw Autumn'. He is especially interested in cybernetics and communication models. He wrote specific compositions for voice and electronics. He composed music for orchestra, ensembles, electracoustic music, music for dance, for radio plays, for actions and an opera and owns an experimental studio in Berlin. For every composition he writes a special computer program using differrent computer languages. He gives lectures and seminars.
Since 1974 he has been working with the singer Michiko Hirayama and since 1999 with Amelia Cuni.

Roland Pfrengle
Flemmingstr.18
D-12163 Berlin
Germany
Tel. 030/8247940

Main works :
(fp means first performance)

LINKS-RECHTS for 10 players, modulators and tape (1969),
fp Musica Nova Hannover 1971
CHELLOKONZERT for violoncello, modulators and tape (1970),
fp Berliner Festwochen 1971
THEMA:INFORMATION for flute, tape and synthesizer (1972),
fp Beate-Gabriela Schmitt 1972
VERQUETSCHT IM KALKÜL for flute, live electronics and tape( 1973),
fp-NICHT-ODER for orchestra and tape (1974-76),
fp RSO Berlin 1976
INNEN-AUSSEN for organ, oboe, synthesizer and tape (1976),
fp Ev.Kirchentag Berlin 1977
IPHIGENIE, opera (1977/78), (with Michiko Hirayama)
Stadttheater Basel 1978
SOLO for percussion and computer (1980),
fp Kammermusiktage Witten 1980
VOM FALLEN for drums, keyboard and computer (1981),
fp Inventionen Berlin 1981
KOMETENTANZ for dancers and live electronics (1982),
fp Akademie d. Künste 1982 choreographer Gerhard Bohner
AASP for voice, drums, electronic sound sources and computer (1983),
fp mit Michiko Hirayama in Tokyo 1984
KLAVIERMUSIK for piano and computer (1982-84),
fp Folkwang Essen 1984 mit Susanne Achilles
ABSTRAKTE TÄNZE for dance, keyboard and computer (1985),
fp Akademie d. Künste 1985 choreographer Gerhard Bohner
NETZ for flutes, electronic sound sources and computer (1987),
fp Festwochen Berlin 1987
IM SCHNITT for dancer, sensors, computer and electronic sound sources (1989),
fp Hebbeltheater Berlin 1989 choreographer Gerhard Bohner
COMING UP for voice and tape (1990), (for Michiko Hirayama)
fp Akademie der Künste Berlin 1991 mit Michiko Hirayama
SOG for flutes, electronic sound sources and computer (1991/92),
fp Beate-Gabriela Schmitt
DER GELBE KLANG for for 21 dancers, sensors and computer (1992/93),
Landertheater Dessau 1993 choreographer Arila Siegert
ZURÜCK for clarinet and computer (1994),
fp Kreuzberger Tage für Neue Musik 1994
SPÄTER SCHALL for 30 instruments, computer, modulators and electronic sounds
Klangart Osnabrück 1995
AUS SICH for 15 instruments and live-electronics (1995/96),
fp Ensemble Modern 1997 im Podewil Berlin
MICH for voice, live electronics and computer (1996),
fp Wien Modern 1996 mit Michiko Hirayama
IM GANZEN for piano and computer (1997/98),
fp Klaviersommer Heilbronn 1999
METALL for voice, gongs and computer (1999/2001). (for Amelia Cuni)