Please listen to the following pieces online:
Varèse, Poème Electronique
Stockhausen, Gesang der Junglinge
Pierre Schaeffer, Etude aux chemins de fer
Read the brief wikipedia entry on Poème Electronique; it contains a link to the video (which is interesting) and a kind of "score," a chart of events that occur in the piece. For Monday, I would like you to make your own, much more detailed score of the piece, using a stopwatch to time the events. If you like you can edit the wikipedia entry, but keep in mind that your "public" version of the score should not be overly detailed.
Here's some more reading for the piece, with pictures and a good-quality soundfile; another brief article, from Columbia University, is here.
Stockhausen has a brief webpage on Gesang; and John Smalley of Columbia has written a detailed and engaging account of the work's conception and reception.
A brief account (with audio link) of Etude aux chemins de fer.
For Monday, also please listen to these two minimalist works: In C by Terry Riley; and Les Moutons de Panurge by Frederic Rzewski. On Monday, please bring your instrument to class, if it's practical; I'd like us to try playing through at least one of these pieces.
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4 comments:
The Schaeffer piece brings up the interesting issue of titling compositions. If his intent was to "expunge the semantic content" of the source sounds, then he defeats his purpose by using "chemins de fer" in the title.
The Varese piece seems to be one of the first pieces in the 20th century that was composed expressly for the environment in which it was to be performed. Several years later and Morton Feldman would be doing the same thing for the Rothko Chapel in Texas. If architecture is according to one 19th century definition "frozen music" then these collaborations are particulary pat.
I honestly did not like "Gesang" during our listening in class on Friday; however after reading about the piece and listening some more, I have discovered that I have grown to appreciate this piece.
I took a recording techniques course during the beginning of this summer and worked with ProTools to manipulate sounds and create new sounds. Digitally editing sounds is difficult enough. I am amazed by Stockhausen's ability to create this music before the days of digital editing. I would like to hear "Gesang" in a four-track performance as they talked about in the readings.
The proliferation of electronic music has had some significant implications for the music we listen to today. I am not sure about “classical” music (symphonic, vocal, instrumental), but I know that there is not a popular song or CD that is not electronically enhanced. Not just the advent of electric instruments or keyboards, but the way everything is edited electronically. Songs are not even recorded on a hard copy – a tape or reel. Everything is converted to electronic song files.
I wonder if Stockhausen or Varese could ever have anticipated the role that electronically created music would play.
Personally, I have to agree with Channan. I don't mean to offend anyone, but most of the music that we have been listening to, especially serialistic and electronic music feels that way to me. I'm not suggesting that it is not worth the type of analysis that it receives, but as a listener, I don't get it. Trying to analyze it, usually only makes it worse for me to try and enjoy it.
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