SYNESTHESIA BETWEEN SOUND AND COLOUR

George APOSTOLESCU

Authors

George APOSTOLESCU Violin Teacher at ”Ion Vidu” National College of Art, Timişoara. Violin player at Timişoara Philarmonic Orchestra. PhD Candidate The Faculty of Arts and Design, The West University, Timişoara. E-mail address: george_apostolescu@hotmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2673-4558

Keywords:

synesthesia, music, colour, Avant-garde, Scriabin, Mussorgsky

Abstract

Synesthesia is a syndrome or better said a psychological state that became manifest in music, art and literature. Mainly in the 20^th century it takes a different shape as a result of scientific progress and especially of the effects it has generated. Synesthesia in music is recognized due to the effects created by Alexander Scriabin in Prometheus – The Poem of Fire as well as ”the painting” on the score of Hartmann’s pictures in his famous work Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky. At the opposite pole we come across synesthetic episodes in pop-rock music or in disco dance music. The Avant-garde is a decisive factor of synesthetic development due to the synergy between music and visual art. The appearance and diversification of synesthesia creates new effects that influence all the people who interact with music and colours directly or indirectly.

References

Adler, H., and U. Zeuch. Synästhesie: Interferenz, Transfer, Synthese der Sinne. (Synesthesia: interference, transfer, synthesis of the senses), Würzburg, Königshausen & Neumann, 2002.

Baron-Cohen, S., and J. E. Harrison, eds. Synaesthesia: Classic and Contemporary Readings.Cambridge: Blackwell, 1997.

Boulez, Pierre, Il paese fertile. Paul Klee e la musica (The fertile country. Paul Klee and music), Ed. Gallimard, 1989.

Stoianov, Carmen şi Marinescu, Mihaela, Istoria muzicii universale (The history of Universal Music), Ed. Fundaţiei România de Mâine, Bucureşti, 2007.

van Campen, Cretien- The Hidden Sense Synesthesia in Art and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007.

Article:

Daily Mail, Rob Waugh, 23.11.2011

Web sources:

http://www.componisten.net/downloads/ScriabinMysterium.pdf

http://www.scribd.com/doc/93532593/Ede-Terenyi-Gandirea-Dualista

http://www.doctorhugo.org/synaesthesia/art2/

http://www.arteiasi.ro/universitate/other/DR_MorelKOREN_RO.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SOynq06e_CQ#!