Marc Sabat (born 22 September 1965) is a Canadian composer based in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

, Germany, since 1999.

Works

He has made concert music pieces, works with video, and installations with acoustic instruments and, in some recent pieces, computer-generated electronics, drawing inspiration from investigations of the sounding and perception of small number relations (

Just Intonation In music, just intonation or pure intonation is the tuning of musical intervals as whole number ratios (such as 3:2 or 4:3) of frequencies. An interval tuned in this way is said to be pure, and is called a just interval. Just intervals (and ...

), American folk and

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

s, Minimal Art. His work is presented internationally in radio broadcasts and at festivals of new music including the

Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik The Bludenzer Tage zeitgemäßer Musik (Bludenzer Days of Contemporary Music) is an international festival of contemporary music that has been taking place in Bludenz, Vorarlberg (Austria) since 1988. The aim of the festival is "to make contempor ...

, Donaueschinger Musiktage, MaerzMusik, Darmstadt and Carnegie Hall. His works do not fall into a single personal style, but they generally share a crystalline clarity of texture and a seek to focus listeners' perception of sounding structures into a process of musical 'thinking'. Sabat is a frequent collaborator, having worked often with visual artists and other composers, including brother painter and filmmaker Peter Sabat. Other collaborators include John Oswald (composer), Martin Arnold, Nicolas Fernandez, Matteo Fargion,

Wolfgang von Schweinitz Wolfgang von Schweinitz (born 7 February 1953 in Hamburg) is a German composer of classical music and an academic teacher. Career Schweinitz studied composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, from 1971 to 1973 with Gernot Kl ...

Stefan Bartling Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of Germa ...

, and Düsseldorf-based artist

Lorenzo Pompa Lorenzo may refer to: People * Lorenzo (name) Places Peru * San Lorenzo Island (Peru), sometimes referred to as the island of Lorenzo United States * Lorenzo, Illinois * Lorenzo, Texas * San Lorenzo, California, formerly Lorenzo * Lorenzo Stat ...

. Sabat's music may be heard on the Plainsound Music Edition YouTube Channel.

Research

Since the early 1990s, Sabat has been reinvestigating harmony by studying the theory and musical applications of

. Together with

he conceived and developed a method of staff notation for JI ratios called The Extended Helmholtz-Ellis JI Pitch Notation. He has also studied JI intervals empirically on string and brass instruments, developing a list of so-called "tuneable intervals": ratios within a three-octave span which can readily be tuned by ear using electronic or acoustic sounds. These intervals appear frequently in Sabat's compositions and also are the basis of a self-tuning computer algorithm ("Micromaelodeon") which is currently under development. The HEJI notation was updated and slightly revised in 2020, in collaboration with

Thomas Nicholson Thomas Nicolson or Nicholson may refer to: * Thomas Nicolson of Carnock (died 1646), commissioner for Stirlingshire * Sir Thomas Nicolson, 6th Baronet (died 1693), of the Nicolson baronets * Thomas Nicolson (bishop) (1645–1718), Roman Catholic ...

with contributions from

, Catherine Lamb and

M.O. Abbott Mo or MO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mo, a girl in the '' Horrible Histories'' TV series * Mo, also known as Mortimer, in the novel '' Inkheart'' by Cornelia Funke * Mo, in the webcomic ''Jesus and Mo'' * Mo, th ...

Recent projects

Recent projects include works for orchestra, chamber orchestra, and various ensembles. Sabat is one of few composers composing for larger forces with the sounds of extended just intonation.

Studies, teaching, residencies

Largely self-taught as a composer, Sabat studied violin at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...

, at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

in New York, as well as working privately with improviser

Malcolm Goldstein Malcolm Goldstein (born March 27, 1936 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American-Canadian composer, violinist and improviser who has been active in the presentation of new music and dance since the early 1960s. He received an M.A. in music composit ...

and composers James Tenney and

Walter Zimmermann Walter Zimmermann (born 15 April 1949) is a German composer associated with the Cologne School. Born in Schwabach, Germany, Zimmermann studied composition in Germany with Werner Heider and Mauricio Kagel, the theory of musical intelligence a ...

, among others. He attended courses in electronic and computer music at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. In 2008-9 he took part in a postgraduate pilot project initiated by the Berlin University of the Arts, the Graduiertenschule für die Künste und die Wissenschaften. He teaches courses in composition, acoustics and experimental intonation at the Universität der Künste Berlin, and has been a guest artist at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of bo ...

, at the Liszt Academy Budapest, the Escola Superior in Barcelona, the Janáček Music Academy in Brno and the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

. He has been a regular lector at the Ostrava Days Festival and Institute since 2017. In fall 2010, he was artist-in-residence of the Villa Aurora in Los Angeles, followed in 2011 by a one-year Stipendium at the German Academy in Rome, Villa Massimo. Previous residencies include Akademie Schloss Solitude (1997–98, music juror: Christian Wolff), Herrenhaus Edenkoben (1996, music juror: Peter Eötvös).

Career as violinist

Beginning in the 1980s, Sabat has also been active as a performer on violin and adapted viola, concentrating primarily on American

Experimental Music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

of the 20th Century, including his own work. He has recorded CDs of music by James Tenney,

Morton Feldman Morton Feldman (January 12, 1926 – September 3, 1987) was an American composer. A major figure in 20th-century classical music, Feldman was a pioneer of indeterminate music, a development associated with the experimental New York School ...

, Christian Wolff, and Maria de Alvear, amongst others. In the 1990s, whilst living in Toronto, he formed a duo with pianist Stephen Clarke, as well as performing with the Modern Quartet and Arraymusic. In recent years Sabat for the most part has concentrated on creating and playing his own music. Together with colleagues Catherine Lamb and

Rebecca Lane Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

he is a founding member of the collective Harmonic Space Orchestra.

List of works

source:
Official Worklist

References

External links

Plainsound Music Edition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabat, Marc 1965 births 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Experimental composers Microtonal composers Just intonation composers Just tuning and intervals Canadian classical composers Canadian installation artists Canadian video artists Canadian sound artists Living people Artists from Ontario Musicians from Kitchener, Ontario Canadian expatriates in Germany Canadian male classical composers 20th-century Canadian composers Pupils of James Tenney 20th-century Canadian male musicians 21st-century Canadian male musicians