Musique Acousmatique

For many composers, remaining in the secluded world of the studio allows one to completely internalize one’s ideas, to control every element, and to realize one’s exact musical imagination. While Normandeau is certainly most known for his fixed acousmatic works, he does not restrict himself to the closed and controlled world of the electronic music studio. He embraces process, change, and adaptation, in this case adapting the acousmatic work Le renard et la rose (1995) for four singers, six percussionists, and electroacoustics in Baobabs (2012). This article first contextualizes vocal onomatopoeias in twentieth-century compositions and Normandeau’s output. Following an overview of the Onomatopoeias cycle and Baobabs, analysis is divided into rhythm, tonal and formal relationships, and texture and timbre. The article concludes with a reflection on the fundamental differences between the two works, particularly as they relate to control and the composer/performer binary.

This thesis reports on the 2010 excavations of the North Group and Eastern Court at the ancient Lowland Maya site of Pacbitun. It provides a construction history of the architecture and an analysis of associated artifacts, burials, and caches. The archaeological investigations demonstrate that the seven structures (Strs. 34-40) of this restricted access plazuela group were built in the Early Classic period, and renewed in the Late Classic period. Based on analyses of artifacts (ceramics and lithics), skeletal and faunal remains, and intra- and inter-site comparisons, the North Group functioned as a secondary elite domestic residential group. Reconstruction suggests that the inhabitants here were not commoners; instead, the occupants probably were related to the ruling elite of Pacbitun. Some of the evidence includes the central location and elevation of the North Group, the presence of red painted plaster surfacing, a burial with multiple ceramic musical instruments, and multiple dedicatory caches with exotic goods (e.g., marine shell, jadeite, "Charlie Chaplin" figures).

Depuis quelques années, mon travail de composition s’est orienté vers un art sonore où le sens a autant d’importance, sinon plus, que le son lui-même. Cet art, qui s’inscrit dans le genre acousmatique (1), étant plus proche du cinéma que de la musique, j’ai entrepris d’explorer plus systématiquement les liens qui existent entre ces deux arts de support afin, d’une part, de mieux comprendre mon propre cheminement de compositeur mais également afin de rendre compte d’une démarche qui pourrait être utile à d’autres compositeurs qui partageraient les mêmes préoccupations.
La spécificité du cinéma réside principalement dans la mobilité des images. C’est la succession temporelle de celles-ci qui lui confère un statut d’art autonome qui ne soit pas seulement un sous-produit du théâtre (rappelons qu’il a longtemps été tenu pour tel). Les images elles-mêmes et la narration relèvent d’autres pratiques artistiques — l’art pictural en général et la photographie en particulier dans le premier cas, la littérature dans le second. De même, si on trouve de nombreux exemples de narration en électroacoustique (2), cela n’implique pas que le médium lui-même soit exclusivement narratif. Cet aspect narratif du cinéma n’en est qu’un — presque systématique certes, mais pas exclusif — parmi d’autres. Cette précision faite, je crois possible d’établir certains parallèles entre le cinéma et l’art acousmatique.
— Montréal, 1992

Ce travail, est en somme, un rapport détaillé de la création sonore, son l'installation et diffusion  à la galerie "Local Arte Contemporaneo" à Santiago du Chili par l'artiste Juan Guillermo Dumay en  janvier et février 2016. Les aspects liées à la production, mais aussi aux tentatives de l'installation et son fond théorique y sont abordés. Un volet final est réservé à la recherche qui a été mené. Il est question de spatialisation sonore, musique acousmatique, de l'environnement et son rapport à la création musicale entre autres sujets.

Electroacoustic music, legend has it, was born in 1956 when, in Stockhausen’s Gesang der Jünglinge, the materials of musique concrète and those of elektronische Musik blended. Musique concrète and elektronische Musik, however, amounted to more than the choice between two different kinds of materials. This bibliography’s compiler asks: what then if, rather than acting as one of the pillars upon which electroacoustic music rests, musique concrète had been the apex of something else? The bibliography consists of a selected list of Schaeffer’s writings and is intended to act as a starting point in the compiler’s investigation. The bibliography describes and briefly comments on ten titles on Pierre Schaeffer’s research on sound. Published in France from 1967 to 1999, most of these writings were written by members of his circle and himself. It is unfortunate that only a couple of these books has appeared in English translations. Such titles as Pierret’s Entretiens avec Pierre Schaeffer, Brunet’s De la musique concrète à la musique même and Chion’s Guide des objets sonores, if they were accessible to an English speaking readership, would allow Schaeffer’s thinking on sound to interact with a less — or differently — biased environment.

The word ‘acousmatic’ has a strange and complicated history. Recent Schaefferian accounts have replicated Franc ̧ ois Bayle’s sketch of the ‘histoire du mot’ from his Musique acousmatique – in particular, the assumed synonymy between ‘acousmatique’ and ‘acousmate’. However, this synonymy is mistaken. The word ‘acousmate’ was first coined in an article from 1730 to describe a strange noise heard one evening in the small French village of Ansacq. A discussion of the article follows, which shows how the word is unrelated to the Pythagorean acousmatics, and how its author understood his ‘acousmate’ in the context of contemporary natural science. Additionally, a sketch of the term’s changing signification in three discourses – scientific, psychological and literary – is presented. The goal of this article is to articulate a set of problems concerning the historiography of acousmatic listening in the Schaefferian tradition. These problems include: 1) the need to authorise a practice of musique acousmatique, which has limited historical investigation
The word ‘acousmatic’ has a strange and complicated history. Recent Schaefferian accounts have replicated François Bayle’s sketch of the ‘histoire du mot’ from his Musique acousmatique – in particular, the assumed synonymy between ‘acousmatique’ and ‘acousmate’. However, this synonymy is mistaken. The word ‘acousmate’ was first coined in an article from 1730 to describe a strange noise heard one evening in the small French village of Ansacq. A discussion of the article follows, which shows how the word is unrelated to the Pythagorean acousmatics, and how its author understood his ‘acousmate’ in the context of contemporary natural science. Additionally, a sketch of the term’s changing signification in three discourses – scientific, psychological and literary – is presented. The goal of this article is to articulate a set of problems concerning the historiography of acousmatic listening in the Schaefferian tradition. These problems include: 1) the need to authorise a practice of musique acousmatique, which has limited historical investigation to moments where the word ‘acousmate’ or ‘acousmatique’ appear in the archive; 2) a mistaken assumption that ‘acousmate’ and ‘acousmatique’ are synonymous, which has forced together historical moments that are not in fact affiliated; 3) an adherence to this affiliation, which has foreclosed the opportunity to consider acousmatic listening as a set of culturally and historically specific practices concerning the relationship of seeing and hearing.

As an electroacoustic composer, I think a lot about cause, effect, and in particular the relationships between materials in my work and how these might lead to expectations for the listener. What I have had a lot of difficulty with is finding a terminology which allows me to communicate descriptively the reasons that a particular sounds behaviour imparts sonic information which encourages listeners to anticipate future events. This came to a head early on in my doctoral studies when I

Entre  2015 et 2019, François Bayle poursuit et synthétise sa quête du graal de l’écoute pure, au-delà des apparences et références terrestres.
Qui ? (2016/19) - Comme…* (2017/19)- Sans… (2015/19) - Vers…* (2018/19) - Où ? (2015/19). 62', octophonique.
Notes d'écoute 1. rapides chez F.Bayle. 2. Plus analytique en studio "Métamorphoses d'Orphée" de Musiques & Recherches (Belgique)

This paper provides an analysis of Quartetto III, a work composed by the Italian musician Franco Donatoni that has often been underrated and has been considered ephemeral (Lanza, 2014, p. 135, pp. 231-240) by some Italian musicologists. It is Donatoni’s third Quartet:
unlike the other quartets, it was produced, under the guide of Marino Zuccheri, at the “Studio di Fonologia” in Milan, by using only electronic instruments.
We’ve studied the historical, musical, and technological context in which this work was conceived by using different historical sources such as texts for broadcasting, documents,
letters from the archives of the Studio di Fonologia as well as notes and documents preserved at Paul Sacher Stiftung. These documents offer an interesting perspective into historical analyses, considering that the Studio di Fonologia musicale of Radiotelevisione Italiana, like similar studios in Europe and America, was the result of a meeting of music and new opportunities of analyses and treatment of sound.
This paper also highlights some specific ideas of Quartetto III, the composer’s originality and importance not only in his work, but also in the production of the Studio di Fonologia and in the history of electroacoustic music. We have analysed Quartetto III under different points of view, by using stereophonic and quadraphonic versions of this work-recording “E018” and “Q002” respectively.
In particular, we have pointed out the relationship between ministructure and macroform,
underlining the progressive aggregation process, from “Elements” to “Groups” and
“Columns”. This objective has been achieved by means of:
a) a partial Genetic analyses by using PWGL;
b) a Listening Analysis, by following different musicological approaches: Smalley and the
spectro-morphology; Roy’s Functional Analysis; Temporal Semiotic Unit (M.I.M.);
Sloboda’s, and McAdams’ Perceptive and Cognitive Studies.
This approach can give us some information about the macrostructure: Quartetto III, that lasts
about 5 minutes, is structured in panels which are sections with different metronomes, but with an internal coherence of articulation and musical development. Much attention has been paid to the structural and poetical use of quadraphonic space: Quartetto III seems to pave the way for the later electroacoustic works because of the use of spatial figures and “structured” electronic gestures. The historical recalling of the 60s, when Quartetto III was conceived at the Studio di Fonologia, has shown the very high level of the Italian research carried out at the Studio.

Cheong, Kong F.
2012  A Description of the Ceramic Musical Instruments Excavated from the North Group of Pacbitun, Belize. In Pacbitun Regional Archaeological Project: Report on the 2011 Field Season, edited by Terry G. Powis, pp. 15-29. Report Submitted to the Institute of Archaeology, National Institute of Culture and History, Belmopan, Belize.

El presente texto se propone describir las motivaciones y las elecciones realizadas para la concreción del práctico número tres, realizado para el seminario de Creación Sonora, dictado por Raúl Minsburg, en el marco del Posgrado en Arte Sonoro de la Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero. La consigna del trabajo consiste en la creación de un fragmento musical, a partir de los recursos de la música concreta y utilizando como material sonoro dos obras, de las cuales una deberá ser reconocida, la otra no.

Este texto presenta el proyecto composicional acusmático “Listening animals”, una obra octofónica encargada por el Laboratorio de Creación y Cognición Musical “AcusmaLab”, el cual es parte del Centro de Estudios de Argumentación y Razonamiento de la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad Diego Portales, Chile. El encargo fue realizado como parte del proyecto de investigación “Hacia una gramaticidad de las músicas no escritas: un enfoque neurofenomenológico” llevado adelante por Federico Schumacher y Claudio Fuentes, ambos investigadores del AcusmaLab. El Proyecto “[…] busca explorar en la experiencia musical por medio de metodologías mixtas, cualitativas y cuantitativas, surgidas desde la neurofenomenología, tomando como foco la música acusmática en tanto «caso límite de escucha pura»”(CEAR, 2015)(1).
Este artículo incluye un texto autoetnográfico a la manera de un diario personal, algunas veces usando un lenguaje formal y en otras más personal y subjetivo en primera persona. A la vez describe la obra, sus vínculos con la investigación mencionada y como desde esta fueron definidos aspectos específicos de su planificación y estructura.
Palabras clave: Acusmática, octofonía, autoetnografía.

This article presents the acousmatic compositional project “Listening animals”, an octophonic piece comissioned by the Laboratory of Creation and Musical Cognition, “AcusmaLab”, which in turn is part of the Center for Argumentation and Reasoning Studies in the Psychology Faculty of the Universidad Diego Portales, Chile.
The comission was made as part of the research project “Towards a grammar of unwritten musics: a neurophenomenological approach” carried forward by Federico Schumacher and Claudio Fuentes, both researchers of the AcusmaLab. The project “[…] seeks to explore within the musical experience through mixed, qualitative and quantitative methodologies, arising from neurophenomenology, focusing on acousmatic music as a «limit case of pure listening»”(CEAR, 2015)(1).
This paper includes a autoethnograpic text in the form of a personal journal, sometimes using a formal language and others more personal and subjetive in first person. At the same time describes the piece, its links with the mentioned investigation and how from this one, specific aspects of its plan and structure were setted.
Key words: Acousmatic, octophony, autoethnography.

(1) CEAR. (2015). Fondo de la Música Nacional adjudica dos proyectos a Investigadores del CEAR [online]: Centro de Estudios de Argumentación y Razonamiento (CEAR). Available at: http://cear.udp.cl/fondo-de-la-musica-nacional-adjudica-dos-proyectos-a-investigadores-del-cear/ [Accessed 30th January, 2017 2017].

... accepted physical and logical standard data formats designed for multi channel surround sound ... Focuseing on the composition of one of his pieces, he describes the ... Canadian Electroacoustic Community (2002) OTONDO, Felipe: "Some considerations for spatial design and ...

Parables, several studies for solo cello were presented using aural models in place of written scores. The impetus behind this was to remain within the auspices of "plastic sound," (the subject of my PhD project) and include instrumental composition. These studies served as precursors for two more works for instrumental performers. This presentation will focus on those two works; Analogies of Control for cello and fixed sounds, and K for trumpet and fixed sounds. Several recordings will be presented of different cellists' renditions along with their acousmatic (studio) versions. The trumpet performance will be also presented in contrast to its acousmatic version. Suggestions and comments from the cellists regarding future works are discussed as are other variations in this approach.

This paper examines Francis Dhomont’s tribute to the Musique Concrète tradition, Novars. A graphic score of the work is provided, using a combination of representational and symbolic graphic objects, which not only creates an additional frame of reference for the reader, but is itself an integral part of the analytical process. A classification of sound types is undertaken and a structural plan proposed on the basis of an analysis of the roles of these sound types and their relative importance within the work. This plan is related to a possible structure based on multiple Golden Sections, and is then modified to take account of changes in sound type behaviour, based on a second classification. Plotting the frequency of behaviour changes reveals the work’s main Golden Section to be of further structural significance.

Nationalist historiographies can often neatly define what Max Weber calls the “in-group” and “out-group,” a dualism which is necessary for meeting the first two of three basic assertions John Breuilly outlines for building a nationalist argument: “(a) There exists a nation with an explicit and peculiar character. (b) The interests and values of this nation take priority over all other interests and values” (1993, 2). The presence of an “out-group” adversary is implicit in these assertions, as the “explicit and peculiar character” emerges only in contrast to other characters, and the priorities of this nation are those above other nations. Canada has politically, economically, and culturally struggled to assert its nationhood in opposition to the out-groups of Great Britain and the United States. Insecurity over our national narrative arises whenever attention is drawn to Canada’s colonial mindset and external dominance. Insecurity and feelings on inferiority abound when combined with a rampant historical forgetfulness in a relatively young country.
My paper contextualizes Canada’s nationalist and multicultural narratives within the broader historiography of the French-English divide in Canada and seeks to negotiate regional and cultural connections and trends while ultimately refusing to reinforce entrenched oppositional narratives of the musique acousmatique/soundscape composition dichotomy. Existing narratives often echo the socio-cultural, ethnic, and linguistic divides long established in Canada since the first battles between the English and French for power in Canada.

Confronting the National in the Musical Past; Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts, Helsinki