FFAR 250 (Nov. 2001) - - (2004 Lecture mp3s)

Introduction (short) Mark Corwin,

• Chair of Music Department and
• Director of the Concordia University Electroacoustic Studios.
• Along with Professors Kevin Austin and Rosemary Mountain

What did you hear? What was the original sound source?

"Variable Speed Recorder" inventor

Sonic art form - Electroacoustic Music,

• how to listen to and ultimately “Hear”
• to understand through listening.

Montreal - city that boasts a having one of the worlds most vibrant and active community of electroacoustic composers and support organizations.

30 to 40 concerts presented each year with an electroacoustic orientation. Concordia, birthplace & present home to CEC,

Concordia Fall EuCuE series

2001-02 - 20^th anniversary of Ea concerts, 30 years of teaching Ea classes

What is Electroacoustics?

It's a field of study concerned with the use of electricity  for the creation, processing, manipulation, storage, presentation, distribution, perception, analysis, understanding or cognition of Sound. (M. Century – augmented)

Music

Traditional use of musical instruments (pitch, rhythm and harmony)

Concordia Electroacoustic tradition

• Sonic and "acousmatic" properties of sound. Spectro-morphology
• Yet attributes of ‘music’ such as gesture or phrase, thematic repetition, contrast and juxtaposition of sound material are also integral in all electroacoustic Art (music). Shift of concern and perception to that of the sonic and timbral elements

must also adopt new methods of listening.

PLAY      Hildegarde Westerkamp - “Breathing Room” (1990) 3:02

 PLAY       Christian Calon/Claude Schryer - “Prochaine Station” (1990) 3:01 A sound journey through a sonically recognizable Canadian City.

or

Gille Gobeil - “Association Libres” - LOUD (1990) 2:59           [let's rock]

• In listening
• Artistic, perceptual judgments
• how sounds are organized in time
• form of musical structure at all levels.

PLAY       Truax “Pacific - Ocean” (1990) 6:24

"In Ocean, the sounds of the waves is contained within a breath pattern that, at first, is almost as long as their duration. Then, as waves are stretched to reveal inner voice-like sounds, the breath pattern recedes, only to re-appear later in ever shortening rhythms that eventually trigger a "surfacing" transition back to the waves at their original speed. In the background, a raven." Barry Truax

Learning to perceive the particular language that is established for each work. Whether sounds are simple or complex

Our Audio Projection System           

• 8-20 discrete speakers organized as stereo pairs. <<point them out>>
• Mixer

The Effect

Re-animation - Rotation, up/down, forward/backward, distance.“re-animates” or “projects” the sound into the concert space.

Universities   (play from collected)

   East Coast  Francophone

• Francis Dhomont - “Meteores” (1989) 12:43
• Christian Calon - La disparition (1988) 11:10 CBC CD3-7
• Yves Daoust - Suite Baroque: L’extase (1989) 4:17

    Anglophone                        

• Bruno Degazio - “Humoresque”                        
• alcides lanza- LIVE                       
• Bruce Pennycook                       
• PLAY Kevin Austin “Tears of Early Morning Rain and Cat Fade Away”         

West coast                        

• Truax - Arras                       
• Martin Gotfrit - “The Machine’s Four Humours”                       
• PLAY Westerkamp - “Cricket Voice” CBC CD3-5

Electroacoustic / Computer Music / Acousmatic ?            

• Computer Music            
• Computer Generated music           
• Computer Controlled            Etc.

PLAY Robert Normandeau - Rumeurs (Place de Ransbeck) 1987        12:13           

Acousmatic work based on the elusive fleeting nature of reality. The doors are not doors. IMED 9002 #3

FINALE - PLAY Mark Corwin “SummersPast” 5”00

Acousmatic soundscape.