Composition in Progress: Drawing Inspiration from Paolo Scheggi’s Intersuperfici
In the world of contemporary music composition, visual art has long served as both muse and structural blueprint. The act of translation—from the spatial to the temporal, the visual to the sonic—offers a unique set of challenges and possibilities for composers. My new composition currently in progress explores this very relationship, taking direct inspiration from the work of Paolo Scheggi, specifically his iconic Intersuperfici series. These monochrome works, characterized by three overlapping canvases with elliptical or circular openings, serve not just as a visual reference but as a conceptual and structural foundation for this musical piece.
The Visual as Sonic Architecture
Scheggi's Intersuperfici (translated as "Inter-surfaces") are best known for their multi-layered canvases, which create a three-dimensional depth, despite the works being largely monochromatic. Each layer, though hidden to some extent by the one in front of it, contributes to an intricate play of light, shadow, and perception. In my current composition, this principle of depth and occlusion becomes a central feature.
I am treating the score not merely as a linear progression of notes and rhythms but as a spatial construct where overlapping musical ideas and layers interact, much like Scheggi's canvases. Each layer of the composition—whether a melodic line, harmonic structure, or rhythmic pattern—can be seen as analogous to Scheggi's canvases, with specific elliptical or circular "openings" through which the performer (and listener) peers into other musical layers.
Layering and Hidden Structures
Scheggi’s work disrupts the notion of a singular plane of representation, making the viewer constantly aware of what is seen and what is concealed. Similarly, this composition in progress plays with the idea of hidden musical structures. Certain elements, though seemingly dominant on the surface, will obscure or interact with underlying lines in a way that allows only glimpses of the hidden motifs or harmonic progressions. These "musical apertures" create a sense of mystery, inviting the performer to explore the spaces between the sounds as much as the sounds themselves.
In this way, musical material is revealed and obscured simultaneously, with layers of notational motifs emerging from beneath others only briefly before receding back into the fabric of the piece.
Monochromatic Soundscapes
While Scheggi’s canvases are visually monochromatic, the subtle interplay of light and shadow between the layers gives the works a kind of hidden dynamism. In the composition, the idea of monochrome is translated into a restricted notational palette.
Elliptical Openings as Musical Voids
One of the most striking aspects of Scheggi’s Intersuperfici is the elliptical or circular openings in the canvases, which suggest that something lies beyond but does not reveal it fully. In this score, these openings are translated into gaps, pauses, and silences. Rather than being traditional rests, these pauses are designed to be active spaces, creating anticipation and suggesting continuity beyond what is immediately performed. The performer must engage with these gaps not as empty voids, but as portals into an unseen (or unheard) musical space.
The idea of silence as structure is crucial here. Much like how Scheggi’s viewers are aware of what they cannot see, the performer is made aware of what they cannot hear directly, but which the structure implies is there. The elliptical gaps become invitations for the imagination, asking the performer to mentally fill in what lies beneath the surface layer of sound. This creates an ongoing dialogue between presence and absence, sound and silence.
Tension Between the Static and the Fluid
A central tension in Scheggi’s works is between the static nature of the monochrome surface and the implied movement created by the openings. The composition mimics this tension by alternating between static harmonic or rhythmic sections and sudden shifts in texture or tempo. These moments of stasis—where a single chord or rhythmic figure is repeated, almost mechanically—are punctuated by rapid, almost violent, shifts that pull the performer into a new, deeper layer of the musical surface.
I aim to explore how these shifts can be both disruptive and fluid, much like how the circular voids in Scheggi’s works destabilize the viewer’s perception while also suggesting the continuous movement of light through the layers. In musical terms, the shift might occur through tempo modulation, sudden dynamic changes, or the introduction of a previously unheard performance technique into the texture, creating an effect akin to suddenly encountering a new visual plane beneath the first.
Performance as an Excavation
For the performer, this piece is less about following a straightforward narrative and more about excavating layers of sound. The score offers multiple interpretive possibilities, with certain sections allowing for improvisational freedom based on the performer’s ability to navigate the overlapping textures and silences. The challenge is not just in playing the notes but in bringing forth the hidden layers of the composition in a way that honors the tension between surface simplicity and underlying complexity.
Like Scheggi’s works, which encourage the viewer to engage actively with the space between the canvases, the score invites the performer to engage with the spaces between the sounds—the silences, the gaps, the moments where one layer of music folds over another. The performance thus becomes an act of discovery.
Conclusion
In this new composition, the influence of Paolo Scheggi’s Intersuperfici is not merely aesthetic; it is conceptual, structural, and performative. The score, much like Scheggi’s multi-layered canvases, plays with depth, occlusion, and revelation. It challenges the performer and the listener to consider what lies beneath the surface, to navigate the precarious relationship between sound and silence, and to explore the tension between the static and the dynamic. Ultimately, this piece is not just an homage to Scheggi, but a sonic reimagining of his artistic vision, translating his visual inter-surfaces into a rich and multilayered musical experience.
