Recording of James Dashow's Partial Distances. It is the last purely analog electronic work Dashow composed. There are a few sounds in this piece generated by computer but significantly transformed and altered by analog techniques of one kind or another, such as dynamic filtering, delay line processing, extreme velocity manipulations, etc. The piece was made by the old tape cut and splice method, mixing and re-mixing pairs of ReVoxes onto a third one, and avoiding tape hiss with the newly invented dbx noise reduction box. The piece is in 4 sections, the first two blending smoothly into each other, and these are separated from the fourth by the giant multi-voiced "ostinato" movement that builds to the work's climax. The sounds are constructed from series of partials whose distances between each other vary from harmonic to inharmonic and are subsequently combined in a variety of ways. The title refers to distances between musical ideas and/or variants of the same idea, distances which are never extended, long, full or complete, despite what we say or do, but, like distances between people, only partial.

Recording of Joseph Dorfman's Vague de Temps. The basic material on which it is constructed was taken from an earlier composition of the same year, the Ballet music Boutade. It is a concertante work recorded on tape, the dynamics being pre-set by the coimposer, built-in in the taped performance and not to be changed. There are six sections, played without a break. The form of the work, as divided into these six sections is A-B-C-D-C-E. The fourth section D under the title "Sacrifice", is the culmination of the work and also its longest part, lasting 9 minutes. The last section E is constructed from variants of elements in sections A, B, and D. The sections of the work are: Dreams, Struggle, Joy, Sacrifice, Dance, Return. The sound material from the following sources is used: Material concrete, processing of the material concrete, sound material produced by the electroacoustic equipment. Electroacoustic equipment used for the composition: oscillators, voltage, controlled amplifier, envelope generator, envelope follower, dual trigger delay, ring modulator, variable speed, sequencer, filter bank.

Recording of David Keane's In Memoriam: Hugh le Caine. Hugh le Caine (born in 1914) died in the summer of 1977 after a life devoted to the world of music. He is perhaps best known for his inventions in the field of electronic music such as touch keyboards, spectograms, serial structure generator, multiplier (play-back equipment), polyphone. He is also important for his works, his assistance in establishing the first electronic music studios in Canada (at the University of Toronto in 1959 and at McGill University in 1964) and certainly for his vast knowledge in many disciplines and his generosity to share this knowledge, accompanied by encouragement, with the many composers who were in contact with him. "In Memoriam: Hugh le Caine" is dedicated in recognition by a composer indebted to Doctor le Caine. This work is derived from two extracts of "Dripsody" from le Caine (1955).

Recording of Vladan Radovanović's Audiospacial. In its original form the work envisages a performance space including concert hall, communicating spaces on the same level, and possibly rooms above and below the hall. Both the electronic sounds and treated as sometimes mobile, sometimes stationary sound sources. The choir is required to move about the performance space according to trajectories coordinated with the time evolution of the score. A version for tape alone (and the corresponding score) has also been made. The electronic materiel is built up of sounds which range from autochthonous to quasi-simulation of instruments and voices. On the other hand, the vocal materiel sometimes tends towards an electronic sound. The electronic part was realized by a combination of two procedures. For some sections the score was designed for "instruments" which had already been defined, and was then strictly realized. Other sections were improvised, using the sequencer's digital memory to store the control data, which were subsequently copied into the score. While the openness of the electronic part has been closed by definitive choice of the sound events and their recording on tape, the choir part, in live performance, remains open in some places, where it is left to the …

Recording of Francis Dhomont's Mais laisserons-nous mourir, Arianna ? Several polemics imply and articulate the piece. 1) Opposition, between two types of time: "excessive time" (very rich in information, exploding in groups and cells of discrete micro-elements), and "fixed time" (slow and continuous changing frames) 2) Contrasts between mobility "in flight of a fly" (in the range, dynamics, etc.) of the fixed zones with respect to each other - dazzling paths, fractures of the continuum - and the permanence of the voice (the one whose origin remains unequivocal) 3) Dialectic between the increasing precipitation of disruptive events (until the bursting to the 11th minute) and their rapid disappearance to the coda, a kind of anamorphic recovery/response of the slow progression that preceded. 4) Finally, conflict (mortal?) between this "Arianna" which evokes, one suspects, another "lamento" confused with a famous "lasciatemi morire" and the relentless proliferation of an entomological universe. As for the swallowing of the song and its complaint, it is up to everyone to create their own interpretation. Dedicated to Marthe Forget.

Recording of Roger Reynolds's ...the serpent-snapping eye. “…the serpent-snapping eye” is for trumpet, percussion, piano and 4-channel sound. It explores the ways in which instrumental sonority can be watched by and blend with synthesized sound. All of the synthesized sounds belong to one of 3 classes of timbres. Each class, in turn, is based on a particular aspect of trumpet sonority, both as it appears to the ear and as it is revealed by the spectral analysis. The Stanford Digital Synthesizer allowed the use of multiple complex frequency modulation instruments simultaneously so that each of 4 channels could be programmed to receive information of distinct frequency content, envelope shaping and temporal character. This sound material was subsequently made to move spatially, producing a situation in which one was physically inside a unitary, composite sound the individual components of which moved. The shape of each instrumental phrase in “…the serpent-snapping eye” parallels one of 3 models used to control the temporal structure of the synthesized sounds. Thus, the models for the electronic sounds find a second, more flexible expression in the activity of the live performers. There is, I hope, at every level, an evident concern for matching and conformation of …

Recording of Åke Parmerud's Närheter. The title of the piece is a plural form of the word "closeness," which is rather untranslatable. The piece is a text-sound-composition, and was commissioned by the Swedish Radio. A large part of the piece is inspired by various sleep and dream manifestations. The text was written by the Swedish author Ella Hillbäck. Throughout the piece, even without knowing the meaning of the words, I believe one can feel the different "scenes" taking place. The first part of the piece is sort of an "ultimate story of creation,” at the same time implying the first phase of sleeping in a state of half consciousness. The following part of the piece is "a vision of a declining culture,” looked upon from a series of different angles. The end of this piece is built on the Swedish word for dance, which keeps falling apart. This second part also reflects the state of deep sleep where each dream becomes a part of the "collective" dream consisting of different scenes and different levels of "reality.” These "scenes and levels" are in an extrapolated sense, taking place and existing simultaneously at the same place and the same time. The level …

Recording of Iván Patachich's Metamorfosis per marimbafono e magnetofon. This work belongs to the family of live electroacoustic music, i.e. a live instrumental play with pre-recorded accompaniment on tape. The work consists of 3 levels (parts one and two are for marimba and the third is the electronic part). One of the parts for marimba is recorded on tape. The electronic transformations of this recording were made afterward. Finally, the original recording and its transformations were mixed to make the band. In concert, the other part for marimba is played simultaneously with the tape. The work consists of 5 parts. In each of the parts the electronic transformations are: the change of frequency, the control of the height by amplitude (envelope follower, envelope generator), feedback, modulation in rings, filtering, and the triggering of sounds beyond a volume threshold. The pre-recorded recording was originally quadraphonic. The rhythm of the composition is free with an exception to the third part which has a measure of 5/8. Work performed at the Electronic Music Studio of Radio Magyar Budapest with the participation of sound engineer Peter Winkler. The marimba part is played by Gabor Kosa.

Recording of Hildegard Westerkamp's Fantasie for Horns I. The sound sources for this piece are taken from the acoustic environment. They are: Canadian trainhorns, foghorns from both the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of Canada, factory and boathorns from Vancouver and surroundings-horns that Canadians hear in daily life. Additional sound sources are an alphorn and a creek. Listening to the various horns in the collection intrigues the listener because of the way their sounds are shaped and modulated by the surrounding landscape. Some horns echo only once, others many times, their sounds slowly fading into the distance. One foghorn has an echo that is an octave lower than the actual sound, another is an octave higher. A trainhorn's echo is half a tone lower as the train approaches, but the same pitch as it passes. Each horn acquires its unique sound from the landscape it inhabits. This strong interaction between these sounds and their environment gave the inspiration to work with this material. Horn sounds are interesting for another reason: they rise above any ambience, even that of large cities. They are soundmarks that give a place its character and give, often subliminally, a "sense of place." Fantasie for Horns I …

Recording of Luigi Ceccarelli's "Abominable A" for magnetic tape. The piece includes the voices of Kadigia Bove, Francesca Furlanetto, Eugenio Giordani, Luciano Martinis, Michela Mollia, Achille Perilli, Marina Poggi, Enrico Pulsoni, Giovanni Puma, Kerstin Riemer, Claudio Rufa, Stefano Scodanibbio, Gaetano Trusso, and Catherine Verwilgen. The piece contains a recitation of all the words in the Italian vocabulary that begin with the letter A, read in sequence from voices with different stamps, rhythms, and intonations. To these are added other sequences in French, German, and English. The work is divided into fifteen sections, each of which has a different criterion for processing the timbre, rhythm, and space. It was realized at the Electronic Laboratory for Experimental Music at the Conservatory "G. Rossini" in Pesaro from 1978 to 1980.

Recording of Joseph Dorfman's Vagues de temps. “Waves of Time” was written in 1973. The basic material on which it is constructed was taken from an earlier composition of the same year, the ballet music Boutade. It is a concertante work recorded on tape, the dynamics beings pre-set by the composer, built-in in the taped performance and not to be changed. There are six sections, played without a break. The form of the work, as divided into these six sections is A-B-C-D-C-E. The fourth section D under the title “Sacrifice.” Is the culmination of the work and also its longest part, lasting 9 minutes. The last section E is constructed from variants of elements in sections A, B, and C. The sections of the work are: -Dreams -Struggle -Joy -Sacrifice -Dance -Return The sound material from the following three sources is being used: 1. Material concrete, i.e. sounds recorded in their pure natural state. 2. Processing of these ‘raw’ sounds in the electronic studio using an electroacoustic equipment. 3. Sound material produced by the electroacoustic equipment. Recording and processing the original material is followed by mixing, construction of parts, working out variants and examination and selection of results for the …

Recording of Barry Truax's Androgyny, a spatial environment with four computer-synthesized soundtracks. The sound construction is based on ideas about an acoustic polarity, namely "harmonic" and "inharmonic," or alternatively, "consonance" and "dissonance." These concepts are not opposed, but instead, are related in ways that show that a continuum exists between them, such as in the middle of the piece when harmonic timbres slowly "pull apart" and become increasingly dissonant at the peak intensity of the work. At that point a deep harmonic 60 Hz drone enters, similar to the opening section, but now reinforced an octave lower, and leads the piece through to a peaceful conclusion. High above the drone are heard inharmonic bell-like timbres which are tuned to the same fundamental pitch as the harmonic drone, a technique used throughout the work with deeper bells. The work is designed to sound different spatially when heard on headphones. Through the use of small binaural time delays, instead of intensity differences, the sounds are localized outside the head when heard through headphones. Various spatial movements can also be detected, such as the circular movement of the drones in the last section of the piece. The work was realized with the composer's …

Recording of Vladan Radovanović's Audiospacial. The electronic material of the piece consists of real or quasi-simulated vocal or instrumental sounds. The vocal material, on the other hand, sometimes tends towards the electronic sound. The electronic part was realized by combining the two processes. For some sections, the score was established and carried out strictly. Others were improvised using the digital memory of the sequencer. If the electronic part is frozen by the choice of the sound events and their recording, the part reserved for the choir remains open in some zones because the interpreters can decide the rhythm and the height. In its original form, the work envisages a performance space including concert hall, communicating spaces on the same level, and possibly rooms above and below the hall. Both the electronic sounds are treated as sometimes mobile, sometimes stationary sound sources. The choir is required to move about the performance space according to trajectories coordinated with the time evolution of the score. A version for tape alone (and the corresponding score) has also been made. The electronic material is built up of sounds that range from autochthonous to quasi-simulation of instruments and voices. On the other hand, the vocal material …