New electronic technologies began to appear after 1948 that seemed to promise the infinite expansion of sonic possibilities in music. The ability to record and manipulate existing sounds (as in musique concrete), and to generate new, unknown timbres with electronic generators (as in elektronische musik), provided an extraordinary multiplication of musical resources.Much literature of the period extols the new possibilities offered by electronic music, but the limitations of the technology of the 1950s and 1960s and the interactions that occurred between composers and that technology have been little explored. This study attempts to document some of these interactions.The influences of the equipment and procedures of "classical studio technique" on the resulting music are examined. Selected electronic compositions are analyzed in terms of the equipment employed and the limitations this equipment may have imposed. The study reveals characteristics of certain works that are directly dependent on characteristics of the technology. New devices or procedures developed by composers are also detailed.Areas examined include disc technology, magnetic tape, oscillators and generators, filters, modulators and other devices, techniques of spatialization in multi-channel works, and a sampling of specialized devices or procedures used by individual composers. The influences excercised by voltage-controlled synthesizers, such as those designed by Robert Moog and Donald Buchla, are also discussed.Works by the following composers are studied: Bulent Arel, Henk Badings, Louis and Bebe Barron, Luciano Berio, Robert Beyer, John Cage, Mario Davidovsky, Tod Dockstader, Herbert Eimert, Kenneth Gaburo, Paul Gredinger, Karel Goeyvaerts, Bengt Hambraeus, Pierre Henry, Giselher Klebe, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Gyorgy Ligeti, Otto Luening, Bruno Maderna, llhan Mimaroglu, Pauline Oliveros, Henri Pousseur, Dick Raaijmakers, Pierre Schaeffer, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Vladimir Ussachevsky, and Edgard Varese. The writings of Milton Babbitt, Joel Chadabe, and Gustav Ciamaga also contributed significantly.Supplementary information is provided by Jon Appleton, Joel Chadabe, Tod Dockstader, Bengt Hambraeus, David Keane, Arthur Kreiger, Elliott Schwartz, Daria Semegen, Pril Smiley, Gil Trythall, and Scott Wyatt in response to a questionnaire concerning their experiences with classical studio technique.This study reveals that a wide area exists for further research on this topic. / School of Music
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/179758 |
| Date | January 1997 |
| Creators | Powers, Ollie D. |
| Contributors | Nagel, Jody |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 373 leaves : ill., music ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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