Fantasia | Aphantasia

Fantasia | Aphantasia

Duration: 08:01

Instrumentation: Piano & Violin

Technical Specifications: .wav 48kHz stereo audio

Performer: Ana Mora (Piano), Fanton Clerc (Violin)

Year: 2018

Written as a part of the 2018 Montreal Creative Music Lab, Fantasia | Aphantasia is based upon a recently defined condition, Aphantasia, where one does not possess a functioning mind's eye. Trying to apply this condition to sound seemed like a fascinating exercise. Since the root of the word Aphantasia comes from a similar place as the musical form, Fantasia (fantasy), seemed like a natural starting point in which to examine it from a musical standpoint.

Repeating notes attempt to convey the concept of being stuck mentally — of not being able to move past a concept of an idea, and onto mentally visualizing it. At the same time, a Fantasia is an improvisational genre, and although the piece itself does not contain wholly improvisational sections, I tried to compose it in that fashion, with all of the main ideas being improvised by myself on the piano, and containing a quasi-improvisational feel to them.