what are the classic works of musique concrete?

user_4575 · Post by **user_4575** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:13 pm

I'm going to be teaching a course on field recording, and I would like students to make creative collage-type work based on their recordings. I'm trying to think about what pieces would be good to play for them.

etude au chemins de fer by pierre henry, i guess, is the obvious place to start --

other interesting pieces involving field recordings might be hildegard westerkamp's "cricket song" and kaija saariajo's "journey" -- but this isn't truly my area of expertise, so I would appreciate your input!

I'm especially interested in anything coming from the R. Murray Schafer axis -- acoustic ecology --

and any other particularly interesting field recording-related work you could point me towards!

Post by **mudd** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:28 pm

are you specifically looking at historically important works, or just personal preference? because i can think of a lot of things i would turn to before the material you've listed, but not because those works aren't important.

there is a lot of stuff spread randomly in the archives here (e.g. this), but we could always work with a focused field recording thread. all the ones i dug up were more how than who...

m

user_4575 · Post by **user_4575** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 6:11 pm

are you specifically looking at historically important works, or just personal preference? because i can think of a lot of things i would turn to before the material you've listed, but not because those works aren't important.

I'm interested in both. I'd like to have a better sense of "the canon" but I also would like to hear anything that's just plain good.

kfw · Post by **kfw** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:32 pm

on a field-recording tip, especially, luc ferrari's "presque rien" and "music promenade" are both fantastic launch-points - i'm also fond of fran?ois bayle's "je?ta" ... -k

user_46 · Post by **user_46** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:58 pm

sexes wrote:etude au chemins de fer by pierre henry, i guess, is the obvious place to start --

i thought etude chemins was schaeffer, not henry.

user_4575 · Post by **user_4575** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:11 pm

you are right. never mix up your pierres.

jkudler · Post by **jkudler** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:36 am

i'll second presque rien. yeah!

i think that acoustic ecology stuff is boring as shit. . and maybe intellectually lazy. but i guess you have to talk about it. just try not to make them listen to it.

gal makes nice work based on field recordings. various lucky kitchen cd's? but that's "modern," which i know academia doesn't care about.

heh. . why are you teaching the class if it's not your "area of expertise?" i only ask because i want to teach a class on field recording!

-jesse

user_4575 · Post by **user_4575** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:15 am

i'll second presque rien. yeah!

this is a good call!

i think that acoustic ecology stuff is boring as shit. . and maybe intellectually lazy. but i guess you have to talk about it. just try not to make them listen to it.

care to elaborate on this?

gal makes nice work based on field recordings. various lucky kitchen cd's? but that's "modern," which i know academia doesn't care about.

i think the most responsible approach is to balance the historical with the contemporary.

heh. . why are you teaching the class if it's not your "area of expertise?" i only ask because i want to teach a class on field recording!

I am fairly knowledgeable about field recording generally. Specifically, though, musique concrete is not an area I have delved into as deeply as I would like. Mainly because I have rarely used these methods in my own work.

user_4575 · Post by **user_4575** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:21 am

We will begin tomorrow by listening to some Chris Watson recordings.

here is a syllabus excerpt in case you're interested...

-----------------
Weeks 1-2
Roots of Field Recording: Alan Lomax, Folklore, Sound History and Preservation
-Introduction to microphones and recording devices
-Editing in Pro Tools; "driving the desk"
-1st project: recording an interview, a story, or a performance that would otherwise go undocumented.

Week 3-4
Acoustics, Psychoacoustics: Objective and Subjective Sound
-1st project due

Week 5
(guest)

Week 6-7
The Soundscape: R. Murray Schafer, Acoustic Ecology, Documenting Ambiences
-readings from The Tuning of the World
-recordings of nature; recordings of performances within nature
-stereo mic techniques to cast a wide sonic net
-"deep listening"
-2nd project proposals

Week 8-9
Binaural Recordings: Stepping Into Another Body
-Works of Janet Cardiff, The Quiet American, more
-DIY binaural microphone building (I will help each of you build your own)
-2nd project due

Week 10-11
Contact Mics, Hydrophones, Telephone Tap Coils
-Recording microscopic vibrations
-Recording underwater
-Recording inaudible electromagnetic fields
-The art of Richard Lerman
-DIY contact mic building (I will help each of you build your own)
-final project proposals

Week 12-14
Musique Concrete: Composing with Field Recordings

April 23rd: Final Project due!

jon abbey · Post by **jon abbey** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:26 am

is Toshiya Tsunoda part of this course?

jkudler · Post by **jkudler** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:40 am

ok, sorry if that came across as even more cynical than intended. .

i think that acoustic ecology stuff is boring as shit. . and maybe intellectually lazy. but i guess you have to talk about it. just try not to make them listen to it.
care to elaborate on this?

well, it's been a while. . . let me take the easier thing first. the recordings are generally sort of blah, so far as i remember. sort of your typical cliched "field recordings" - birds, streams, etc. not horrible, but just not very interesting to listen to when i could just as easily take a walk. something like the presque riens is interesting because it comments on the whole endeavor and makes MUSIC. which i guess leads to the accusation of intellectual laziness. i don't know - seems like it boils down to "pretty sounds are all around us" without really getting into the heart/conflict of precisely what music is or how it works. i don't really find pointing at neat sounds inherently interesting.

gal makes nice work based on field recordings. various lucky kitchen cd's? but that's "modern," which i know academia doesn't care about.
i think the most responsible approach is to balance the historical with the contemporary.

just speaking from my experience! i know it's harder to talk about newer stuff which hasn't been properly "absorbed." but i think the growth in good portable recording equipment is helping field recording grow a lot lately.

I am fairly knowledgeable about field recording generally. Specifically, though, musique concrete is not an area I have delved into as deeply as I would like. Mainly because I have rarely used these methods in my own work.

if you want to talk about concret and so forth outside of field recording, there's a cage piece or two. . imaginary landscapes? you can find out from google.

good call on chris watson!

-jesse

jkudler · Post by **jkudler** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:43 am

syllabus looks cool. janet cardiff is interesting, for sure. re: "Recording inaudible electromagnetic fields," there's definitely some pieces out there - lucier's "sferics" is from 1980; there's probably some others using RF around.

-jesse

Shivering Manatee · Post by **Shivering Manatee** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:06 am

Bernard Parmegiani - De Natura Sonorum
Essential.

bryan · Post by **bryan** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:19 am

jon abbey wrote:is Toshiya Tsunoda part of this course?

indeed.. and cosign on playing Presque Rien

alot of Francisco Lopez's work would fit the bill for both acoustic ecology and musique concrete.. though it's pretty austere (what's the attention span of the students?)

Dave Phillips - Insect as well. It uses insect recordings made in Thailand in a condensed but unobtrusive way.

fearandpanic · Post by **fearandpanic** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:22 am

sexes wrote: Week 8-9
Binaural Recordings: Stepping Into Another Body
-Works of Janet Cardiff, The Quiet American, more
-DIY binaural microphone building (I will help each of you build your own)

If you're looking for more on the binaural side of things, Dallas Simpson writes a lot on the subject (in a mystical tone):

http://www.dallasmasters.co.uk/dallas/taoblp.html

Some recordings here. The last one crosses over into a sort of acoustic ecology:

http://www.ambientmusic.co.uk/sonic_bathing.html

Fourier Transform · Post by **Fourier Transform** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:38 am

jkudler wrote:"Recording inaudible electromagnetic fields," there's definitely some pieces out there - lucier's "sferics" is from 1980; there's probably some others using RF around.

Stephen P. McGreevy's entire 2CD set of Electric Enigma, first put out on Irdial, is available on the Internet Archive, along with the awesome booklet with extensive sleevenotes in PDF format. This is all you need. It's comprehensive.

Also see Disinformation, on Ash International - more sferics, plus plenty of mains hum.

franz bieberkopf · Post by **franz bieberkopf** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:49 pm

out of curiosity (and if you don't mind my asking), where are you teaching this course?

as far as environmental concrete stuff goes, i'd have to think Eric La Casa and Francisco Lopez would be two modern fellers worth havin' a look at (Lopez has some interesting essays to his name on the subject as well), but i'll bet you already knew that... i'm kind of just try to hide the fact that i'm most curious about my first question by making wank suggestions...

possibly some Walter Marchetti stuff would be of interest?

MRS · Post by **MRS** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 10:55 pm

What Marchetti would work with this syllabus?

franz bieberkopf · Post by **franz bieberkopf** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:00 pm

MRS wrote:What Marchetti would work with this syllabus?

WHY LIONEL (he said attempting to brush off the question). YES LIONEL MARCHETTI... Portrait d'un Glacier anyone? yes yes the Cinema Pour l'Oreille series... i reckon' there might be a few things in there of interest to such a course... certainly a course on concrete at any rate.

but for serious, there are at least a few Marchetti albums that make use of fields... i guess it's not necessarily concrete perse, since most of them don't seem to be edited much, but uh, erm. guh.

MRS · Post by **MRS** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 11:05 pm

No, no I'm not disagreeing with his potential involvement. There's just not much published thought anywhere (at least in lowly English) about Walter, who coincidentally, is a genius. I was thinking you were on to earlier work maybe? Anyhow, haven't seen you post much since the quammum leap, good to see you here.

But I don't think the Alga Marghens fit here.

ihatemusic

what are the classic works of musique concrete?

what are the classic works of musique concrete?

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