VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Beowulf composer blends old technology with new sound
ISABELLA GALAN, REPORTER: You’d be surprised with what you can create with a laptop as old as this one.
EDWARD RUCHALSKI, LE MOYNE COLLEGE DIRECTOR OF MUSIC: Make it so low that it’s clicking.. probably not good for the computer.
GALAN: But for the composer of Le Moyne’s Beowulf, Edward Ruchalski, it’s second nature.
RUCHALSKI: Like for this piece for Beowulf, in some ways it’s fixed if i decide to change it. There’s 45 or 46 files. But I could play them in any order if I wanted to.
GALAN: There is a reason why he doesn’t upgrade his laptop though.
RUCHALSKI: It’s as if after a war we have found this stuff. I am on stage, and this is what I am playing.
GALAN: But it’s not just for show.
RUCHALSKI: Because if the updates are major, you need sometimes months to learn all this stuff. That’s why I love having this version of Ableton on this old computer. It’s offline, it’s never going to change until, I don’t know, the computer dies, you know?
GALAN: He also has other instruments keeping him company.
RUCHALSKI: When we were talking about war, I had mentioned to him, “I had a bunch of artillery casings that sound like inexpensive gongs,” you know, and he said “Oh that sounds perfect, bring a few in and we will try them.”
RUCHALSKI: On the minute, every 15 seconds, and then Chloe does the 30 seconds just for fun.
GALAN: And performing multiple instruments on stage, means everything has to be kept close.
RUCHALSKI: At some point I actually have to move the drums because they’re running and and and I don’t want anybody to trip over it.
GALAN: While each seat in the audience offers a different viewing experience, the audio technicians say the higher you sit up, the better the audio might sound.
RUCHALSKI: All of it’s like all over the place with volume or dynamics, so if it gets starting to get loud as i’m making it softer, you know, and he might be making their voices louder. We’re trying to help each other.
GALAN: Making what could seem like a solo operation a collaborative one.
RUCHALSKI: It’s creating music that isn’t just for performers to play. It’s music that can be listened to without any reference of what the sound is.
GALAN: Isabella Galan, NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News)– A Le Moyne professor is bringing a new twist to a classic story. Edward Ruchalski, the director of music at Le Moyne College, is the composer for their recent production of Beowulf. Ruchaslki has been at Le Moyne for almost 20 years, originally teaching guitar to students. Now in his role of Director of Music, he explores opportunities like this one to play with sound in innovative ways.
As a sound artist, he looks at music though a unique lense and uses real world sounds and experiences that can be applied to any scenario or scene.
“It’s creating music that isn’t just for performers to play. It’s music that can be listened to without any reference of what the sound is. So a lot of it is electronic or music-based in field reporting,” Ruchalski said.
He was asked to help compose this piece back in the summer by the director Matt Chiorini, coming into rehearsals to begin the collaborative process.
“He [Chiorini] said I want to do something, but I would like to work together on a deeper level. What he wanted was for everyone would show up on the first day of rehearsal and start creating things together,” Ruchalski recalled.
With collaboration being the primary theme when creating this production, Ruchalski also performs the music live on stage during each show. Since he is visible on stage, he and Chiorini discussed making his set up seem as intertwined with the set as possible– which is why all of his instruments and his laptop are a bit outdated.
“It’s as if after a war we have found this stuf. I am on stage and this is what I am playing. I had mentioned to him [Chiorini], ‘I had a bunch of artillery casings that sound like inexpensive gongs,’ you know, and he said, ‘Oh, that sounds perfect, bring a few in and we will try them.’” Ruchalski said.
However, these instruments are not just for show. Ruchalski said that using an older laptop and the older version of the Ableton software to mix and play different sounds allows him to have more control over what he plays. With this, he is able to use the functions exactly as he wants without having to worry about new updates.
“Because if the updates are major, you need sometimes months to learn all this stuff. That’s why I love having this version of Ableton on this old computer. It’s offline, it’s never going to change until, I don’t know, the computer dies,” he joked.
He also plays the music by himself, meaning he needs all of his equipment to be within close proximity to not only be easly accessible to him, but to be out of the way of the performers who are on stage right beside him.
“At some point I actually have to move the drums because they’re running and I don’t want anybody to trip over it.”
To see the performance schedule of other Le Moyne productions, go to their website https://lemoyne.showare.com/