The questions schaeffer raised are just as relevant to experimental musicians today as they were to him nearly seventy years ago. You might take it for granted that any sound you sample can be used as music, but this wasnt always the case. This was a significant development for schaeffer, who previously had to work with phonographs and. Pdf briefly surveys the 194158 activities of pierre schaeffer, who created musique concrete in paris in the late 1940s. Acousmatic sound is when you hear a sound without seeing the thing that causes it. Musique concrete and electronic music, session 8 mit. This was a significant development for schaeffer, who previously had. It can feature sounds derived from recordings of musical. The principle uses the assemblage of various natural sounds to produce an aural montage. Musique concrete vs elektronische musik prime loops. Disc two is devoted to schaeffer and pierre henrys collaborations from the early 50s. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle. The intimate nature of brunets intellectual relationship to schaeffer translates into a felicitous choice of texts, which she introduces with brief if well informed notes. Pierre schaeffer, the sound object, and the acousmatic reduction improvised ontology in 1948, working in the studios of radiodiffusion francaise, pierre schaeffer began to keep a set of journals describing his attempt to create a symphony of noises.
The leading heads of this genre were pierre schaeffer and pierre henry. Check out the musique concrete page at sweetwater the worlds leading music technology and instrument retailer. This is then notated and only expressed in concrete sound as a last stage, when it is. Jarres 17 studio albums have totaled over 80 million sales, and he resides in the guinness book of.
The back cover describes it as having a profound influence on composers working with technology, and being increasingly relevant to djs and hiphop producers. Pierre schaeffer and the birth of musique concrete. This is posted as a reference to a series of articles on the problems of composition. Pierre schaeffer apostrophe computing and the arts. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. This gave him a new studio, which included a tape recorder. The journey of jeanmichel jarre native instruments. In paris in 1951, in what was to become an important worldwide trend, rtf established the first studio for the production of electronic music. Pierre henri marie schaeffer born august 14, 1910, nancy, lorraine, france died august 19, 1995, aixenprovence, bouchesdurhone, france was a french composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist and acoustician.
Sounds are often modified through the application of audio effects and tape manipulation techniques, and may be assembled into a form of montage editors 1998. Symphony for one man only, produced in collaboration with pierre henry, was the first major concrete piece. For example, in the excellent 2007 documentary by eric darmon and franck mallet, pierre henry, or the art of sounds, describing the early days at the paris studio, pierre henry says that for schaeffer, musique concrete was a philosophy, a way of thinking about composing that would make composition almost impossible. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Early musique concrete can be seen to belong to the world of radiophonic art, here without a sense of clear narrative normally associated with most radio plays. The father of musique concrete, french composer pierre schaeffer was among the most visionary artists of the postwar era. An interview with pierre schaeffer pioneer of musique. This cryosonic notion of sound as a solid, retrievable object appealed so much to pierre schaeffer that, in 1952. Inspired by pierre schaeffer and musique concrete of the 1940s, the philosophy of konkrete is to collect both acoustic and electroacoustic sounds and abstract the musical values they potentially contain the sampler is the modern equivalent of the tape manipulation used in those days, and is the ideal tool for sonic exploration. In search of a concrete music, translated by christine north and john dack. Pierre schaeffer 19101995 was a graduate of the paris ecole polytechnique, after which he went to work for radiodiffusion francaise rf as an engineer and broadcaster. A guide to pierre schaeffer, the godfather of sampling. In search of a concrete music, by pierre schaeffer. Its originator, leading researcher and articulate spokesman was pierre schaeffer at that time working as an electroacoustic engineer with the rtf.
Pierre schaeffer s apostrophe is an exceptional example of musique concrete. Today, ill be discussing in search of a concrete music, by pierre schaeffer. Musique concrete emerged in paris in 1948 at the rtf radio television francais. In 1942, during the nazi occupation, he convinced the rf to make him project director of research into a science of musical acoustics. Although musicians have used noise in music for nearly a century, the wholesale appropriation of the entire soundscape through the recorded medium can be traced to the work of one man. Roots of musique concrete lets start in france, 1948, when the french composer pierre schaeffer created the first pieces of musique concrete a style where acousmatic music was used for the entirety of the composition. An engineer, writer, composer, philosopher, musicologist, educator and acoustician, schaeffer is one of the most influential figures in modern music, known for pioneering a radical innovation in 20th century music. Shop sweetwater insync sweetcare events careers used gear marketplace. Musique concrete tries to build a small personal world made of objects first found. Pdf an interview with pierre schaeffer researchgate. A guide to pierre schaeffer, the godfather of sampling nearly 50 years before dj shadows endtroducing was hailed as the first album made entirely of samples, a. Chapter 17 of composer pierre schaeffer s in search of a concrete music, titled from the object to language, opens with a quote from the. The first piece of musique concrete, composed by pierre schaeffer in 1948 out of sounds produced by trains.
The technique was developed about 1948 by the french composer pierre schaeffer and his associates at the studio dessai experimental studio of the french radio system. Term originated by pierre schaeffer in 1948 to differentiate between mus. Pierre schaeffer, the sound object, and the acousmatic. Sampling, and even to an extent turntablism, can be traced back to the recording experiments of pierre schaeffer. Music profile for pierre schaeffer, born 14 august 1910. The 25minute suite pour 14 instruments, an utterly strange assemblage of diverse musical genres into a concrete suite, is the most articulated work here. Landy 31 the father of this kind of music was pierre schaeffer, who presented his. Pierre schaeffer an interview with the pioneer of musique. The noise of combat had turned to ice but, as the sea unfroze, so too did the sounds, pouring forth in a torrent of war cries, whinnying horses and clashing. Pierre henry, pierre shaeffer, philippe arthuys 1st. Posts about pierre schaeffer written by michael lawrence.
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