After the Second World War - Electronic Music

Edwin Roxburgh - At the Still Point of the Turning World (1976) - I found this a very strange piece to listen to, although the mix of a traditional oboe and electronic effects was intriguing. The piece is lacking in tonality, although I did hear variation in dynamics and texture. I thought the delay effect created an interesting cacophony and I enjoyed trying to listen for the instrument, and then follow its echoes through the delay system.

Luigi Nono - Sofferte onde Serene (1976) - According to the course literature, this piece was inspired by the sounds of Venice. Having visited the city twice before, I was looking forward to seeing whether I could interpret this image of water and bells. Disappointingly I wasn't able to conjure that intention into my mind. It is not so easy in this work to differentiate between the live instrument and the recorded sound. Similar to the Roxburgh it has no tonality, and has great divides dynamically and texturally.

Kajia Saariaho - Noa Noa (1992) - In a lot of ways, this was similar to other contemporary solo flute pieces I have previously heard. There is much use of contemporary playing techniques, with trills, multiphonics and pitch bends all readily audible. Saariaho also placed demands on the performer to whisper words while playing. The electronics play an important supporting role, and are used in a multitude of different ways. I heard the electronics provide a whispering voice, instrumentals, a 'breathy' effect, metallic sounds and ambient sounds. This, combined with the voice and special effects of the flautist provides a very surreal atmosphere. The electronics in this piece were used in a very different way to the two previous pieces. I particularly enjoyed the variation of effects it offered here.

My Response

Listening to all three pieces rather than just the one required allowed me to compare three different composers' use of electronics in their music. I found that each used it in distinctive and diverse ways, from the multitude of effects in the Saariaho, to the persistent delay effect in the Roxburgh, through to the less obvious effects in Nono's piece.

I found the electronic's in these pieces greatly enhanced the atmosphere of the music, and provided an extra layer of intrigue and mystery. In each of these pieces, the electronics played a supporting role to the solo 'traditional' instrument, with greater or lesser influence on the sound depending on the composer's intentions at that particular moment in time.

The nature of the electronic sound differs according to the composer and the section of music being played at the time. For example, Roxburgh uses delay effect which gives a much broader and substantial texture to the overall sound. Conversely, Saariaho makes use of a variety of sound effects and recorded fragments, much of which isn't a flute. Nono's use of the live piano interacting with a recorded piano gives expanded nuance to the work, but it's subtlety makes the effect much more difficult to distinguish from the live instrument.