"The Liberation of Sound"

by Edgard Varse

I dream of instruments obedient to my thought and which with their contribution of a whole
new world of unsuspected sounds, will lend themselves to the exigencies of my inner rhythm.
(1)

New Instruments and New Music
(From a lecture given at Mary Austin House, Santa Fe, 1936)

At a time when the very newness o the mechanism o lie is orcing our activities an! our
orms o human association to "rea# with the tra!itions an! the metho!s o the $ast in the
eort to a!a$t themselves to circumstances, the urgent choices which we have to ma#e are
concerne! not with the $ast "ut with the uture. %e cannot, even i we woul!, live much
longer "y tra!ition. &he worl! is changing, an! we change with it. &he more we allow our
min!s the romantic lu'ury o treasuring the $ast in memory, the less a"le we "ecome to ace
the uture an! to !etermine the new values which can "e create! in it.

Art(s unction is not to $rove a ormula or an esthetic !ogma. )ur aca!emic rules were ta#en
out o the living wor#s o ormer masters. As *e"ussy has sai!, works of art make rules but
rules do not make works of art. Art e'ists only as a me!ium o e'$ression.

&he emotional im$ulse that moves a com$oser to write his scores contains the same element
o $oetry that incites the scientist to his !iscoveries. &here is soli!arity "etween scientiic
!evelo$ment an! the $rogress o music. &hrowing new light on nature, science $ermits music
to $rogress+or rather to grow an! change with changing times+"y revealing to our senses
harmonies an! sensations "eore unelt. )n the threshol! o "eauty science an! art
colla"orate. ,ohn -e!iel! voices the o$inion many when he says. /&here shoul! "e at least
one la"oratory in the worl! where the un!amental acts o music coul! "e investigate! un!er
con!itions reasona"ly con!ucive to success. &he interest in music is so wi!es$rea! an!
intense, its a$$eal so intimate an! $oignant, an! its signiicance or man#in! so $otent an!
$rooun!, that it "ecomes unwise not to !evote some $ortion o the enormous outlay or
music to research in its un!amental 0uestions./(1)

%hen new instruments will allow me to write music as 2 conceive it, the movement o soun!+
masses, o shiting $lanes, will "e clearly $erceive! in my wor#, ta#ing the $lace o the linear
counter$oint. %hen these soun!+masses colli!e, the $henomena o $enetration or re$ulsion
will seem to occur. 3ertain transmutations ta#ing $lace on certain $lanes will seem to "e
$ro4ecte! onto other $lanes, moving at !ierent s$ee!s an! at !ierent angles. &here will no
longer "e the ol! conce$tion o melo!y or inter$lay o melo!ies. &he entire wor# will "e a
melo!ic totality. &he entire wor# will low as a river lows.

%e have actually three !imensions in music. hori5ontal, vertical, an! !ynamic swelling or
!ecreasing. 2 shall a!! a ourth, soun! $ro4ection+that eeling that soun! is leaving us with no
ho$e o "eing relecte! "ac#, a eeling a#in to that arouse! "y "eams o light sent orth "y a
$owerul searchlight+or the ear as or the eye, that sense o $ro4ection, o a 4ourney into
s$ace.

&o!ay with the technical means that e'ist an! are easily a!a$ta"le, the !ierentiation o the
various masses an! !ierent $lanes as well as these "eams o soun!, coul! "e ma!e
!iscerni"le to the listener "y means o certain acoustical arrangements. Moreover, such an
acoustical arrangement woul! $ermit the !elimitation o what 2 call /5ones o intensities./
&hese 5ones woul! "e !ierentiate! "y various tim"res or colors an! !ierent lou!nesses.
&hrough such a $hysical $rocess these 5ones woul! a$$ear o !ierent colors an! o !ierent
magnitu!e, in !ierent $ers$ectives or our $erce$tion. &he role o color or tim"re woul! "e
com$letely change! rom "eing inci!ental, anec!otal, sensual or $ictures0ue6 it woul! "ecome
an agent o !elineation, li#e the !ierent colors on a ma$ se$arating !ierent areas, an! an
integral $art o orm. &hese 5ones woul! "e elt as isolate!, an! the hitherto uno"taina"le
non+"len!ing (or at least the sensation o non+"len!ing) woul! "ecome $ossi"le.

2n the moving masses you woul! "e conscious o their transmutations when they $ass over
!ierent layers, when they $enetrate certain o$acities, or are !ilate! in certain rareactions.
Moreover, the new musical a$$aratus 2 envisage, a"le to emit soun!s o any num"er o
re0uencies, will e'ten! the limits o the lowest an! highest registers, hence new organi5ations
o the vertical resultants. chor!s, their arrangements, their s$acings+that is, their
o'ygenation. 7ot only will the harmonic $ossi"ilities o the overtones "e reveale! in all their
s$len!or, "ut the use o certain intererences create! "y the $artials will re$resent an
a$$recia"le contri"ution. &he never+"eore+thought+o use o the inerior resultants an! o the
!ierential an! a!!itional soun!s may also "e e'$ecte!. An entirely new magic o soun!8

2 am sure that the time will come when the com$oser, ater he has gra$hically reali5e! his
score, will see this score automatically $ut on a machine that will aithully transmit the
musical content to the listener. As re0uencies an! new rhythms will have to "e in!icate! on
the score, our actual notation will "e ina!e0uate. &he new notation will $ro"a"ly "e
seismogra$hic. An! here it is curious to note that at the "eginning o two eras, the Me!iaeval
$rimitive an! our own $rimitive era (or we are at a new $rimitive stage in music to!ay), we
are ace! with an i!entical $ro"lem. the $ro"lem o in!ing gra$hic sym"ols or the
trans$osition o the com$oser(s thought into soun!. At a !istance o more than a thousan!
years we have this analogy. our still $rimitive electrical instruments in! it necessary to
a"an!on sta notation an! to use a #in! o seismogra$hic writing much li#e the early
i!eogra$hic writing originally use! or the voice "eore the !evelo$ment o sta notation.
Formerly the curves o the musical line in!icate! the melo!ic luctuations o the voice6 to!ay
the machine+instrument re0uires $recise !esign in!ications.

Music as an Art-Science
(From a lecture given at the 9niversity o Southern 3aliornia, 1939)

&he $hiloso$hers o the Mi!!le Ages se$arate! the li"eral arts into two "ranches. the trivium,
or the Arts o -eason as a$$lie! to language+grammar, rhetoric an! !ialectic+an! the
0ua!rivium, or the Arts o :ure -eason, which to!ay we woul! call the Sciences, an! among
which music has its $lace in the com$any o mathematics, geometry an! astronomy.

&o!ay, music is more a$t to "e rate! with the arts o the trivium. At least, it seems to me that
too much em$hasis is $lace! on what might "e calle! the grammar o music.

At !ierent times an! in !ierent $laces music has "een consi!ere! either as an Art or as a
Science. 2n reality music $arta#es o "oth. Ho;ne %rons#y an! 3amille *urutte (3), in their
treatise on harmony in the mi!!le o the last century, were o"lige! to coin new wor!s when
they assigne! music its $lace as an /Art+Science,/ an! !eine! it as /the cor$oreali5ation o
the intelligence that is in soun!s./ Most $eo$le rather thin# o music solely as an art. <ut when
you listen to music !o you ever sto$ to reali5e that you are "eing su"4ecte! to a $hysical
$henomenon= 7ot until the air "etween the listener(s ear an! the instrument has "een
!istur"e! !oes music occur. *o you reali5e that every time a $rinte! score is "rought to lie it
has to "e re+create! through the !ierent soun! machines, calle! musical instruments, that
ma#e u$ our orchestras, are su"4ect to the same laws o $hysics as any other machine= 2n
or!er to antici$ate the result, a com$oser must un!erstan! the mechanics o the instruments
an! must #now 4ust as much as $ossi"le a"out acoustics. Music must live in soun!. )n the
other han!, the $ossession o a $erectly $itche! ear is only o a relative im$ortance to a
com$oser. %hat a com$oser must have, must have "een "orn with, is what 2 call the /inner
ear,/ the ear o imagination. &he inner ear is the com$oser(s :ole Star8 >et us loo# at music as
it is more $o$ularly consi!ere!+as an Art+an! in0uire. what is com$osition=

<rahms has sai! that com$osition is the organi5ing o !is$arate elements. <ut what is the
situation o the woul!+"e creator to!ay, sha#en "y the $owerul im$ulses an! rhythms o this
age= How is he to accom$lish this /organi5ing/ in or!er to e'$ress himsel an! his e$och=
%here is he to in! those /!is$arate elements/= Are they to "e oun! in the "oo#s he stu!ies
in his various courses in harmony, com$osition, an! orchestration= Are they in the great wor#s
o the great masters that he $ores over with love an! a!miration an!, with all his might,
means to emulate= 9nortunately too many com$osers have "een le! to "elieve that these
elements can "e oun! as easily as that.(?)

@ric &em$le <ell, in a "oo# calle! &he Search or &ruth, says. /-everence or the $ast no !ou"t
is a virtue that has ha! its uses, "ut i we are to go orwar! the reverent a$$roach to ol!
!iiculties is the wrong one8/ 2 shoul! say that in music the /reverent a$$roach/ has !one a
great !eal o harm. it has #e$t woul!+"e a$$reciators rom really a$$reciating8 An! it has
create! the music critic8 &he very "asis o creative wor# is irreverence8 &he very "asis o
creative wor# is e'$erimentation+"ol! e'$erimentation.

Aou have only to turn to the revere! $ast or the corro"oration o my contention. &he lin#s in
the chain o tra!ition are orme! "y men who have all "een revolutionists8 &o the stu!ent o
music 2 shoul! say that the great e'am$les o the $ast shoul! serve as s$ring"oar!s rom
which he may lea$ ree, into his own uture.

2n every !omain o art, a wor# that corres$on!s to the nee! o its !ay carries a message o
social an! cultural value. :rece!ing ages show us that changes in art occur "ecause societies
an! artists have new nee!s. 7ew as$irations emanate rom every e$och. &he artist, "eing
always o his own time, is inluence! "y it an!, in turn, is an inluence. 2t is the artist who
crystalli5es his age+who i'es his age in history. 3ontrary to general notion, the artist is never
ahea! o his own time, "ut is sim$ly the only one who is not way "ehin!.

7ow let me come "ac# to the su"4ect o music as an Art+Science. &he raw material o music is
soun!. &hat is what the /reverent a$$roach/ has ma!e most $eo$le orget+even com$osers.
&o!ay, when science is e0ui$$e! to hel$ the com$oser reali5e what was never "eore $ossi"le+
all that <eethoven !reame!, all that <erlio5 gro$ingly imagine! $ossi"le+the com$oser
continues to "e o"sesse! "y the tra!itions that are nothing "ut the limitations o his
$re!ecessors. 3om$osers, li#e everyone else to!ay, are !elighte! to use the many ga!gets
continually $ut on the mar#et or our !aily comort. <ut when they hear soun!s that no violins,
no woo!win! or $ercussion instruments o the orchestra can $ro!uce, it !oes not occur to
them to !eman! those soun!s o science. Aet science is even now e0ui$$e! to give them
everything they may re0uire.

:ersonally, or my conce$tions, 2 nee! an entirely new me!ium o e'$ression. a soun!+
$ro!ucing machine (not a soun!+re$ro!ucing one). &o!ay it is $ossi"le to "uil! such a machine
with only a certain amount o a!!e! research.

2 you are curious to #now what such a machine coul! !o that the orchestra with its man+
$owere! instruments cannot !o, 2 shall try "riely to tell you. whatever 2 write, whatever my
message, it will reach the listener una!ulterate! "y /inter$retation./ it will wor# something li#e
this. ater a com$oser has set !own his score on $a$er "y means o a new gra$hic notation,
he will then, with the colla"oration o a soun! engineer, transer the score !irectly to this
electric machine. Ater that, anyone will "e a"le to $ress a "utton to release the music e'actly
as the com$oser wrote it+e'actly li#e o$ening a "oo#.

An! here are the a!vantages 2 antici$ate rom such a machine. li"eration rom the ar"itrary,
$araly5ing tem$ere! system6 the $ossi"ility o o"taining any num"er o cycles or, i still
!esire!, su"!ivisions o the octave, an! conse0uently the ormation o any !esire! scale6
unsus$ecte! range in low an! high registers6 new harmonic s$len!ors o"taina"le rom the use
o su"+harmonic com"inations now im$ossi"le6 the $ossi"ility o o"taining any !ierentiation
o tim"re, o soun!+com"inations6 new !ynamics ar "eyon! the $resent human+$owere!
orchestra6 a sense o soun!+$ro4ection in s$ace "y means o the emission o soun! in any $art
or in many $arts o the hall, as may "e re0uire! "y the score6 cross+rhythms unrelate! to
each other, treate! simultaneously, or, to use the ol! wor!, /contra$untally,/ since the
machine woul! "e a"le to "eat any num"er o !esire! notes, any su"!ivision o them,
omission or raction o them+all these in a given unit o measure or time that is humanly
im$ossi"le to attain.

2n conclusion, let me rea! to you something that -omain -ollan! sai! in his ,ean 3hristo$he
an! which remains $ertinent to!ay. ,ean 3hristo$he, the hero o his novel, was a $rototy$e o
the mo!ern com$oser an! was mo!ele! on !ierent com$osers whom -omain -ollan! #new+
among others, mysel.

&he !iiculty "egan when he trie! to cast his i!eas in the or!inary musical orms. he ma!e the
!iscovery that none o the ancient mol!s were suite! to them6 i he wishe! to i' his visions
with i!elity he ha! to "egin "y orgetting all the music he ha! hear!, all that he ha! written,
to ma#e a clean slate o all the ormalism he ha! learne!, o tra!itional techni0ue, to throw
away those crutches o im$otency, that "e!, all $re$are! or the la5iness o those who, leeing
the atigue o thin#ing or themselves, lie !own in other men(s thoughts. (B)

hythm! "orm and #ontent
(rom a lecture given at :rinceton 9niversity, 19B9)

My ight or the li"eration o soun! an! or my right to ma#e music with any soun! an! all
soun!s has sometimes "een construe! as a !esire to !is$arage an! even to !iscar! the great
music o the $ast. <ut that is where my roots are. 7o matter how original, how !ierent a
com$oser may seem, he has only grate! a little "it o himsel on the ol! $lant. <ut this he
shoul! "e allowe! to !o without "eing accuse! o wanting to #ill the $lant. He only wants to
$ro!uce a new lower. it !oes not matter i at irst it seems to some $eo$le more li#e a cactus
than a rose. Many o the ol! masters are my intimate rien!s+all are res$ecte! colleagues.
7one o them are !ea! saints+in act, none o them are !ea!+an! the rules they ma!e or
themselves are not sacrosanct an! are not everlasting laws. >istening to music "y :erotin,
Machaut, Montever!i, <ach, or <eethoven, we are conscious o living su"stances6 they are
/alive in the $resent./ <ut music written in the manner o another century is the result o
culture an!, !esirea"le an! comorta"le as culture may "e, an artist shoul! not lie !own in it.
&he "est "it o criticism An!re Ci!e ever wrote was this conession, which must have "een
wrung rom him "y sel+torture. /%hen 2 rea! -im"au! or the Si'th Song o Mal!oror, 2 am
ashame! o my own wor#s an! everything that is only the result o culture./

<ecause or so many years 2 crusa!e! or new instruments (6) with what may have seeme!
anatical 5eal, 2 have "een accuse! o !esiring nothing less than the !estruction o all musical
instruments an! even o all $erormers. &his is, to say the least, an e'aggeration. )ur new
li"erating me!ium+the electronic+is not meant to re$lace the ol! musical instruments, which
com$osers, inclu!ing mysel, will continue to use. @lectronics is an a!!itive, not a !estructive,
actor in the art an! science o music. 2t is "ecause new instruments have "een constantly
a!!e! to the ol! ones that %estern music has such a rich an! varie! $atrimony.

Crateul as we must "e or the new me!ium, we shoul! not e'$ect miracles rom machines.
&he machine can give out only what we $ut into it. &he musical $rinci$les remain the same
whether a com$oser writes or orchestra or ta$e. -hythm an! orm are still his most im$ortant
$ro"lems an! the two elements in music most generally misun!erstoo!.

-hythm is too oten conuse! with metrics. 3a!ence or the regular succession o "eats an!
accents has little to !o with the rhythm o a com$osition. -hythm is the element in music that
gives lie to the wor# an! hol!s it together. 2t is the element o sta"ility, the generator o
orm. 2n my own wor#s, or instance, rhythm !erives rom the simultaneous inter$lay o
unrelate! elements that intervene at calculate!, "ut not regular, timela$ses. &his corres$on!s
more nearly to the !einition o rhythm in $hysics an! $hiloso$hy as /a succession o alternate
an! o$$osite or correlative states./

As or orm, <usoni once wrote. /is it not singular to !eman! o a com$oser originality in all
things an! to or"i! it as regar!s orm= 7o won!er that once he "ecomes original, he is
accuse! o ormlessness./(D)

&he misun!erstan!ing has come rom thin#ing o orm as a $oint o !e$arture, a $attern to "e
ollowe!, a mol! to "e ille!. Form is a result+the result o a $rocess. @ach o my wor#s
!iscovers its own orm. 2 coul! never have itte! them into any o the historical containers. 2
you want to ill a rigi! "o' o a !einite sha$e, you must have something to $ut into it that is
the same sha$e an! si5e or that is elastic or sot enough to "e ma!e to it in. <ut i you try to
orce into it something o a !ierent sha$e an! har!er su"stance, even i its volume an! si5e
are the same, it will "rea# the "o'. My music cannot "e ma!e to it into any o the tra!itional
music "o'es.

3onceiving musical orm as a resultant+the result o a $rocess+2 was struc# "y what seeme! to
me an analogy "etween the ormation o my com$ositions an! the $henomenon o
crystalli5ation. >et me 0uote the crystallogra$hic !escri$tion given me "y 7athaniel Ar"iter,
$roessor o minerology at 3olum"ia 9niversity.

&he crystal is characteri5e! "y "oth a !einite e'ternal orm an! a !einite internal structure.
&he internal structure is "ase! on the unit o crystal which 2 s the smallest grou$ing o the
atoms that has the or!er an! com$osition o the su"stance. &he e'tension o the unit into
s$ace orms the whole crystal. <ut in s$ite o the relatively limite! variety o internal
structures, the e'ternal orms o crystals are limitless.

&hen Mr. Ar"iter a!!e! in his own wor!s.

3rystal orm itsel is a resultant Ethe very wor! 2 have always use! in reerence to musical
ormF rather than a $rimary attri"ute. 3rystal orm is the conse0uence o the interaction o
attractive an! re$ulsive orces an! the or!ere! $ac#ing o the atom.

&his, 2 "elieve, suggests, "etter than any e'$lanation 2 coul! give, the way my wor#s are
orme!. &here is an i!ea, the "asis o an internal structure, e'$an!e! an! s$lit into !ierent
sha$es or grou$s o soun! constantly changing in sha$e, !irection, an! s$ee!, attracte! an!
re$ulse! "y various orces. &he orm o the wor# is the conse0uence o this interaction.
:ossi"le musical orms are as limitless as the e'terior orms o crystals.

3onnecte! with this contentious su"4ect o orm in music is the really utile 0uestion o the
!ierence "etween orm an! content. &here is no !ierence. Form an! content are one. &a#e
away orm, an! there is no content, an! i there is no content, there is only a rearrangement
o musical $atterns, "ut no orm. Some $eo$le go so ar as to su$$ose that the content o
what is calle! $rogram music is the su"4ect !escri"e!. &his su"4ect is only the ostensi"le
motive 2 have s$o#en o, which in $rogram music the com$oser chooses to reveal. &he content
is still only music. &he same senseless "ic#ering goes on over style an! content in $oetry. %e
coul! very well transer to the 0uestion o music what Samuel <ec#ett has sai! o :roust. /For
:roust the 0uality o language is more im$ortant than any system o ethics or esthetics.
2n!ee! he ma#es no attem$t to !issociate orm rom content. &he one is the concretion o the
other+the revelation o a worl!./(G) &o reveal a new worl! is the unction o creation in all the
arts, "ut the act o creation !eies analysis. A com$oser #nows a"out as little as anyone else
a"out where the su"stance o his wor# comes rom.

As an e$igra$h to his "oo# (9), <usoni uses this verse rom a $oem "y the *anish $oet,
)elenschlHger.

%hat see# you= Say8 An! what !o you e'$ect= 2 #now not what6 the 9n#nown 2 woul! have8
%hat(s #nown to me is en!less6 2 woul! go <eyon! the #nown. &he last wor! still is wanting.

(*er mHchtige Iau"erer)

An! so it is or any artist.

S$atia% Music
(From a lecture given at Sarah >awrence 3ollege, 19B9)

%hen 2 was a"out twenty, my own attitu!e towar! music+at least towar! what 2 wante! my
music to "e+"ecame su!!enly crystalli5e! "y Ho;ne %rons#y(s !einition o music./(1J) 2t was
$ro"a"ly what irst starte! me thin#ing o music as s$atial+as "o!ies o intelligent soun!s
moving reely in s$ace, a conce$t 2 gra!ually !evelo$e! an! ma!e my own. Kery early,
musical i!eas came to me that 2 reali5e! woul! "e !iicult or im$ossi"le to e'$ress with the
means availa"le, an! my thin#ing even then "egan turning aroun! the i!ea o li"erating music
rom the tem$ere! system, rom the limitations o musical instruments, an! rom years o "a!
ha"its, erroneously calle! tra!ition. 2 stu!ie! Helmholt5, an! was ascinate! "y his
e'$eriments with sirens !escri"e! in his :hysiology o Soun!.(11) 2 went to the MarchL au'
:uces, where you can in! 4ust a"out anything, in search o a siren, an! $ic#e! u$ two small
ones. %ith these, an! using also chil!ren(s whistles, 2 ma!e my irst e'$eriments in what later
2 calle! s$atial music.

2n those ormative years 2 ha! the goo! ortune to "ecome a rien! o <usoni. As every"o!y
#nows, or shoul! #now, Ferruccio <usoni was not only a great $ianist, a great musician, "ut
also a great an! clairvoyant intelligence. 2 met <usoni when 2 was living in <erlin "eore the
First %orl! %ar. 2 was alrea!y amiliar with his remar#a"le "oo#, S#etch o a 7ew @sthetic o
Music, which was another milestone in my musical !evelo$ment. 2magine my e'citement on
rea!ing these wor!s o his. /Music was "orn ree6 an! to win ree!om is its !estiny./ 9ntil then
2 ha! su$$ose! no one "ut mysel hel! such a theory. %hen 2 too# <usoni my scores, he was
at once intereste! an! in s$ite o the great !ierence o age a rien!shi$ !evelo$e!, !uring
the remaining years 2 was in <erlin. %e tal#e! at length on all the 0uestions that were my
chie $reoccu$ation at the time+an! still are. Although our views !iere! ra!ically on many
su"4ects connecte! with the art o music, 2 am convince! that it was those long tal#s with
<usoni, !uring which new hori5ons were constantly o$ening or me, that hel$e! crystalli5e my
i!eas an! conirme! my "elie that new means must "e oun! to li"erate soun!, to ree it rom
the limitations o the tem$ere! system, ma#e it $ossi"le to reali5e my conce$tion o rhythm as
an element o sta"ility, an! to achieve unrelate! metrical simultaneity.

My irst $hysical attem$t to give music greater ree!om was "y the use o sirens in several o
my scores (AmLri0ues E11F, 2onisation E13F) an! 2 thin# it was these $ara"olic an! hy$er"olic
tra4ectories o soun! that ma!e certain writers as ar "ac# as 191B gras$ my conce$tion o
music as moving in s$ace. For e'am$le, Ianotti <ianco, writing in &he Arts, at that time s$o#e
o /soun! masses mol!e! as though in s$ace/ an! o /great masses in astral s$ace./(1?) )
course, it was still only a trom$e l(oreille, an aural illusion, so to s$ea#, an! not yet literally
true.

As early as 191D, 1 learne! something o the $ossi"ilities o electronics as a musical me!ium
rom -ene <ertran! (1B), inventor o the *yna$hone (this instrument was one o the
$recursors o the Martenot E16F, now wi!ely use! in @uro$e)6 an! in 193? &heremin (1D), a
$ioneer in this iel!, "uilt two instruments to my s$eciications or my com$osition, @cuatorial
(1G), with a range u$ to 11B??.1 cycles.(19) <ut it was not until 19B? that 2 ha! the
o$$ortunity o wor#ing in a stu!io with electronic e0ui$ment or com$osing on ta$e. 2n the all
o that year the -a!io!iusion FranMaise (1J) invite! me to inish my ta$es o organi5e! soun!
or *Lserts (11) in their stu!io in :aris. 2 ha! "egun them on my one ta$e recor!er in 7ew
Aor#. &his wor# is or "oth me!iums, instrumental an! ta$e. 2t contrasts the soun!s o man+
$owere! instruments with electronically treate! soun!s, alternating "ut never com"ining. 2n
$assing, 2 might say that the intervals in the instrumental sections, though they !etermine the
constantly changing an! contraste! volumes an! $lanes, are not "ase! on any i'e! set o
intervals such as a scale or a series. &hey are !etermine! "y the $articular re0uirements o
the wor#.

7ow 2 come to the wor# you are going to hear tonight. :oLme N2ectroni0ue.(11) 2t is the
musical $art o a s$ectacle o soun! an! light, $resente! !uring the <russels @'$osition in the
$avilion !esigne! or the :hili$s 3or$oration o Hollan! "y >e 3or"usier, who was also the
author o the visual $art.(13) 2t consiste! o moving colore! lights, images $ro4ecte! on the
walls o the $avilion, an! music. &he music was !istri"ute! "y ?1B lou!s$ea#ers6 there were
twenty am$liier com"inations. 2t was recor!e! on a three+trac# magnetic ta$e that coul! "e
varie! in intensity an! 0uality. &he lou!s$ea#ers were mounte! in grou$s an! in what is calle!
/soun! routes/ to achieve various eects such as that o the music running aroun! the
$avilion, as well as coming rom !ierent !irections, rever"erations, etc.

For the irst time 2 hear! my music literally $ro4ecte! into s$ace.

The E%ectronic Medium
(From a lecture given at Aale 9niversity, 1961)

First o all, 2 shoul! li#e you to consi!er what 2 "elieve is the "est !einition o music, "ecause
it is all+inclusive. /the cor$oreali5ation o the intelligence that is in soun!,/ as $ro$ose! "y
Ho;ne %rons#y.(1?) 2 you thin# a"out it you will reali5e that, unli#e most !ictionary
!einitions, which ma#e use o such su"4ective terms as "eauty, eelings, etc., it covers all
music, @astern or %estern, $ast or $resent, inclu!ing the music o our new electronic me!ium.
Although this new music is "eing gra!ually acce$te!, there are still $eo$le who, while
a!mitting that it is /interesting,/ say. /"ut is it music=/ 2t is a 0uestion 2 am only too amiliar
with. 9ntil 0uite recently 2 use! to hear it so oten in regar! to my own wor#s that, as ar "ac#
as the twenties, 2 !eci!e! to call my music /organi5e! soun!. an! mysel, not a musician, "ut
/a wor#er in rhythms, re0uencies, an! intensities./ 2n!ee!, to stu""ornly con!itione! ears,
anything new in music has always "een calle! noise. <ut ater all, what is music "ut organi5e!
noises= An! a com$oser, li#e all artists, is an organi5er o !is$arate elements. Su"4ectively,
noise is any soun! one !oesn(t li#e.

)ur new me!ium has "rought to com$osers almost en!less $ossi"ilities o e'$ression, an!
o$ene! u$ or them the whole mysterious worl! o soun!. For instance, 2 have always elt the
nee! o a #in! o continuous lowing curve that instruments coul! not give me. &hat is why 2
use! sirens in several o my wor#s. &o!ay such eects are easily o"taina"le "y electronic
means. 2n this connection, it is curious to note that it is this lac# o low that seems to !istur"
@astern musicians in our %estern music. &o their ears, it !oes not gli!e, soun!s 4er#y,
com$ose! o e!ges o intervals an! holes an!, as an 2n!ian $u$il o mine e'$resse! it,
/4um$ing li#e a "ir! rom "ranch to "ranch./ &o them, a$$arently, our %estern music seems
to soun! much as it soun!s to us when a recor! is $laye! "ac#war!. <u $laying a Hin!u recor!
o a melo!ic vocali5ation "ac#war!, 2 oun! that i ha! the same smooth low as when $laye!
normally, scarcely altere! at all.

&he electronic me!ium is also a!!ing an un"elieva"le variety o new tim"res to our musical
store, "ut most im$ortant o all, it has ree! music rom the tem$ere! system, which has
$revente! music rom #ee$ing $ace with the other arts an! with science. 3om$osers are now
a"le, as never "eore, to satisy the !ictates o that inner ear o the imagination. &hey are also
luc#y so ar in not "eing ham$ere! "y esthetic co!iication+at least not yet8 <ut 2 am arai! it
will not "e long "eore some musical mortician "egins em"alming electronic music in rules.

%e shoul! also remem"er that no machine is a wi5ar!, as we are "eginning to thin#, an! we
must not e'$ect our electronic !evices to com$ose or us. Coo! music an! "a! music will "e
com$ose! "y electronic means, 4ust as goo! an! "a! music have "een com$ose! or
instruments. &he com$uting machine is a marvelous invention an! seems almost su$erhuman.
<ut in reality it is as limite! as the min! o the in!ivi!ual who ee!s it material. >i#e the
com$uter, the machines we use or ma#ing music can only give "ac# what we $ut into them.
<ut, consi!ering the act that our electronic !evices were never meant or ma#ing music, "ut
or the sole $ur$ose o measuring an! analy5ing soun!, it is remar#a"le that what has alrea!y
"een achieve! is musically vali!. &hese !evices are still somewhat unwiel!y an! time+
consuming, an! not entirely satisactory as an art+me!ium. <ut this new art is still in its
inancy, an! 2 ho$e an! irmly "elieve, now that com$osers an! $hysicists are at last wor#ing
together an! music is again lin#e! with science as it was in the Mi!!le Ages, that new an!
more musically eicient !evices will "e invente!.

7otes

1. From /391/ ($erio!ical), 7o. B (,une 191D)6 transl. rom the French "y >ouise KarOse.

1. ,ohn -e!iel!, Music, a Science an! an Art (7ew Aor#, 191G).

3. Ho;ne %rons#y (1DDG+1GB3), also #nown as ,ose$h Marie %rons#y, was a :olish
$hiloso$her an! mathematician, #nown or his system o Messianism. 3amille *urutte (1GJ3+
1GG1), in his &echnie Harmoni0ue (1GD6), a treatise on /musical mathematics,/ 0uote!
e'tensively rom the writings o %rons#y.

?. &his, KarOse sai! in the same lecture, /un!ou"te!ly accounts or one o the most !e$lora"le
tren!s o music to!ay+the im$otent return to the ormulas o the $ast that has "een calle!
neo+3lassicism./

B. -omain -ollan! (1G66+19??), ,ean 3hristo$he (19J?+11)6 $u"lishe! in @nglish as ,ohn
3hristo$her (C. 3annan, tr.6 191J + 13).

6. As early as 1916, KarOse was 0uote! in the 7ew Aor# Morning &elegra$h as saying. )ur
musical al$ha"et must "e enriche!. %e also nee! new instruments very "a!ly. . . . 2n my own
wor#s 2 have always elt the nee! o new me!iums o e'$ression . . . which can len!
themselves to every e'$ression o thought an! can #ee$ u$ with thought./ An! in the
3hristian Science Monitor, in 1911. /&he com$oser an! the electrician will have to la"or
together to get it./

D. Ferruccio <usoni, S#etch o a 7ew @sthetic o Music, transl. "y *r. &heo!ore <a#er (7ew
Aor#, 1911)6 re$rinte! in &hree 3lassics in the Aesthetic o Music (7ew Aor#, *over
:u"lications 1961), $. D9.

G. Samuel <ec#ett, :roust (19BD).

9. <usoni, o$. cit., $. DB.

1J. See note 3 a"ove,

11. Hermann >. F. Helmholt5 (1G11+1G9?), >ehre von !en &onem$in!ungen als
$hysiologische Crun!lage Pr !ie &heorie !er Musi# (1G61)6 $u"lishe! in @nglish as )n the
Sensation o &one as A :hysiological <asis or the &heory o Music (,. @llis, tr.6 1GD3).

11. /3om$ose! 191G+116 $remiere! A$ril 9, 1916.

13. 3om$ose! 193J+316 $remiere! March 6, 1933.

1?. Massimo Ianotti <ianco, /@!gar! KarOse an! the Ceometry o Soun!,/ in &he Arts, 191?6
/>a Ceometria sonora !i @!gar! KarOse,/ in 2l :ianoorte, May 191B.

1B. Actually, KarOse irst met <ertran! in the late s$ring o 1913. KarOse was naturally aware
o &ha!!eus 3ahill(s e'$eriment mentione! in <usoni(s "oo#, "ut was !isa$$ointe! when he
saw it !emonstrate! in 7ew Aor# ater his arrival in this country. 2n 191D, KarOse "egan
seriously !iscussing with Harvey Fletcher, then Acoustical -esearch *irector o the <ell
&ele$hone >a"oratories, the $ossi"ilities o !evelo$ing an electronic instrument or com$osing.
Su"se0uently, KarOse also trie! to wor# at the soun! stu!ios in Hollywoo!. &ragically, these
re$eate! attem$ts were all rustrate! "y the lac# o un!erstan!ing an! inancial su$$ort.
7evertheless, in the mi!+thirties, he !i! ma#e some very mo!est e'$eriments with
$honogra$h turnta"les "y using motors o !ierent s$ee!s that coul! "e o$erate!
simultaneously, as well as "y running the recor!s "ac#war!. 2n s$ite o the general a$athy
!uring those years, KarOse too# another ste$ orwar! an! wor#e! on an! o on what may "e
calle! a /montage in s$ace,/ entitle! @s$ace, to "e simultaneously "roa!cast rom various
$oints o the worl!.

16 )n!es Musicales (generally reerre! to as )n!es Martenot), invente! "y Maurice Martenot
(". 1G9G).

1D. >eon &heremin (". 1G96) intro!uce! his irst electronic instrument in 191J. &he
instruments use! in @cuatorial are o a later ty$e, "elonging to the so+calle! /inger+"oar!/
mo!els.

1G. 3om$ose! 1933+3?6 $remiere! A$ril 1B, 193?. 2n the $u"lishe! revise! version, two
)n!es Martenots are s$eciie! instea! o the &heremins.

19. An octave an! a ith a"ove the highest 3 o the $iano.

1J. &he invitation was e'ten!e! "y :ierre Schaeer, !irector o the Stu!io !(@ssai o the
French -a!io.

11. 3om$ose! 19?9+B?6 $remiere! *ec. 1, 19B?.

11. 3om$ose! 19BD+BG, com$lete! at :hili$s >a"oratories, @in!hoven, Hollan!6 $remiere!
<russels @'$osition, May+)cto"er, 19BG.

13. &he whole s$ectacle o light an! soun!, conceive! "y >e 3or"usier, is calle! /:oOme
Nlectroni0ue./ >e 3or"usier (3harles+@!ouar! ,eanneret+Cris) !ie! on August 1D, 196B, the
!ay "eore the e!iting o this article was com$lete!.

1?. See note 3.