This thesis is an electro-acoustic composition done using the techniques of music concrète. Along with the music is a paper that details the historical context of the piece, specific techniques and procedures used by the composer, and a general overview of the compositional form. “Shattered Dreams” is a 12’30” stereo journey through a soundscape where the sounds of cinderblocks and shattered glass abound. All of the original source material for the music was recorded by the composer using a pair of Neumann km184 microphones. These source sounds were then manipulated using Sound Forge 6.0 and Cubase 4. The processes of manipulation were chosen with regard to the original music concrète techniques laid out by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry at the Club d’Essai studio at Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française in Paris, France. / School of Music

Helmut Friedrich Lachenmann is a German composer of contemporary music. In his 1980 work for piano, Child's Play, Lachenmann develops one of his own signature concepts, musique concrète instrumentale, in which he uses the "standard" (not prepared) piano in non-conventional and innovative ways to explore new sounds and techniques. This dissertation is a pedagogical study that provides a teaching guide for educators who would like to use Child's Play as an introduction to some of the sounds and techniques of contemporary music for their late intermediate students. In order for educators to effectively guide their students through Child's Play, they should understand the sonorities of musique concrète instrumentale as well as the extended techniques it requires. This dissertation addresses those needs through three principal means. First, it introduces Lachenmann's musique concrète instrumentale and classifies the various sonorities into three types: descriptive, contrasting, and extended. Second, it analyzes and discusses technical elements in the cycle, including notational considerations, pedaling, and sound effects. Last, the dissertation provides pedagogical suggestions to help students master these technical elements. By studying and playing this piece, students not only become intimately familiar with some of the many sounds they are able to produce on the piano, but they also gain experience in playing contemporary techniques and repertoire and familiarity with nontraditional notation. This study of Lachenmann's Child's Play will provide educators with a guide for teaching this valuable work to their late intermediate students.

abstract: Throughout history composers and artists have been inspired by the natural world. Nature's influence on music is extraordinary, though water in particular, has had a unique magnetic pull. The large number of compositions dealing with water, from Handel's Water Music (1717) to Ros Bandt's and Leah Barclay's Rivers Talk (2012), reflects this continuous fascination. Since the late 1940s, composers have ventured further and brought actual sounds from the environment, including water recorded on tape, into the musical arena. Moreover, since the 1960s, some composers have nudged their listeners to become more ecologically aware. Much skepticism exists, as with any unconventional idea in history, and as a result compositions belonging to this realm of musique concrète are not as widely recognized and examined as they should be. In this thesis, I consider works of three composers: Annea Lockwood, Eve Beglarian, and Leah Barclay, who not only draw inspiration from nature, but also use their creativity to call attention to pristine environments. All three composers embrace the idea that music can be broadly defined and use technology as a tool to communicate their artistic visions. These artists are from three different countries and represent three generations of composers who set precedents for a new way of composing, listening to, performing, and thinking about music and the environment. This thesis presents case studies of Lockwood's A Sound Map of the Danube River, Beglarian's Mississippi River Project, and Barclay's Sound Mirrors. This thesis draws on unpublished correspondence with the composers, analytical theories of R. Murray Schafer, Barry Truax, and Martijn Voorvelt, among others, musicological publications, eco-critical and environmental studies by Al Gore, Bill McKibben, and Vandana Shiva, as well as research by feminist scholars. As there is little written on music and nature from an eco-critical and eco-feminist standpoint, this thesis will contribute to the recognition of significant figures in contemporary music that might otherwise be overlooked. In this study I maintain that composers and sound artists engage with sounds in ways that reveal aspects of particular places, and their attitudes toward these places to lead listeners toward a greater ecological awareness. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Music 2012

Note: "comments" document only, original score inlcuded as separate entity and accompanied by digital version of "stereo reduction" tape (1 sound tape reel: 15 ips; 7 in.) as separate entity.

I detta konstnärliga examensarbete undersöks huruvida det går att binda samman fyra låtar av olika karaktär med hjälp av övergångar bestående av olika musikaliska- och icke musikaliska element. Fyra olika metoder för övergångar har testats och utvärderats för att se vilken som fungerar bäst. Metoderna som testats är: körarrangemang, atonala övergångar, ledmotiv och narrativt tal. Tidigt i arbetet stod det klart att körarrangemang var svårt att få till estetiskt och att tiden för att få till det bra skulle bli för knapp. Att arbeta atonalt var däremot lättare då inga regler sattes upp förutom att övergången skulle börja på tonarten som varit och landa i tonarten som skulle komma. När ledmotivet skrevs tonalt var det svårt att få till men då ett vindljud fick agera återkommande ledmotiv tillförde det rymd och rum till övergångarna. För att hitta de narrativa stroferna som skulle sägas lästes de fyra låttexterna igenom för att hitta nyckelfraser som bäst beskrev känslan inför kommande låt. Som resultat visade det sig senare att kombinationen av atonala syntar, vindljudet som agerade ledmotiv samt de narrativa stroferna passade bäst när de kopplades samman och arbetade tillsammans. / This artistic degree project researches if it is possible to link four different songs of diverse genres onto one EP through the use of both musical and non-musical elements that arise as bridges between the songs. Four different methods have been tested and evaluated to see which one gives the best result. The tested methods are: arrangements for choir, atonal bridges, leitmotif and narrative phrases. Early on it became clear that the arrangements for choir were hard to complete in the limited time that existed for the project. To work with atonal bridges was easier since the only guide line used was that the bridge should start in the key last heard and end on the same key as the upcoming song. When the leitmotif was written tonally it was difficult to do but using the sound of wind as a non-musical leitmotif added a nice space to the bridges. When working with the narrative phrases the songs were analysed carefully to find the key phrases of the lyrics from the four songs to use in the narrative speech. The result of this project indicates that the best way to create these bridges is to combine the different methods, use the atonal synthesizers with the non-musical wind sounds as a leitmotif along with the narrative phrases. The only method not used was the arrangement for choir. / <p>Jag bifogar en mp3-fil med övergångarna mellan låtarna samt de 4 låtarna jag arbetat med. </p><p>Musiker, låtskrivare, producent och mixare: Frida Holmgren Övriga musiker:Martin Axelsson, Oscar Treitler, Emma Beskow, Jonna Inge, Caroline Waldemarsson, Olle Roberg, Karolin Engman</p>

Detta kandidatarbete undersöker Pierre Schaeffers (2012 [1952]) begrepp musique concrète samt dess metoder och tekniker. Musique concrète kan beskrivas som en samling kompositionsmetoder som utgår från inspelade ljud av omvärlden utan inblandning av musikinstrument, musikteori, eller ljud genererade från elektroniska källor. Vi använde Schaffers begrepp reduced listening, vilket är en lyssningsmetod där man bortser från ljudets källa och fokuserar på dess akustiska egenskaper, (vilket Michel Chion (1994) senare expanderade på). Jøran Rudi (2011) skriver om R. Murray Schafer’s begrepp Hi-Fi och Lo-Fi, vilket vi använde för att kategorisera ljuden som användes och platserna som spelades in. I designprocessen applicerade och experimenterade vi med metoder och tekniker från den aktuella forskningen för att utforska och dokumentera arbetsprocessen i gestaltningsprototyperna. Detta arbete resulterade i en samling kompositioner utefter Lo-Fi och Hi-Fi inom musique concrète där vi fick en bredare förståelse för de aktuella metoderna och teknikerna. / This bachelor thesis examines Pierre Schaeffer’s (2012 [1952]) term musique concrète as well as it’s methods and techniques. Musique concrète can be described as a collection of compositional methods that uses recorded sounds from the surrounding world as a startingpoint, without the use of musical instruments, music theory, or electronically produced sounds. We used Schaeffer’s term reduced listening (which Michel Chion (1994) later expanded upon). Jøran Rudi (2011) writes about R. Murray Schafer’s term Hi-Fi and Lo-Fi,and these terms were later used by us to categorise and record sounds from the environment. Investigation and experimentation with the various methods and techniques ensued in the design process in order to explore and document the work process of the prototypes. This process resulted in a collection of musique concrète compositions stemming from the Lo-Fi och Hi-Fi processes through which we gained more knowledge and understanding of themethods and techniques involved.

Pierre Jodlowski's Works Based on Colour consist of three pieces: Série Noire (2005), Série Blanche (2007), and Série Rose (2012) pour piano et dispositif électroacoustique. According to the composer, "each colour provides an opportunity to investigate a particular link of music with imagery." The pieces serve as a musical representation of cinematic elements through the synchronization of music and sound effects. The musical language of the cycle draws influences from various sources including the music of expressionism, musique concrète, as well as standard soundtrack scoring. The intermingling of various melodies, harmonies, and rhythms creates a synthesis between the piano and the electroacoustic soundtrack (tape).In Pierre Jodlowski's Works Based on Colour, he seeks to form an interdisciplinary collaboration between music and visual multimedia. The composer's interest in cinematography and mental processes is evident through his selective mixing of audio effects, sounds (real sounds versus synthesized sounds), and piano. According to Jodlowski the visual aspects, or mise-en-scène, of cinema should surface in the minds of the listener after hearing each of the works. Jodlowski's method of mixing involves several techniques: the insertion of fragments of dialogue from various films, tinkering with inanimate objects, pre-recorded sounds of nature, and the distortion of sonic effects and instrumentation. Aside from the use of color as a symbol, Jodlowski's cycle contains extra-musical ideas that cover a wide range of cinematic themes, including atmospheric elements of film noir, the gradual shifts and changes in our mental processes, as well as love discourse and sex from erotic cinema and pornography. Jodlowski's Works Based on Colour stirs the listener's imagination through the clear delineation of contrasting sections, the dialogue-like interaction between the tape and the piano, and the inclusion of dialogue and sound effects from various films. A performer should have knowledge of cinematic elements, understand the purpose of cinematic concepts and their significance for a cinematic viewer, and recognize their function in Jodlowski's works before performing the Works Based on Colour.

L’objectif de cette thèse est de comprendre comment Luc Ferrari construit l'hétérogénéité de sa musique. Le compositeur conçoit la création comme un espace dans lequel, d'après ses mots, des idées qui n’ont pas « fatalement de liens entre elles » se rencontrent. L’œuvre devient alors un espace de cohabitation, de frottement, dans lequel d’autres composantes partagent l’espace avec « la musique », au sens étroit du terme. Avec les propositions lieu, récit et expériences, il sera question de tentatives pour caractériser ces composantes autres qui constituent l’hétérogène ferrarien. Dans la première partie, « musique et lieu », nous voyons comment les œuvres deviennent, par moments, des lieux. Des espaces réels, extérieurs, en rapport à un vécu. Á ce propos nous analyserons Hétérozygote. Dans la deuxième partie, « musique et récit », nous étudions l’importance que le compositeur donne à la narration dans ses œuvres, partant de sons anecdotiques jusqu’à l’évolution générale de scénarios. Avec l’analyse de Far-West News, nous mesurons comment Luc Ferrari construit des œuvres qui s’appuient tout autant sur une forme musicale que sur le développement des histoires. Enfin, avec la troisième partie « musique et expériences », nous voulons faire référence à une confluence de vécus : les anecdotes présentées par Luc Ferrari résonnent dans le vécu des auditeurs, qui déversent leurs expériences au sein des œuvres. Par l’expression de son vécu, Luc Ferrari appelle et travaille avec ces expériences subjectives des auditeurs, qui partagent aussi l’espace des œuvres. L’œuvre à analyser dans cette partie est Chantal, ou le portrait d’une villageoise. / The objective of this thesis is to understand how Luc Ferrari builds the heterogeneity of his music. The composer conceives creation as a space in which, according to his words, ideas that do not “necessarily have links between them” meet each other. Pieces then become a space of cohabitation, of friction, in which other components share space with "music", in the narrow sense. The propositions “place, story and experiences” are attempts to characterize these others components that constitute the heterogeneous of Ferrari’s music. In the first part, "music and place," we see how pieces become, at times, places. Real spaces, externals, in relation to a lived experience. In this part we will analyse Hétérozygote. In the second part, "music and story", we study the importance that composer give to the narrative in his work, starting from the sons anecdotiques to the general evolution of scenarios. With the analysis of Far-West News, we measure how Luc Ferrari’s works rely as much on musicals forms as on the development of stories. Finally, with the third part, "music and experiences", we want to refer to a confluence of experiences: the anecdote of the composer resonates in the experience of the listeners, who dump their experiences into the pieces. Through the expression of his experience, Luc Ferrari calls and works with these subjective experiences of listeners, who will also share the spaces of works. To explain this idea, we will analyse Chantal, ou le portrait d’une villageoise.

No description available.

Cette recherche de thèse vise à reconstruire des éléments de genèse de la composition électroacoustique de Pierre Boulez dans les années cinquante à travers l’étude d’esquisses et de manuscrits conservés au Paul Sacher Stiftung. Notre thèse s’est fondée sur deux approches complémentaires : la reconstitution du contexte musical, esthétique et historique et l’étude des esquisses. Dans la Partie I, nous avons tout d’abord examiné les Fonds Pierre Schaeffer afin de retracer le déroulement du premier stage de musique concrète au GRMC. La réorganisation des esquisses et la reconstitution du processus de montage sonore nous ont permis de souligner que la composition des deux études de musique concrète (1951-52) était une étape indispensable pour le développement de la pensée sérielle de Boulez dans le sérialisme intégral. Dans la Partie II, nous avons mis en relation la composition de Symphonie mécanique (1955) et Poésie pour pouvoir (1958) avec le concept de « sons organisés » dans Déserts (1954) d’Edgard Varèse en traçant la transition de la musique concrète à la musique mixte. Boulez y a développé la notion de « blocs sonores » originairement exploitée dans l’écriture instrumentale et orchestrale. Notre étude a éclairé que Boulez avait procédé par tâtonnements de façon cohérente et développée afin de réaliser l’intégration des mondes instrumentaux et électroacoustiques. En ce sens, il est raisonnable que Poésie pour pouvoir soit considérée comme l’origine de la « musique mixte » chez Pierre Boulez. Par ailleurs, cette tentative de confrontation était inévitable pour Boulez afin de réaliser la transmutation musicale de l’exorcisme corporel du poème de Henri Michaux. / This research aims to reconstruct the compositional process of Pierre Boulez’s electroacoustic compositions of the fifties through the study of sketches and manuscripts preserved at the Paul Sacher Stiftung. Our thesis was based on two complementary approaches: the reconstruction of the musical, aesthetic and historical context and study of the sketches. In Part I, we first examined the Pierre Schaeffer archives in order to explore the program of the first musique concrète workshop at the GRMC. The eorganization of the sketches and the reconstruction of the process of sound synthesis allowed us to emphasize that Boulez’s composition of the two musique concrète studies (1951-52) was an indispensable stage for the development of his concept of serialism. In Part II, we related the composition of Symphonie mécanique (1955) and Poésie pour pouvoir (1958) to Edgard Varèse's concept of "Organized sound" in Déserts (1954) by tracing the transition of musique concrète to electroacoustic music. Boulez developed in his electroacoustic pieces the notion of "sound blocks" originally used in instrumental and orchestral pieces. Our study reveals that Boulez proceeded by trial and error in a coherent and developed way in order to realize the integration of the instrumental and electroacoustic sounds. In this sense, it is reasonable for Poésie pour pouvoir to be considered as the origin of mixed music in Pierre Boulez’s oeuvre. This confrontation of the instrumental and electroacoustic sounds was essential for Boulez’s realization of a musical translation of Henri Michaux's poem.