Showing papers in "Organised Sound in 2004"
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TL;DR: This paper builds a model of interactivity based on stigmergy, the process by which social insects communicate indirectly by environment modification, and proposes here that the self-organisation of social animals provides a very suggestive analogy for musical structure development.
Abstract: Self-organisation, as manifest, for example, by swarms, flocks, herds and other collectives, is a powerful natural force, capable of generating large and sustained structures. Yet the individuals who participate in these social groups may not even be aware of the structures that they are creating. Almost certainly, these structures emerge through the application of simple, local interactions. Improvised music is an uncertain activity, characterised by a lack of top-down organisation and busy, local activity between improvisers. Emerging structures may only be perceivable at a (temporal) distance. The development of higher-level musical structure arises from interactions at lower levels, and we propose here that the self-organisation of social animals provides a very suggestive analogy. This paper builds a model of interactivity based on stigmergy, the process by which social insects communicate indirectly by environment modification. The improvisational element of our model arises from the dynamics of a particle swarm. A process called interpretation extracts musical parameters from the aural environment, and uses these parameters to place attractors in the environment of the swarm, after which stigmergy can take place. The particle positions are reinterpreted as parameterised audio events. This paper describes this model and two applications, Swarm Music and Swarm Granulator.
71 citations
TL;DR: Microsound is an emerging approach to music composition and analysis which places emphasis on extremely brief time-scales, usually a tenth of a second or less, as well as an integration of this micro-time level with the time-levels of sound gestures, sections, movements and whole pieces as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Microsound is an emerging approach to music composition and analysis which places emphasis on extremely brief time-scales, usually a tenth of a second or less, as well as an integration of this micro-time level with the time-levels of sound gestures, sections, movements and whole pieces. This paper summarises some of the technical issues involved in microsonic analysis/composition, traces a history of microsonic techniques in contemporary music, and examines some of its aesthetic implications in a social context.
29 citations
TL;DR: Some hypotheses and objectives of the project are presented, and how it touches issues relating, in particular, to electroacoustic music, as well as presenting examples taken from the early stages of the research.
Abstract: ‘Signed Listening’ is a project that was initiated by Ircam in the spring of 2003 Its goal is to develop computer tools that permit an expanded listening – whether it be for musical analysis, for composition or simply for its own sake with no specific goal in mind (via stereo or computer) This article will briefly present some hypotheses and objectives of the project, and how it touches issues relating, in particular, to electroacoustic music, as well as presenting examples taken from the early stages of our research
23 citations
TL;DR: When, in 1998, I began my research into the analysis of electroacoustic music, analysis and representation were two distinct disciplines.
Abstract: When, in 1998, I began my research into the analysis of electroacoustic music, analysis and representation were two distinct disciplines. One was an integral part of music research and the other was just a possible option for publication.
21 citations
TL;DR: The infrastructure and aesthetic approach used in PIWeCS: a Public Space Interactive Web-based Composition System is focused on to increase the sense of dialogue between human and machine agency in an interactive work by adapting Paine's (2002) notion of a conversational model of interaction as a ‘complex system’.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the infrastructure and aesthetic approach used in PIWeCS: a Public Space Interactive Web-based Composition System. The concern was to increase the sense of dialogue between human and machine agency in an interactive work by adapting Paine's (2002) notion of a conversational model of interaction as a ‘complex system’. The machine implementation of PIWeCS is achieved through integrating intelligent agent programming with MAX/MSP. Human input is through a web infrastructure. The conversation is initiated and continued by participants through arrangements and composition based on short performed samples of traditional New Zealand Maori instruments. The system allows the extension of a composition through the electroacoustic manipulation of the source material.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose ways to remedy the danger of loss in music created through the use of diverse artificial audio technologies: of written documents, of musical scores, of instruments, machines, machines and devices, of functional electronic components, of techniques and of a sense of the necessity which drove musicians to use a particular technology in a given context.
Abstract: Encompassing more than a century, music created through the use of diverse artificial audio technologies faces loss: of written documents, of musical scores, of instruments, machines and devices, of functional electronic components, of techniques and of a sense of the necessity which drove musicians to use a particular technology in a given context. In turn, the loss of documents leads to misunderstanding or oblivion. Today's electroacoustic music studies offer ways to remedy the danger of loss.
15 citations
TL;DR: A pattern theory inspired framework and set of algorithms for interactive computer music composition are presented in the form of a self-organising hidden Markov model – a modular, graphical approach to the representation and spontaneous organisation of sound events in time and in parameter space.
Abstract: Pattern theory provides a set of principles for constructing generative models of the information contained in natural signals, such as images or sound. Consequently, it also represents a useful language within which to develop generative systems of art. A pattern theory inspired framework and set of algorithms for interactive computer music composition are presented in the form of a self-organising hidden Markov model – a modular, graphical approach to the representation and spontaneous organisation of sound events in time and in parameter space. The result constitutes a system for composing stochastic music which incorporates creative and structural ideas such as uncertainty, variability, hierarchy and complexity, and which bears a strong relationship to realistic models of statistical physics or perceptual systems. The pattern theory approach to composition provides an elegant set of organisational principles for the production of sound by computer. Further, its machine learning underpinnings suggest many interesting applications to emergent tasks concerning the learning and creative modification of musical forms.
15 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the way in which the concentrated direct audition of materials central to the process of electroacoustic composition can, in conjunction with powerful tools for the deconstruction and synthesis of sounds, influence the nature of musical relationships that are formed.
Abstract: A catalyst for the thinking in this paper is the way in which the concentrated direct audition of materials central to the process of electroacoustic composition can, in conjunction with powerful tools for the deconstruction and synthesis of sounds, influence the nature of musical relationships that are formed.
15 citations
TL;DR: The concept of variable-coupled iterated map networks, which consist of one or more interlinked nodes, is introduced and its application to generation of musical textures is explored.
Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of variable-coupled iterated map networks and explores its application to generation of musical textures. Such networks consist of one or more interlinked nodes. Each node consists of an iterated map function with a time-delay factor that schedules successive iterations. The value broadcast by a node can drive the variables and time-delay factor of any other nodes in the network, including itself. Lehmer's Linear Congruence Formula, an iterated map normally used for production of pseudo-random numbers, is explored for its own potential as a pattern generator and is used as the iterated map in the nodes in the examples presented. The capacity of these networks to produce richly gestural behaviours and mid-term modulation of behaviour is demonstrated.
15 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that this inhibition of absolute pitch can be switched off by artificially turning off part of the brain, allowing everyone access to absolute pitch and to develop new artificial music recognition and synthesis techniques.
Abstract: Absolute (or perfect) pitch exists in fewer than 1/10,000 of the adult population and many claim that it cannot be taught. On the other hand, research suggests that the mechanisms for absolute pitch exist in us all but access is inhibited during early maturation. We here argue that this inhibition can be switched off by artificially turning off part of the brain, allowing everyone access to absolute pitch. This possibility has profound implications for understanding the strategies adopted by the complex networks of the mind. We describe agent-based modelling techniques to understand the computational rationale for these inhibitory processes and to develop new artificial music recognition and synthesis techniques.
13 citations
TL;DR: My composition Sand, a twenty-five-minute long work for computer-synthesised and processed sounds, was composed specifically to be experienced through a computer-music interface I built in the MAX/MSP environment.
Abstract: Part of my listening experience has been a coming to terms with a certain set of musical forms that I call ‘flat’. Music in flat form means music that avoids obvious or dimensionally conjunct large-scale goals, points of arrival, ‘climaxes’, sectional boundaries, and the like, and therefore has proven difficult for many listeners. It has become clear to me that this music demands a different listening approach, one at odds with the way music is typically appreciated in the concert hall. This approach is one that composers of music in flat form can facilitate through today's computer-music resources. What I present here is a specific instance of such an approach: my composition Sand, a twenty-five-minute long work for computer-synthesised and processed sounds, was composed specifically to be experienced through a computer-music interface I built in the MAX/MSP environment. This paper explores what I mean by ‘flatness’, how I came to terms with it as a listener, and how this coming-to-terms spawned the idea and construction of the interface. I then discuss the interface itself, the process of interaction with the listener, and technical aspects of the software.
TL;DR: At any moment in the history of a particular culture, there exists a dominant paradigm, an idea in the air, that expresses the way the world works.
Abstract: At any moment in the history of a particular culture, there exists a dominant paradigm, an idea in the air, that expresses the way the world works. These paradigms are general and their manifestations are interdisciplinary, first expressed as structures, relationships and processes in the avant gardes of all fields, then gradually accepted as a norm by almost everyone.
TL;DR: It is indicated that most combinations of rules, mutations and evolutionary selection result in poor or average melodies, but that careful combination of these techniques can generate melodies that are not simply well-formed but in many cases display some elegance and novelty.
Abstract: Various algorithmic techniques are available for generating music, many of which come from the field of artificial intelligence, which is rich with potential in this regard. However, the musical appropriateness of these techniques is less clearly understood. In this paper, I will report on a study that aimed to describe the characteristics of two of these techniques, rule-based and genetic algorithms, as they apply to melody generation. The appropriateness of these characteristics in contributing to well-formed melodies was judged by aesthetic criteria. The results indicate that most combinations of rules, mutations and evolutionary selection result in poor or average melodies, but that careful combination of these techniques can generate melodies that are not simply well-formed but in many cases display some elegance and novelty.
TL;DR: For a long time people have been concerned about the importance of the electroacoustic domain; the concern should now include the urgency of preservation.
Abstract: Projects are emerging that reflect the growing concern with preservation and access to our electroacoustic heritage. In today's context it is difficult to find the huge financial means needed to facilitate a durable and efficient response to this problem. Some accessible objectives and projects are presented here which could be developed by the electroacoustic community. For a long time people have been concerned about the importance of the electroacoustic domain; the concern should now include the urgency of preservation.
TL;DR: The article investigates the flautists' experiences of control over the sound, and especially its most intimate form, direct control, by discussing the relationship between the choices of live flautist and the sound director.
Abstract: This article explores the spatial identities of the flautists in playing Kaija Saariaho's music with live electronics, particularly reverberation and harmonisation. The varying spatial position of the flautists are theorised mainly via two approaches: that of ‘local/field’ concepts by Simon Emmerson, and through the philosophy of narrative identity developed by Paul Ricoeur. The article investigates the flautists' experiences of control over the sound, and especially its most intimate form, direct control, by discussing the relationship between the choices of live flautist and the sound director. The sound result is constantly negotiated by several authorial activities, the contributions of which are closely overlapping and conversing with each other.
TL;DR: It is posited that male improvisers often seek to establish a hierarchy among themselves, while women performers tend to project themselves less to the forefront, and four possible factors contributing to gender discrimination are proposed.
Abstract: The field of electroacoustic improvisation in the Netherlands is largely male dominated. Flutist, improviser and composer Anne La Berge signalled this and other problems related to gender in ‘Kraakgeluiden’, a Dutch venue for improvisation in electroacoustic music. Four possible factors contributing to gender discrimination are proposed: the stereotypical gendered concept of an improviser, differences in communicative styles, the dominance of male networks, and music technology itself. This is followed by a consideration of gendered differences in music improvisation. It is posited that male improvisers often seek to establish a hierarchy among themselves, while women performers tend to project themselves less to the forefront. Women improvisers may traditionally have a different sense of autonomy, in adherence to gender norms. While music education might offer a means to change behaviour patterns, it appears that these gender norms are internalised at a surprisingly young age. While concentrating on electroacoustic improvisation, this essay also includes relevant experiences of other improvisers. Gender discrimination in electroacoustic music improvisation is a complex issue deserving more research.
TL;DR: The conclusion is that analysis of electroacoustics could both contribute to, and benefit from, analysis in other areas of music and art.
Abstract: Challenging the usual acceptance of electroacoustics as a distinct field of its own, this article leads the reader through a series of paths to show the extent to which concerns and techniques of electroacoustics are shared with other musical and artistic disciplines. It continues with a similar questioning of the usual interpretation of analysis by examining the variety of aims, methods, and characteristics of analytical methods, and encourages an increased awareness on the part of all analysts to appreciate where their own work is situated within the field. Typical concerns of electroacoustics, such as the design of timbral structures, gestures and textures are discussed within the realm of parametric analysis, but allusion is also made to other approaches which examine style and context. Disciplines from perception to semiotics are shown to have relevance for further development of adequate analytical tools. The author does not advocate one particular approach, but rather attempts to demonstrate the vastness and intricacy of the field. The conclusion is that analysis of electroacoustics could both contribute to, and benefit from, analysis in other areas of music and art.
TL;DR: By its very nature, artificial vocality establishes a new link between the vocal quality of a sound event (its vocality) and technology (its artificiality) within this type of music.
Abstract: Initially a result of talking heads, followed by the arrival of telephony and the gramophone, the use of artificial vocality within musical composition is becoming more and more common as different laboratories acquire devices enabling the manipulation of sound. Following Pierre Schaeffer's first experiments in Paris, many composers became interested in the expressive resources of the mechanical voice, the results of which are now present in a large corpus of electroacoustic works. By its very nature, artificial vocality establishes a new link between the vocal quality of a sound event (its vocality) and technology (its artificiality) within this type of music.How then, can the musicologist study artificial vocality and the works in which it is used? Which tools should be used? What makes the analysis of artificial vocality so specific? Is it possible to create new tools for the analysis of artificial vocality within electroacoustic music?In the search for answers to these questions, many difficulties present themselves. The first concerns the modes of representation and the methods used to analyse artificial vocality. On top of this, real reflection is needed concerning the disparity of technological tools used in analysis and the need for the application of a certain methodology in order to classify them. The starting point will be the establishment of a typology. Finally, the idea of being able to compare different representations of the same work using sophisticated tools will open the way to the discovery of new analytical approaches. Seeking freedom from the relative blindness caused by the over-specialisation and rigidity of technological tools is now an urgent necessity, particularly when considering artificial vocality.
TL;DR: This study aims to combine traditional musicological methods with new approaches suited to the medium and grounded in a thorough knowledge of computer technology and musical environments in order to understand the relationship between technology and the actual piece of music.
Abstract: Fifty years down the line, the analysis of computer music is still a very complex issue, highly dependent on the identity of computer music itself: the variety of software, the lack of a common musical notation for scores, the absence or presence of computer data. This has led to the emergence of a multitude of analytical methods, including aesthesical analysis, which approaches music from the point of view of perception, and poietical analysis, which pays attention to the creative process.This study aims to combine these two methods of analysis in order to understand the relationship between technology and the actual piece of music. The article presents a methodological approach – focused on six pieces produced at IRCAM in Paris and at CSC in Padua, between 1975 and 1985 – via an in-depth consideration of Mauro Graziani's Winter leaves, a work conceived in 1980 at the CSC using Music360. The method used consists of comparing data collected using a diversity of practices: repeated listening, the tracing of graphical schematics, sonogram and spectrogram analysis, data listing analysis. An algorithm has also been created in order to calculate the degree to which the software is exploited and to enable a comparison between the different analyses. It is hoped that this procedure will combine traditional musicological methods with new approaches suited to the medium and grounded in a thorough knowledge of computer technology and musical environments.
TL;DR: The EARS project will strive to conceive of electroacoustic music in its widest possible sense, acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of the field, and aspire to the greatest possible breadth and inclusiveness.
Abstract: This paper introduces the ElectroAcoustic Resource Site project (EARS), taking a tripartite approach: first outlining the project's philosophy, then reporting on work-to-date and finishing with a discussion of the project's ambitions and aims.The project's aim is the development of a dynamic, multi-lingual, international, publicly available Internet-based bibliographical resource designed to enhance the scholarly infrastructure of electroacoustic music studies, in particular, the musicology of electroacoustic music. Through the use of hypertext structures and linking systems the site will help to contextualise specific research within the broad field of electroacoustic music studies, as well as making helpful links between related areas/items of scholarship. The project aspires to assist access to current, past and evolving areas of scholarship and will attempt to redress certain imbalances in the ease of access to areas of research within the field. The project will strive to conceive of electroacoustic music in its widest possible sense, acknowledge the interdisciplinary nature of the field, and aspire to the greatest possible breadth and inclusiveness. The EARS project is coordinated by an international consortium, is directed by the authors and can be found at http://www.mti.dmu.ac.uk/EARS
TL;DR: It is proposed that the time is ripe for shuffling the categories and regrouping composers' works according to aesthetic preferences, regardless of the percentage of electronic/computer content.
Abstract: This article explores possible strategies for appraising electroacoustic and computer music to enhance ‘marketability’. It is proposed that the specific aesthetics, characteristics and function of a work may be more salient features than those of the medium of composition (e.g. computer) to many listeners. It is suggested that the common practice of focusing on chronology, geography and specific schools is becoming less relevant due to a proliferation of home studios, the internet, and an increasing saturation of electronic sounds in new media contexts. On the other hand, aspects of form, mood, timbral palette, rhythmic complexity, etc., may become very useful bases for choosing works for a compilation CD or concert programme. The inadequacies of musicians' discourse for describing such attributes leads to the incorporation of analogies from visual and performing arts as well as a discussion of other possible approaches to ‘labelling’ and the inherent dangers in such a task. In conclusion, it is proposed that the time is ripe for shuffling the categories and regrouping composers' works according to aesthetic preferences, regardless of the percentage of electronic/computer content.
TL;DR: The context of multi-disciplinary work, influenced by developments in computer technologies, is laid out by outlining the changed roles of the orchestra, the score and audio-visual theories, against a theoretical frame of social, technical and aesthetic considerations.
Abstract: Group multi-disciplinary projects face difficult challenges in social collaboration, diverse technologies and aesthetic grounds. Combining sound, image and space into a sufficiently malleable set of materials for creation is a complex task. As such projects lack a common ground from which to start, an experimental, practical approach is suggested, with a non-hierarchical, informal group structure. The Meta-Orchestra project, tackling these problems since 2000, re-engaged with the issues in a fourth meeting in Maastricht in 2004. This paper lays out the context of multi-disciplinary work, influenced by developments in computer technologies, by outlining the changed roles of the orchestra, the score and audio-visual theories. The Meta-Orchestra is described against a theoretical frame of social, technical and aesthetic considerations. Although the project will not be forced into this framework, descriptions of the palette, the strategies to create common grounds, the areas opened up by wireless network technologies, aesthetic issues of layering sounds and images, and the development of a central score system, illustrate the layered complexities of the Meta-Orchestra.
TL;DR: The term ‘computer music’, for those of us who lived through the beginnings, became meaningful during the pioneering period from the late 1950s through the 1970s.
Abstract: The term ‘computer music’, for those of us who lived through the beginnings, became meaningful during the pioneering period from the late 1950s through the 1970s. It was a positive term. It identified a specific genre of music, a major effort in musical experiment, research and exploration, a wealth of new sound-generating techniques, and a large palette of new sounds. Jean-Claude Risset, in Inharmonique, for example, used additive synthesis to extend principles of tonality into the microworld of spectral progression. John Chowning, in Stria, used the Golden Mean to define FM frequency ratios. For many of us, these were interesting ideas and beautiful sounds.
TL;DR: The formation, creations and performances of a digital arts performing ensemble considers issues of collaboration across media, especially in the context of composed audio-visual improvisation (comprovisation), by contextualising the creative work within the wider discourse of both the practice and aesthetics of contemporary intermedia.
Abstract: This paper describes the formation, creations and performances of a digital arts performing ensemble. It considers issues of collaboration across media, especially in the context of composed audio-visual improvisation (comprovisation). By contextualising our creative work within the wider discourse of both the practice and aesthetics of contemporary intermedia, we seek to enhance the potential relevancy of the article's main focus to readers.The story of the Lucid Dream Ensemble is one of contemporary creative activity in the realm of digital arts. It exists in a university setting, and its purpose is educational as well as artistic. Founded at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 2002, the ensemble seeks to foster collaboration across auditory and visual boundaries. The group is made up of audio-visual performers who control laptop computers in real-time by various interactive means. Its canvas is a surround-sound set-up, as well as three projectors. The ensemble seeks a true integration of video and audio, as expressed in the creation of audio-visual artefacts aimed at providing an immersive experience. The group has progressed from presenting unrelated audio and video, to integrating the process of creation of sound and image, to collecting audio and video as a group and processing them collaboratively.
TL;DR: The Pavilion: Into the 21st Century project as discussed by the authors is a multimedia instrument based on the spherical mirror created for the Pepsi Pavilion, a visionary work of art and architecture originally created by E.A.T. for Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan.
Abstract: In this paper, I describe the Pavilion: Into the 21st Century project, a multimedia instrument based on the spherical mirror created for the Pepsi Pavilion – a visionary work of art and architecture originally created by E.A.T. (Experiments in Art & Technology) for Expo '70 in Osaka, Japan. The Pavilion is being returned to contemporary artists and audiences in order to extend the experience of the original to the Internet. The project draws from the fundamental notion of interdisciplinary collaboration and social interaction that was integral to the original concept – encouraging a freer, more participatory experience that breaks down the traditional distinction between artist, audience and artwork.
TL;DR: In this paper, the collective experiences of the four composers at Edison Studio, who have recently been working on the soundtracks for two silent movies, describe their composition methods, ways in which problems are resolved, new awareness and understanding they have acquired and the results of work created out of a re-evaluation of individual ways of operating, that seeks to bring together and strengthen the common ground between them.
Abstract: This article describes the collective experiences of the four composers at Edison Studio, who have recently been working on the soundtracks for two silent movies – four artists involved in the same discipline, working with the same skills and in the same roles. It describes their composition methods, ways in which problems are resolved, the new awareness and understanding they have acquired and the results of work created out of a re-evaluation of individual ways of operating, that seeks to bring together and strengthen the common ground between them.
TL;DR: Focusing on the interaction between cognitive environments, emotive dimensions and communicative set-up, this paper intends to propose an analysis of some theoretical statements, which regard the relationships between scientific innovations and the evolutionary tendencies of technologically based music.
Abstract: The majority of composers and scholars in the field of electroacoustic and computer music address their attention to the problem of achieving satisfactory relationships between new technological instrumentalities and the very sense of music making. Reflections concerning the relationships between the use of digital technologies and musical expression have assumed an increasingly important role, since they provide interpretative codes of composers' works and assume an explanatory function during the presentation of new musical pieces. Focusing on the interaction between cognitive environments, emotive dimensions and communicative set-up, this paper intends to propose an analysis of some theoretical statements, which regard the relationships between scientific innovations and the evolutionary tendencies of technologically based music.
TL;DR: The early period of electroacoustic music in Japan is illustrated through an intensive examination of the source materials for historiography and analytical study, trying to illuminate the reception of Western techniques by Japanese composers, examining the rudiments of their original creative ideas.
Abstract: This paper illustrates the early period of electroacoustic music in Japan through an intensive examination of the source materials for historiography and analytical study, trying to illuminate the reception of Western techniques by Japanese composers, examining the rudiments of their original creative ideas. An extensive list of Japanese works with information about their accessible manuscripts, literature and available recordings is provided. All quotations from the articles or interviews in Japanese have also been translated into English by the author of this paper, unless otherwise stated. The graphic transcriptions presented in this paper have been produced by the author employing computerised spectrum analysis. The aim of this paper is to provide resources for further investigation into this topic, particularly for concerned researchers in other language regions than Japanese.
TL;DR: A complete inventory of the Museum of Music in Paris's collection is taken with the aim of coming up with a first assessment of the state of the instruments and determining whether to allow performers to play them, and defining a model approach that could also be applied to other electric and electronic instruments.
Abstract: The Museum of Music in Paris possesses a collection of 280 instruments from the twentieth century. Most of them belong to the general families of electric and electronic musical instruments, which we will call ‘electrophones’, in deference to the name chosen by Curt Sachs (1940). The instruments are gathered in families so that the whole collection illustrates the milestones of the twentieth century; for instance, the museum has a large set of diverse Ondes Martenot. However, due to its scarcity, the Trautonium is represented by one of Oscar Sala's Mixtur-Trautonia.Like any museum, we have to encourage the conservation of this heritage. To maintain a large collection of electrophones like the one we have, a specific knowledge base has to be developed. We have been working on this aspect of the project for the past two years. From the onset, it was decided to start the collection with the Ondes Martenot. Our aim was to define a model approach that could also be applied to other electric and electronic instruments. This work involves organising the instruments, studying them in order to outline conditions of appropriate conservation, and determining which kind(s) of restoration should be undertaken.A first step has been to gather all information necessary to understanding the instrument and its mode of performance. With this goal in mind, we have taken a complete inventory of our collection with the aim of coming up with a first assessment of the state of the instruments and determining whether to allow performers to play them. Thanks to this work, we were able to start taking precautionary measures against degradation; we are now also able to answer many questions relevant to the restoration and conservation of this collection.