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09–2015
The work is based on Nn theory, a system developed by Alessio de Girolamo in collaboration with scientist Vincenzo Schettino and conductor Francesco Oliveto. The research establishes a correspondence between the organisation of chemical elements within Bohr’s atomic model and the 97 keys of the Bösendorfer Imperial piano.
Through this system, individual chemical elements are associated with musical notes. Chemical formulas can consequently be translated into sequences of pitches, creating a compositional bridge between scientific notation and musical structure.
For HI | ERE, de Girolamo applied this process to the chemical formulas of rocket propellants associated with the beginning of space exploration. Their molecular structures became the source material for a computer-generated composition, transforming chemical information into an audible sequence.
The work explores translation between different systems of knowledge — chemistry, numerical organisation and musical notation — using correspondence itself as a compositional process.
Performed live with a 1715 organ during Madeinfilandia 2015, Arezzo, Italy.
Photo credits: Loredana Longo.