‘Grace’ by Arturo Cardelús, performed by Berlin Philharmonic, enhanced with Dolby Atmos technology for immersive experience

The renowned pianist and composer Arturo Cardelús launched the Dolby Atmos mix of his composition ‘Grace’ in Madrid this Tuesday. Originally commissioned by the soloists of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016, this new version of the piece takes advantage of immersive sound technology, bringing the music closer to what Cardelús initially envisioned while creating it.

During the presentation at Ocine Urban Caleido in Madrid, Cardelús explained to the press that composers experience a “Atmos inside the head”, hearing music in a more immersive way than just stereo. Utilizing this advanced sound technology has allowed the first few notes of the piece, which initially sounded “a little poor” in stereo, to regain their intended richness and depth.

Cardelús shared a story of how in 2011, the first violinist of the Berlin Philharmonic, Laurentius Dinca, commissioned a piece from him after discovering a tango he had composed on YouTube. Cardelús, who had just graduated from Berkeley at the time, produced ‘Con aire de Tango’, a four-part composition that was later recorded at the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin.

He was contacted again two years later with a request for a new piece, this time with no specific guidelines. Cardelús humorously commented that such an open-ended request is the worst thing one could say to a composer as the lack of parameters can lead to creative paralysis. After discussing with his former composition professor at Berkeley, Cardelús decided that the new composition should be a sophisticated and ambitious piece that would be his “statement”.

However, his initial version of the score, which was tonal and began with three pianos escalating to forte, did not resonate with the rest of the piece. Every morning, he found himself haunted by eight simple chords in A Major, and after much contemplation, he decided to base his composition, ‘Grace’, on these chords, despite his teacher’s objections.

A WORK THAT SPEAKS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF HIS DAUGHTER, GRACE

The composition ‘Grace’ is a heartfelt tribute to his daughter, divided into three parts. According to Cardelús, the first part symbolizes the joy of learning about his wife’s pregnancy, while the second part represents the progression of pregnancy, with the tempo and melody evolving as the fetus develops.

The third section corresponds to the birth of his daughter. Here, Cardelús uses a film scoring technique known as Mickey Mousing to musically depict the baby’s descent and eventual birth. The final few minutes of the piece, performed on viola with the piano accompanying, represent his daughter Grace’s first moments on Earth.

Beyond ‘Grace’, Cardelús has an impressive portfolio of soundtracks and chamber music. Some of his accolades include an award for the best orchestral score at the Spanish Audiovisual Music Awards (2020), and a nomination for his soundtrack for ‘Buñuel in the labyrinth of the turtles’, which was named ‘the soundtrack of the year’.

Recently, Cardelús attended the Malaga Film Festival to present the animated film ‘Dragonkeeper’, a Spanish-Chinese collaboration for which he composed the soundtrack. Directed by Salvador Simó and Li Jianping, the film is based on Carole Wilkinson’s novel of the same name and was the opening feature of the festival.