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Edgar Varese and the Poeme Electronique

The Poeme Electronique was not only a piece of electronic music, but a massive

creative effort to profoundly affect the human emotions by audio-visual means. For many

reasons the music of the Poeme Electronique it’s one of Varese’s most important works.

It’s also an outstanding work on musical history since is the first important electronic

work. In addition to that, it was part of one of the first multimedia events ever.

The world of Varese was a world were unheard music existed. His first

compositions shock audiences causing controversy. Many of his works were badly

received, and most critics hated it (Snyder). His famous work Ionisation was totally

disliked; this was maybe because audiences didn’t consider percussion instruments as

real musical instruments at that time. It was around this time when Varese started longing

“for instruments obedient to [his] thought and whim”(Russcol, 43). Varese was still

waiting for technology to catch up with him; he just couldn’t wait to liberate himself and

the sound from the tyranny of the tempered system.

Because of his frustration of not finding a way to create his music, and not being

able to work on a laboratory, he almost gives up in music. He stopped composing for

twelve years. After that, Varese was invited to work at the Radio Television Francaise

Research Center. He felt renewed, and compose Deserts (1954) for mixed media –

electronic and instrumental sounds- and it become the first important electronic work.

What makes the Poeme Electronique different? Well, the fact that it was done entirely by

electronic means. That makes it the first ‘pure’ electronic work in history. It represented

all what Varese was waiting for, an “attempt to capture sounds and ideas that couldn't be
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done with traditional instruments”(Wen-Chung). The Poeme Electronique was written for

the 1958 world fair held in Brussels’s under a commission to the world famous architect

Le Corbusier, for the Philips Corporation. It was played through 425 loudspeakers –this

according to Varese, other sources cite 150- spread through Le Corbusier's structure so

that the music recreated the shape of the building itself (www.sfsound.org) (Russcol).

Varese created the eight-minute Poeme Electronique entirely on tape, using a collage of

studio recordings, altered piano sounds and bells, and filtered recordings of choral music.

All this was encompassed on a three-track tape, created at the Philips studios at

Eindhoven, the Netherlands. This was not an easy task. Varese found a lot of pressure

against him for several reasons. First of all, Philips wanted a famous composer like

Copland or Walton, but Corbusier insisted on Varese. "No Varese, no Corbusier.” Philips

agreed. Secondly, Varese had a lot of disagreements with the engineers working at

Eindhoven. He said, “We thought we were getting rid of prima-donna's in music but now

we have prima-donna engineers!" We can’t really imagine all that Varese was going

through at Eindhoven, but it was certainly hard for him. Finally, Philips put a lot of

pressure over Varese. This is largely documented in different sources, including Varese

letters to Xenakis and Corbusier. Many times had Xenakis to write to Corbusier to let him

now about what was going on. Sometimes Corbusier had to come from where he was and

bang his fist on the table to put Philips staff in order.

Finally, after eight months of work, Varese completed the 480 seconds of music

that he needed. The work was premiered on May 2nd 1958, and although the opposite

opinions, it was a success. It was presented on a truly multimedia event. Lights, projected

images, and organized sound -as Varese called it-, where the media of expression of the
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Poeme Electronique. The New York Times called it “as bizarre as the building”. Another

critic wrote about the experience he had “Here, one no longer hears the sounds… [but]

the sound source…one lives it”(Ouelette, 201). There are various ways to look at the

Poeme Electronique in terms of analysis. According to David Cope, the structure is a

rondo form. He concludes that is an inverse rondo form: BAC BAD BAD. He also noted

the possibility of hear it as a simple three part: A B C. He based his analysis according to

the sound sources like: gongs (large bells); long, held tones (pedals); saw tooth-type noise

elements; rising motive (2nds); drums; rising glissandi; voice [or voices](Heuser). In the

other hand, Robert Cogan based his analysis according to “two opposing, alternating

sonority types”. The oppositions are calculated –but not regular- by the proportional

theories of Golden Section ratios. These two opposite sonorities are as follow: “Part I it is

complex spectral noise bands, percussion and machine-like sounds. Part II, on the other

hand, is dominated by simpler harmonic (or quasi-harmonic) spectra, generated equally

by electronic oscillators and by the vowels of human languages and voices...”(Cogan). In

spite of this, we can look at Varese’s work as the simple way of expression of his creator,

something that he was awaiting for a long time.

To sum up, the Poeme Electronique it’s an outstanding work because it

symbolizes the peak of Varese’s career, it’s the first pure electronic work, and because it

was part of the first multimedia event ever. Like Cogan says, this piece has “electrified,

mystified, or antagonized listeners for more than half a century.” It will continue to do

that for a couple of decades more, until musicians realize that music has changed forever

thanks to the new technologies. Varese will arise, and it will be recognized, along with

the Poeme Electronique, like the pioneer that he was.

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Works Cited

Cogan, Robert. Varese: A Sonic Poetics. June 12

<http://ccrma-www.stanford.edu/CCRMA/Courses/154:1996/week2/varese.html>

Halbreich, Harry. “Entretiens avec Edgard Varese” Editions Pierre Belfond. Paris,

1970.158-159.

Heuser, David. June 10 <http://music.utsa.edu/electron/varese.html>

Manning, Peter. Electronic and Computer Music, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1985.14

Ouellette, Fernand. “Edgard Varese” Editions Seghers. Paris, 1966 Translation by

Coltman, Derek. Grossman Publishers. The Orion Press, New York. 1968.195-

206

Poeme Electronique, Edgard Varese. June 09 <www.sfsound.org>

Russcol, Herbert, “The Liberation of Sound : An Introduction to Electronic Music”,

Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1972. 43-65

Snyder, Jeff. Varese, Father of Electronic Music. June 10

<www.musicaltime.com> Lebanon Valley College

Wen-Chung, Chou. "Poeme Electrónique"by Edgard Varese” interview by OHM-The

Early Gurus of Electronic Music.June 12 <www.furious.com/perfect/ohm>