The Future of American Music

  Author: Julia Ranft B.A. American Studies (HF), English Studies (NF) Email: s0173273@stud.uni-frankfurt.de Matrikelnummer: 7485864 The Future of (American) Music Prof. Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath Listening Report 8 Edgar Varese - Poeme Electronique 4D Version             Edgar Varese's Poeme Electronique is a groundbreaking piece of music that has left an indelible mark on the history of electronic music. Varese's contribution was a three-minute piece of music that was played on a system of hundreds of speakers, creating a truly immersive experience for the audience.             The original version of Poeme Electronique was created using a variety of electronic instruments, including tape recorders, generators, and filters. The resulting sound was a complex mix of tones and textures that had never been heard before. The piece was designed to be played in a ...

  Varese’s “poeme electronique” is a composition of sounds that uses spacious differences to create a four-dimensional effect. It starts with identifiable church bells, like ACDC’s hell’s bells. After that, most of the sounds are unidentifiable and difficult to describe. Most sounds are altered, similar to what is now possible with synthesizers. Reverb is added to give more volume to the special attributes and reminds me of a large church, which is introduced in the beginning with the church bells, so this reminder could be intentional. I would describe most sounds as squeaky and noisy. As I said, there are not many recognizable sounds from an instrument or like in other experimental music from household items. For me, Varese tried to question the known definition of music by using structured noises to create music. For him, music is nothing more than noises that are put or altered in a specific way. He uses different types of noises that have similar properties like the high-frequ...

  From the title of the piece, you could get a vague impression of what awaits you. However, I did not think directly of the process of an ionisation when listening to the music. In fact, my first thought was of the sound of a marching band or military music. I really enjoyed the fact that these are all percussion instruments. It was a nice change from the other pieces of music I heard before and after. After listening to Water Walk, this piece sounds more like the kind of music you would consider as classical music, even if it is still very experimental. Although after the first listening, I could not recognize a clear melody. You get a feeling for the rhythm of the piece of music by listening to it several times. It has a different kind of rhythm, not like a band consisting only of string players. I would say this kind of music has a rougher edge than a piece of music only played with strings. A piece that is composed only for stringed bowed instruments feels somehow smoother to ...

  Prof. Dr. Herzogenrath The Future of Avantgarde-Music Blaha, Malte C. Matrikelnummer 7509502   Listening report – Edgar Varese Varese’s idea of “music” or “sound” is unconventional. While some scholars would argue about the absence of western instruments, I would like to argue that Varese actually infuses western music with new life. There is an unconventional use of orchestra and instruments that perceive Varese’s sound as rhythmically instead of melodic. The “Poème électronique (1958) is an illustration of the idea of Varese’s world of sounds and music. While it seems as if there would be an absence of music, one can clearly distinguish the idea of Varese’s music. To me, it sounds like an interaction between question and answer. Sound A moves with a certain speed through space and triggers Sound B, which differs from sound A not only in tone and melody, but in movement, direction, and its correlating speed.   The idea of “sounds” itself stands out, as it...

 Sarah Kumar Dr. Bernd Herzogenrath The Future of (American) Music 05 Mar. 2023   Listening Report on Edgar Varèse’s Ionisation             In Robert Henderson’s article about Edgar Varèse, he states that Varèse himself had said that he “always listened to the sounds” around himself and that he was the “first composer to explore, so to speak, musical outer space, the first to be moved by living sounds and to make music with them” (943). This can be observed in his piece Ionisation which incorporates many different instruments. Even while playing together, they have their own distinctive sound that can be heard clearly. Especially interesting is the naming of the music piece – Ionisation – which refers to the ionization of molecules in physics. Varèse’s idea of sound is that “sound is only an atmospheric disturbance,” and he said that his influence stems from “natural objects and physical phenomena” (“Lectur...