Dack, J.

English

Middlesex University Research Repository

02  new notes • june 2008One of the most noteworthydevelopments in post-war musicalthought has been the electroacousticmedium’s contribution to contemporarymusic theory. For example, PierreSchaeffer’s comprehensive typo-morphological classification of soundshas profound implications for anunderstanding of instrumental ‘unity’and ‘extended’ instrumental/vocaltechniques. However, I will argue thatelectroacoustic music can also clarifysubject areas that originate in earlierperiods of music history – it can, in asense, be applied retrospectively. Thisarticle will investigate howelectroacoustic music can clarify thegeneral subject area of musical‘space’, with particular reference toconcepts of ‘depth’ and ‘distance’.Spatial metaphors are fundamental tounderstanding how we perceive andconceptualise the pitch-space oftonality: music ‘arrives’ in a key after‘moving’ through various ‘distant’ or‘close’ tonal ‘regions’ before ‘returning’to the ‘home’ key. Recently, musicpsychologists have claimed thatlisteners intuitively locate highfrequencies in the upper regions of animaginary space whilst lower onesseem to be situated in areas beneaththem. In addition, low frequencysounds appear to be of greater ‘bulk’and occupy more of this phenomenal‘space’ than sounds of higherfrequencies, even if both are heard atsubjectively identical dynamic levels. Powerful though these metaphorsundoubtedly are, it is the embodimentof spatial aspects within music itselfwhich is my principal concern. ‘Echo’effects are relatively common inBaroque music and reproduce theacoustic characteristics of physicalspaces. However, as far as I amaware, it is only in music from the mid-nineteenth century that composersconsciously referred to the perceptionof ‘distance’ in their music. During thisperiod instructions such as ‘wie ausder Ferne’ (‘as if from a distance’)appeared on scores, indicating theneed for performers to communicatethe impression of physical distancefrom a sound’s source. ‘Wie aus derFerne’ is in fact used as a title for theeighth piece in Schumann’sDavidsbündlertänze Book II from1837. More importantly perhaps, theFrench equivalent of this term can befound in the music of Debussy. Hispiano preludes include ‘de très lointain’in Feux d’Artifice’(bars 91-2) and‘lointain et léger’ in Hommage à S.Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C (bar 44).‘Lointain’ is clearly a more subtle (andtechnically demanding) instruction thansimply indicating a softer dynamiclevel. Debussy, like many composers,instinctively realised that distantsounds are not merely quieter thanthose perceived at close proximity.When heard at a distance, higherfrequencies are absorbed by the airand are subjected to multiplereflections, creating a perceptiblydifferent spectral quality whichDebussy attempted to reproduce in hismusic. It is significant, I believe, thatthis simulation of ‘distance’ from thelistener or of a series of ‘perspectives’within the music emerged in thenineteenth century. Many composersof this period would have been acutelyaware of the late Romantic trope ofhearing a distant sound suggesting theexistence of a place that was physicallyinaccessible but which couldnevertheless be experienced via themediation of arts such as music orpoetry – an idea represented by the‘au-dela’ of Symbolism. Moreover, the deliberate evocation ofa sense of space by ‘far away’ soundsinvites an additional interpretation of‘distance’. This time it is the temporaldistance between an event and itsrecollection. Mahler placed some ofhis musicians literally ‘at a distance’ bylocating them either off-stage or atmore distant positions from theaudience. This was not intended to bea superficial theatrical effect. Rather,there is the inescapable impressionthat the quality of sound from thesedistant sources invokes past, perhapseven autobiographical, events. The location of performers, therefore,has real consequences for thelistening experience of ‘distance’ inSonic artist JOHN DACKargues that electro-acoustic compositionallows us to see music ina whole new light, andthat if we keep ourelectroacoustic glasseson when we look back atolder music, we’ll seethat very differently too... june 2008 • new notes 03music. All compositions must be heardwithin a space, either that of a realperformance venue or a virtual spacecreated during the recording process.No physical space is neutral – allrooms act as filters, attenuating oremphasising frequencies according totheir shape and the materials fromwhich they are constructed. However,in the studio the recording engineermust simulate these physicalcharacteristics by microphoneplacement and post-productiontechniques. Some compositions mighteven be considered ‘site-specific’ if theyexploit the unique acoustic propertiesof the spaces in which they areperformed. Berlioz’s Grand Messe desMorts played in the church of ‘lesInvalides’ is an obvious example. Manycontemporary composers haveextended such practices andincorporated the physical arrangementof musicians and the manner in whichthey articulate spaces into theircompositions. Ives, Xenakis, Berio,Nono and Brant have all written workswhere the space occupied by theperformers in relation to the audienceis central to the work’s meaning.Musical ‘space’, therefore, clearlyconsists of a complex network ofrelationships. It is significant that eventhis relatively cursory examinationincluded areas as diverse as thepsychology of perception, theimplications of a composer’s creationof ‘space’ within the music as well asthe acoustics of the venue in which thecomposition is performed. Is it toocontrived to suggest that such a rangeof subjects - psychological, aesthetic,acoustic - can be clarified byelectroacoustic theory? An importantdiscussion of ‘space’ appears in thechapter ‘The Listening Imagination:Listening in the Electroacoustic Era’ byDenis Smalley (in The Companion toContemporary Musical Thought, eds:Paynter, J., Howell. T., Orton. R.)While this chapter was written inreference to electroacoustic music,many ideas discussed by Smalley arerelevant to a more general musictheory.Smalley proposes an ‘indicative field’ ofspace, which is divided into threeinterdependent areas. The first can bedescribed as the ‘composer’s space’.This virtual space is created in theelectroacoustic studio by movingsounds and placing them in specificpositions as well as controlling andmanipulating their reverberationcharacteristics, spectral evolutions anddynamic levels. Accordingly, theelectroacoustic composer can createphenomenal spaces (the plural isimportant) which can exploit ‘depth’ asmuch as movement and placement.The parallels between this concept andthe previously-discussed notion of‘distance’ in music is obvious. However, in electroacoustic music thecomposer can move between distinctspaces and even present contrastingones simultaneously. The ‘listeningspace’ is Smalley’s second area. This iswhere the composition will ultimately beheard by the audience. Such spacescan range from large reverberantvenues to small halls with dryacoustics. Present-day composersmust also consider the implications ofa range of playback environments fromrelatively modest stereo reproductionto sophisticated 5.1 surround-soundsystems as well as listening to thework on headphones. Each of these‘listening spaces’ will haveconsequences for the aforementioned‘spaces’ carefully constructed by thecomposer. In concerts of acousmaticmusic the status of the persondiffusing the sound can be comparedto that of a conductor. Decisions mustbe made during rehearsals and, mostimportantly, in real time at theperformance itself, which take intonew notes info:ISSN: 1350-8989Published by: spnm, 4th Floor18–20 Southwark St, London SE1 1TJ. www.spnm.org.ukTo subscribe to new notes, join spnm.  Membership costs £25 (£10 concessions) per year.Download a membership form fromwww.spnm.org.uk/newnotesmagazine.Editor: Shoël StadlenSub-Editors: Anna Durance, Therese Bannnew notes direct tel: 020 7403 6545  spnm tel: 020 7407 1640   fax: 020 7403 7652   email: shoel@spnm.org.ukEditorial advisors: Christopher Fox, Julia Winterson, Andrew KurowskiThe opinions expressed in new notes are those of the authorsand not necessarily those of new notes or spnm. Copyright ofall articles is held by spnm and the contributors. Unauthorisedreproduction of any item is forbidden.AdvertisingCopy deadline:  5th of the preceding month (e.g. 5 January for the February issue)Event listings: by annual subscription, form downloadable fromwww.spnm.org.uk/newnotesmagazineDisplay Adseighth page – £95   quarter page – £165   half page – £295  full page – £520  Typesetting ads – 5% extraLeaflet insertion:London only (1,000) – £340   Full list (2,700) – £450All prices subject to VAT at 17.5%spnm is a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee no. 3159258. Charity no 1055754.04  new notes • june 2008CALL FOR ENTRIES2008 New Millennium Composition CompetitionPrize: £3,000Applications Deadline: 31 August 2008Reflecting our ongoing commitment to the commissioning of new work, we are pleased to invite applicationsfor the 2008 New Millennium Composition Competition, an annual competition that provides a platform fortalented composers working in the UK. Previous winners include Joe Cutler, Geoff Hannan, Tom Ingoldsby,Saed Haddad, Tazul Tajuddin, Fumiko Miyachi and Edward Top.To enter, you must have been a resident in the UK on 1 March 2008. You will need to submit two previousworks (scores, preferably accompanied by CD recordings), together with a proposal of the work to be written,your CV and other relevant supporting material. Proposals for ensemble works of about 15-20 minutes’duration are encouraged. The work should be suited to our performing resources and scoring should notexceed the size of a large chamber ensemble.The winning composition will be performed during our 2009/10 concert season.Detailed information is available on www.conservatoire.bcu.ac.ukor by writing to The Principal, Birmingham ConservatoireParadise Place, Birmingham B3 3HG, UKconservatoire@bcu.ac.ukaccount the composition’s repository ofsounds and their structural significancewhen played within a venue with specificacoustic characteristics. Relationshipsbetween sounds and the perception ofmovement between distinct positionsare, of course, aspects of the‘composer’s space’ but they mustultimately be situated within a particular‘listening space’. The manner in whichthese two spaces interact produces thethird area: that of the listener’s‘affective’ responses. Personalsensibilities and cultural attitudes willfrequently produce complex reactionswhich might require re-configuration asthe work progresses. A listener mightfeel ‘close’ to some sounds or beconfronted with spacious, evenintimidating sonic environments.Unfamiliar sounds and unreal gesturesmight provoke unease whilst somenatural sounds could calm and evenconsole the listener. It is not simply thechoice of sounds, but also how they arepresented to the audience with regardto their movement and proximity whichwill provoke such responses.What are the consequences foranalyses of instrumental/vocal music?Applying Smalley’s ideas simplisticallywould clearly be inappropriate. But,given an increased tendency incontemporary analysis to resort torecordings rather than scores, manyinvestigations could benefit frominsights offered by these three fields ofspace. For example, differentrecordings of György Ligeti’s Lontanocould be compared to evaluate whethera ‘live’ performance conveys thecomposition’s sense of spaciousness(implied by the work’s title!)  better thana studio recording. In this case thecollaboration between the conductor’sreading of the score and the studioengineer would be crucial in creating asuccessful relationship between thespaces of ‘composer’ and ‘listener’. Inaddition, Glenn Gould recorded pianoworks by Sibelius (Op. 41 and 67) inwhich changes of ‘perspective’ in thefinal mix was achieved by choosing froma variety of simultaneously recordedmicrophone placements . An analysismight facilitate an understanding ofhow such changes corroborated (ornot) the music’s structure and even thelistener’s responses. Lastly, theemotional impact of a popular songsuch as Eleanor Rigby is surely due notonly to the music and lyrics, but alsothe close position of the microphonesand the use of compression during therecording of the string instrumentalists.Paul McCartney’s voice dominates, ofcourse, but a sense of claustrophobicconfinement encapsulating perfectly thelives of the characters in this smalldrama, results from how close –inescapably close – the instruments areto the listener. The subtle interactionsbetween Denis Smalley’s three areas ofspace helps to clarify many aspects ofthe recording process. Consequently,the ‘indicative field of space’ cancontribute to any discussionsconcerning the elusive nature of how‘space’ is represented in music.John Dack is a Senior Research Fellowand Lecturer at the Sonic Arts

Music in space, space in music.

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Music in space, space in music.

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