“Compact Melodies” is a sound-sculptural installation which explores the mutual origin of form and music.

At the center of the work is a series of freely designed wood sculptures that are translated into musical notation through a transformation process. The sculptures are made up of hundreds of layered elements that form loop-shaped ribbons. The cumputer-based transformation process begins by assigning a point in time to each wooden element. In the next step, the curves of the sculpture are translated into pitches. The curvature diameter of a curve corresponds to the wavelength of the associated tone - the larger the diameter, the lower the tone. By assigning an absolute pitch to each curve and a point in time to each wooden element, a sequence of tones is created, which is recorded as a polyphonic melody in musical notation using a parametric algorithm.

The sculptures result in short musical motifs that have been arranged into a composition. The transformation process makes the physical presence of the sculptures audible and invites the viewer to compare the underlying spatial form with the respective acoustic form. How do rhythms, intervals, harmonies and melodies make themselves felt? Where can dissonances be recognized and what meaning do they have?