Re: [microsound] sound-psychology

[Kurt Ralske <kranning@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> It should be noted that the condition of synaesthesia has nothing to do with
> a real, physical linking of colours and sounds (or timbres).  It is just a
> sort of bleeding or crosstalk from the sense of hearing to vision.

Messiaen (my nomination for the best composer of the 20th century) was so
convinced of his synaesthetic perceptions that he believed it must be a
objective phenomena, but only  perceivable by some. He compiled long lists
of the color combinations produced by his various modes, in various keys:
"...violet-purple...orange striped with red...gold and milky-white..."

He said: "The great tragic drama of my life consists of my telling people
that I see colors whenever I hear music -- and they see nothing. That's
terrible. And they don't even believe me."

Connecting to a previous thread from a few weeks back: if synaesthesia is
totally subjective, then to take a "scientific approach" to realizing
audio-visual artwork is probably not the best route to really access
subjective perceptions. You're more likely to reveal subjectivity by
illogic than by logic. Keep the subjective subjective. 

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