Cantor Digitalis: chironomic parametric synthesis of singing

Cantor Digitalis is a performative singing synthesizer that is composed of two main parts: a chironomic control interface and a parametric voice synthesizer. The control interface is based on a pen/touch graphic tablet equipped with a template representing vocalic and melodic spaces. Hand and pen positions, pen pressure, and a graphical user interface are assigned to specific vocal controls. This interface allows for real-time accurate control over high-level singing synthesis parameters. The sound generation system is based on a parametric synthesizer that features a spectral voice source model, a vocal tract model consisting of parallel filters for vocalic formants and cascaded with anti-resonance for the spectral effect of hypo-pharynx cavities, and rules for parameter settings and source/filter dependencies between fundamental frequency, vocal effort, and formants. Because Cantor Digitalis is a parametric system, every aspect of voice quality can be controlled (e.g., vocal tract size, aperiodicities in the voice source, vowels, and so forth). It offers several presets for different voice types. Cantor Digitalis has been played on stage in several public concerts, and it has also been proven to be useful as a tool for voice pedagogy. The aim of this article is to provide a comprehensive technical overview of Cantor Digitalis

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat

Le paradoxe du clavicorde et la technique de Bach au clavier

Le jeu du clavicorde demande un contrôle paradoxal : il faut abaisser la touche suffisamment vite pour produire un son suffisamment fort, mais aussi veiller à garder la justesse d’intonation, c’est-à-dire ne pas trop déplacer la corde. Les sources historiques sur le jeu du clavicorde dans le cercle de Jean-Sébastien Bach décrivent une technique de clavier (« tire » ou « Schnellen ») qui semble particulièrement adaptée au contrôle simultané de la vitesse et de la profondeur du toucher. Après une étude théorique qui établit les rapports entre mouvement de la touche, intensité sonore et intonation, une étude expérimentale mesure ces quantités pour un toucher « poussé », vertical et un toucher « tiré », avec retrait du bout du doigt vers l’intérieur de la main. Les résultats indiquent que le contrôle paradoxal demandé par la mécanique spécifique du clavicorde est avantageusement réalisé par le geste décrit dans les sources historiques (un mouvement de retrait circulaire du bout du doigt).Playing the clavichord demands a paradoxical control: one should press the key fast enough, but without pushing the string up, in order to produce a sufficiently loud sound but also to maintain a correct intonation. Historical sources on keyboard technique in Johann Sebastian Bach’s circle describe finger motions (“tire” or “Schnellen”) that seem particularly suited to the simultaneous control of the speed and depth of touch. After a theoretical study that establishes the relationship between the movement of the key, sound intensity and intonation, an experimental study measures these quantities for a “pushed” or vertical touch and for a “pulled” touch, with a gliding motion of the fingertip towards the hand palm. The results indicate that the paradoxical control demanded by the specific mechanics of the clavichord is advantageously achieved by the gesture described in historical sources (a circular withdrawal movement of the fingertip)

Gestural control of voice synthesis. The cantor digitartic instruments

Deux instruments de synthèse vocale sont présentés : le Cantor Digitalis et le Digitartic. Ces deux instruments utilisent des gestes bimanuels dérivés de l’écriture ou du dessin sur une tablette graphique. Le signal est calculé par un synthétiseur vocal paramétrique, comprenant des modèles de source voisée et de bruits consonantiques et une structure à formants série/parallèle, pour le conduit vocal. Le Cantor Digitalis permet de chanter des voyelles et des semi-voyelles. Le Digitartic permet de chanter des syllabes, avec des consonnes plosives, fricatives, liquides et nasales. La question de la synchronisation des gestes consonantiques et des appuis rythmiques demandés par la musique est discutée. Ces instruments permettent un jeu musical expressif et sont régulièrement utilisés en concert.Two singing synthesis instruments are presented: Digitalis Cantor and Digitartic. Both instruments use bimanual writing or drawing gestures on graphic tablets. The voice signal is computed with the help of a parametric synthesizer, including a voice source model, consonantal noise models and series/parallel formant filters. Cantor Digitalis is a vowel and semi-vowel singing instrument. Digitartic allows for singing syllables, including plosives, fricative, liquid and nasal consonants. The issue of consonant gestures and musical beat synchronization is discussed. These instruments allow for expressive musical performances. They are regularly used for concerts

N.: The ORA project: Audio-visual live electronics and the pipe organ

This paper presents musical and technological aspects of real-time digital audio processing and visual rendering applied to a grand nineteen-century pipe organ. The organ is “augmented ” in both its musical range and visual dimensions, thus increasing its potential for expression. The discussed project was presented to a public audience in the form of concerts. First, a brief project description is given, followed by in-depth discussions of the signal processing strategies and general musical considerations. Digital audio effects allow for the addition of new electronic registers to the organ stops. The “direct ” sound is captured inside the organ case close to the pipes in order to provide “dry ” audio signals for further processing. The room acoustic strongly affects the pipe organ sound perceived by the listener; hence, to combine the processed sound with the organ sound both room simulation and spatial audio rendering are applied. Consequently, the transformed sound is played back via a multitude of loudspeakers surrounding the audience. Finally, considerations of musical aspects are discussed, comprising reflections on virtuosity and technique in the musical play and how the new possibilities could affect composition practice and the use of the organ in contemporary music. 1

Post-translational regulation of photosynthetic activity via the TOR kinase in plants

Chloroplasts are the powerhouse of the plant cell, yet they are resource-intensive and will cause photooxidative damage if their activity overshoots the demands of growth. The adjustment of chloroplast activity to match growth is therefore vital for stress acclimation. Here we identify a novel post-translational mechanism linking the conserved eukaryotic TOR kinase that promotes growth and the guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) signaling pathway of prokaryotic origin that regulates chloroplast activity, and photosynthesis in particular. We show that RelA SpoT Homologue 3 (RSH3), a nuclear-encoded chloroplastic enzyme responsible for ppGpp biosynthesis, interacts directly with the TOR complex via a plant-specific N-terminal region (NTR) which is hyper-phosphorylated in a TOR-dependent manner. Downregulation of TOR activity reduces NTR phosphorylation, enhances ppGpp synthesis by RSH3, and causes a ppGpp-dependent decrease in photosynthetic capacity. Altogether we demonstrate that the TOR-RSH3 signaling axis is a novel and direct post-translational mechanism that allows chloroplast activity to be matched with plant growth, setting a new precedent for the regulation of organellar function by TOR. One sentence summary The TOR kinase post-translationally controls guanosine tetraphosphate signaling to regulate plant photosynthetic activity