1. Analysis of piece of Electronic Music- Edgard Varese Poeme Electronique
2. Own Composition ECHOES and analysis
Background
Edgard Varese composed Poeme Electronique for the Phillips Pavilion at the World Fair in Brussels in 1958. At this exhibition, the music was played on 425 speakers, placed all around the pavilion. The 480 seconds of music were played alongside projected images ( photographs, paintings and montage ) as well as text by Corbusier. It was perhaps the first piece of “surround sound” and certainly of multimedia as we understand the term today.
Varese, generally regarded as the father of Electronic Music, was way ahead of his time. He had no interest in producing “sounds that have already been heard”. Rather he spoke of needing “an entirely new medium of expression: a sound producing machine - not a sound reproducing one”. To this end he experimented with ‘tape speeds, editing, splicing, sine wave and white noise’. His specific aim being to compose “organised sound”. Varese’s declared intention as stated in “the Liberation of Sound” was “Liberation from the arbitrary, paralysing tempered system; the possibility of obtaining any number of cycles, or, if still desired, subdivisions of the octave, and consequently the formation of any desired scale; unsuspected range in low and high registers; new harmonic splendours obtainable from the use of subharmonic combinations now impossible; the possibility of obtaining any differential of timbre, sound-combinations and new dynamics far beyond the present human powered orchestra; a sense of sound projection in space by the emission of sound in any part or in many parts of the hall as may be required by the score; cross rhythms unrelated to each other, treated simultaneously, or to use the old word, ‘contrapuntally’, since the machine would be able to beat any number of desired notes, any subdivision of them, omission or fraction of them- all these in a given unit of measure of time which is humanly impossible to attain”
This is exactly what he went on to compose in Poeme Electronique. It was ‘ a montage of ‘found’ sounds and synthetic creation’, which he referred to as “organised sound”.
Poeme Electronique
In Poeme Electronique we see the roots of the next forty years. While techniques for collecting , editing and processing sounds have changed dramatically, the most interesting thing is that Varese’s experiments with sound stand comfortably alongside today’s contemporary electronic music composers. In Poeme Electronique, Varese uses percussion to great effect. The form does not rely on harmonic progression or tonality, rather it is a complex collection of regular irregular rhythmn, contrasts of texture and pitch. Silence is used to great effect - as was later proposed by John Cage. The machine noises and rising elevator we find in later work by Michael Obst in ‘Fabrica’, the use of voice, eerily transmuting from human to nature we find later in Wishart’s 'Red Bird'. The use of sirens and bells we find mimicked in Michael McNabb’s 'Dreamsong' and in later electronic soundscapes, such as 'Vancouver Sounds', a collection of sounds of horns and sirens on a contemporary Vancouver harbourside. Whilst the absolute ‘purity’ of sounds achieved by Jonty Harrison in ‘...et ainsi de suite...’are missing, their roots are evident. Most importantly perhaps, Varese was the first to use space meaningfully.
Those who heard Poeme Electronique in 1958 would have been amazed at the way the sound travelled around the pavilion- not projected merely left and right ahead, but seeming to encompass them within its 3D environment. Poeme Electronique is 480 seconds long. The sound elements comprise bells, pipe organ notes, human voice (male and female), whistles and sirens, electronic tape sounds , silence, mechanical sounds including an elevator rising, percussion instruments including drums, and a jet engine.. As Robert Cogan points out, the work progresses in ‘opposing planes and volumes...with simultaneous interplay of unrelated elements that intervene at calculated but not regular time lapses. The human voices are eerie, haunting. Not only do the sounds contradict and oppose each other but they collide and interpenetrate’. As Varese wrote “When new instruments allow me to write music as I conceive it, the movement of sound masses, of shifting planes, will be clearly perceived in my work. When these sound masses collide, the phenomena of penetration or revulsion will seem to occur. Certain transmutations taking place taking place on certain planes will seem to be projected onto other planes, moving at different speeds and at different angles.” Although Varese’s intent was that there should “no longer be the old conception of melody or interplay of melodies, the entire work is, as he declared a “melodic totality. The entire work will flow as a river flows” and this he achieves. The piece is a series of “sound masses”.
The composition opens with the sound of a bell resonating within a space which is sparse, empty, open and free. The following sounds are isolated and scattered. The orientation is multidirectional and the image definition localised. The sounds overlap and cross over or are separated by intervening spaces, notably the long silence at 5.35. Each time the bell resonates it is with greater reverb- which increases the tension and size of the surrounding space. Panning thoughout adds to the disorientation. Repeated patterns of the bell and the three note semitones at 0.55 and sirens help to keep the piece connected although the rhythms of percussion can really be considered the ‘glue’ that holds the entire piece together. While the rhythms do not mimic each other, they are the single constant theme in Poeme., sometimes supportive, sometimes the primary motive. Each group of sounds is in marked contrast to the sounds that proceeded it, but although often startling there is also a feeling that whilst new, a relatedness exists. Hollow wooden sounds follow harsh metal sounds,a frantic, densely textured section is followed by silence...it is these juxtapositions which keep the piece interesting and ensure our attention. All parts are echoed and amplified in the conclusion of the composition.
Varese’s own diagram and a spectrogram by Harry Norris are given at below. Both provide clues, as does Lawrence Ferrara’s breakdown which my own notation in part reflects. While Poeme Electronique refuses to be simply coded, it is possible to give pointers to sections and with it behaviours. The magic however, is that it has stood the test of time and remains as surprising and intruiging today as it was in 1958. Our loss is the lack of experience of the 1958 performance and its arena which undoubtedly was magnificent.
Bibliography
Contemporary Composers on Contemporary Music eds. Elliott Schwartz and Barney Childs (New York : Da Capo Press, 1978)
Phenomenology as a Tool for Music Analysis in The Music Quarterly
Lawrence Ferrara
An Introduction to the Creation of Electroacoustic Music
Pellam
Electracoustic Music Classics - Neuma Records NE103Notes by Robert
Cogan
Edgard Varese- Father of Electronic Music http://csunix.lvc/edu/~snyder/em/varese.html
on 13/11/99
Edgard Varese http://trumpet.sdsu.edu/M151/S
on 13/11/98
Varese http://www.sound.net/~aarond/ on 13/11/98
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Listening Notes on Poeme Electronique - Varese 1957-8
a) General observation
b) breakdown
A) General Observations and Notes
Sounds connected in blocks by rhythm Starts- vast space into which sound enters usually singularly, only occasional bursts of mixed sounds. No crowding. Pure sounds - not as highly defined as today (e.g. Wishart /Harrison) but remarkable that all the elements contained in later electroacoustic music are found here. e.g. singing voice manipulted in pitch and duration. Use of reverb with bells , drums and organ. Use of sustained sound. Use of silence. It is a piece about contrasts. Mix of acoustic sounds- bells, drums, pipe organ, siren, singing voice and electronic sounds. Collection of sounds introduced in reduced listening. Texture is open, space large. harmonic from related pitches gestures such as falling, resonance , long held notes, and long silence. Mimicry in sounds - there is a natural tolerence within the piece Dissonant voice- surprises but does not alienate, so still relatedness of material applies. Clash of voices- dischord- falling pitch of voice adds tension followed by growling sound and disembodiment of voice. Move towards unidentifyable...where source not apparent, followed by the long silence. followed by long sustained horn noise, then excitement of small short groups of higher pitched sound and repeat of long sustained sound. More resonance and use of panning continues to mystery but relieved by melodious voice of woman. Followed by contrasting ‘industrial’ rough noises and travelling pitch /panning around speakers. abrupt end. Effective use of rhythm throughout piece. feeling come full circle.... Landscape- perceived large space. Sound objects scattered around space not densely textured. Recognition of certain elements-bell, drums , human voice,tape, jet ,elevator etc Dream quality - is acceptance of continuity of piece- relatedness within it. Unfolding relationships particularly noticable when sound ‘travels’ around the space both in panning and in pitch movement. Sounds both instrumental/ machine and natural- wood block, birdlike, creature like symbolic flight. ? natural morphology of sounds from intrumental to machine to natural?
Breakdown
1.
00.00-00.06 Bell struck , rep x 2 deep full empty space. long resonance
00.07-00.16 Repeat of above, more resonance
2.
00.17 Woodblock tapping background Foreground door opening/ siren climbing
and falling more related block sounds moving siren up to
00.28 repeated ‘dadadadadada’ Contrasts with hollow tapping
00.29 Entry high pitch, then breath
00.33-00.36 Siren sustained. Repeat moving up pitch
00.40 Rhythmic section high and low, playing, mocking
3.
00.46 New block sound. Richer texture percussion, scraping, mouse mimic
00.57-1.10 Single siren rising, moving up, repeated x3 with silence inbetween and more reverb.harmonic
01.11-01.20 Low melodious tone foreground,small scrape industrial noise, building, elevator rising to meet mimic mouse as above.
01.32 Machine noise
01.36 Tennis between sounds as they pan between speakers
01.46 seagull, build to silence.
02.01 transmutes to flutter
4.
02.02 New Block Percussion and bell siren Siren wail background -move-
elevator moves up, percussion.
02.37-02.42 Repeat of opening bell and resonance. Sustained siren joined tonally for harmonic ‘melody’ by other electronic tones. regular pulse, then rhythmn bridge. 03.16-03.25 Long sustained tone
03.26 build percussion
5.
03.41 Voice appears. Startling effect- eerie. Voice travelling/ distorted
transmutes from male to female. Interspersed tension provided by rhythmn.
Starts sparse until moves.
6.
04.17 Chorus attack / birds, jungle
04.18 foreground vocal travelling background percussion
04.33 more attack on voice
04.47 industrial sounds- more spacey
05.03 more distortion and movement down
05.16 growling voice/ noise background
7.
05.33-46 SILENCE
05.47 new section. Long foreground reverb
06.00 build of percussion texture becoming more dense with sirens, electronic ‘melodic’tones interjected.
06.25 long sustained tone
06.27 more ‘play’
06.35 jet take off, industrial, travel motiv, repeat
8.
06.48 distant voice -female fades in , moves up
9.
07.01 Entry of chorus male voices - resolution
07.07 Dischordant noise, rhythms . Organ joins in builds. elements come together 07.25 clock like tic fades out
07.26 Return of organ/ siren textures from earlier
10.
07.39 Noise travelling up and speeding up. Transmutes bird like Siren travels
down and across, joins up to become shrill. Texture dense and busy. Collects
sounds together then fades out quite quickly.
08.00 Silence. Resolution END
Intent
Echoes takes as its starting point a single mechanical sound taken from
a printer and sets out to create a credible,
simple, ‘ instrumental’ composition for it.
00.00.00 SILENCE
00.00.05 The first journey is one of pitch with simple rising tones, reaching a plateau before descending. The sound is forward driven rising in an empty place and remaining the only focus in the stark area it inhabits. Silence
00.00.21 Mimic of opening sequence adds playful air. Silence
00.00.33 Exploration During the adventure with pitch, the first sound became part of a greater body of sound and this new pitch exploration is take as a unit and transmuted into a stretched deeply resonating harmonic and melodic sound which explores the inner harmonies as each part transmutes into the next ,with echoes of itself endlessly rebounding. Richly textured but maintaining a clarity and purity of sound. The rhythm is regular giving a focus to an otherwise slightly unsettling and eerie sound. Silence
00.01.37 Onset of three note descending melody echoing the dying notes of what has gone before. Quiet, reflective. Silence
00.01.45 Trill, echo of middle section of pitch development. Ringing
alarm clock Silence
00.01.49 Opening section revisited with more attack and more ponderous.
Ringing motif continued to plateau then replaced on downward journey by
closer textured crunchy sound. Silence
00.02.12 High, pure ‘violin like’ melodic variation of previous section. Silence
00.02.23 Rhythmic high pitch attack four notes from above mimicked. Silence
00.02.30 Mocking high pitched variation of earlier theme, faster,
higher pitched still. Silence
00.02.37 Recapitulation of calm 3 note passage
00.02.45 Re-statement of first sound - bold, strong, startling. Silence
00.03.00 END
The composition uses three basic methods to link elements. The first
and most important of these is space. The open, unrestricted space into
which the sound is abandoned becomes one of the comforting familiar constants
in the piece. Secondly, it is held together obviously by pitch both in terms
of plateau and pitches relative to each other. Thirdly the silences become
a unifying motif as a regular bridge to the next element. The only departure
from this being the richly interwoven passage of heavy resonance and echo
which follows the establishment of a theme at the beginning. In this section
the sounds overlap and cross over, whereas at all other times they simply
move on in a forward direction. There is diffusion of sound throughout as
the very source of each sound is in itself tremulous. Linking is also made
by repeating the first note as the last, with repetition of the starting
theme and in the connective three note descending melody which is placed
as a recapitulation and resolving device. The ending is deliberately abrupt,
but not unresolved. The last sound is a stronger more assertive rendition
of the first. Happy, established, without need to justify itself - the sound
has already been validated by its repetition in its many guises throughout
the piece. We do not question its relatedness to any other ... It is
the whole.