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Rating: United States, 1967: the principle of sound synthesis through frequency modulation is discovered, a relatively simple way to create and control sound timbre in the laboratory instead of with musical instruments. The author of this discovery was the American John Chowning, a particular figure of a composer and scientist-musician.
In this CD, we find four of his compositions: the first, "Sabelithe", dating back to 1966; two from the following decade, "Turenas" and "Stria" (1972 and 1977); the last, "Phoné", developed in the biennium 1980-81. Four important testimonies of the birth and development of computer music, to which even the world of rock and popular music, in general, owes much (Yamaha acquired the patent for sound synthesis and developed a line of digital synthesizers with Chowning, leading to the famous DX7).
Listening to "Sabelithe" takes us back to the pioneering phases of digital electronic music. A piece constructed almost entirely on impulses that follow one another at ever-increasing and swirling speeds, creating results that seem percussive, in a complex interplay of rhythmic figurations. It must be said that one of the greatest entertainments for electronic music researchers was to create synthetic timbres resembling those of traditional instruments... it's the concept of mimesis, art imitating nature: a tale as old as time.
In this regard, "Turenas" is a piece constructed on two main ideas: the movement of sound in a quadraphonic space, and the simulation of instrumental timbres through the newly invented synthesis algorithm. This piece is more varied and articulated than the previous one, featuring a combination of short, sharp impulses and more sustained sound bands. The title is nothing but an anagram of nature's: music made according to nature.
As for "Stria", one of the most famous pieces of "historic" electronic music, a quick mention of the compositional technique is necessary: Chowning constructs a system of pitches (the frequencies of sounds) based on the concept of the golden section, which is the numerical ratio 1:1.618 (instead of the classic 1:2, where if a sound has a given frequency, an octave interval is double that frequency). This results in eight pseudo-octaves, each divided into nine semitones and arranged three above and five below a reference frequency of 1000 hertz; the sound blocks thus obtained are distributed over time in a gradual descent and then ascent (like the shape of a v) over the 17-minute duration.
And to think that upon listening, "Stria" is much less complicated than the explanation, being entirely based on long sound bands of singular luminosity (as the high frequencies prevail) and without even a single impulse throughout the piece. A continuum as fascinating as it is pleasant to listen to. "Phoné", on the other hand, composed last compared to the other pieces, plays from the title on the relationship between sound/voice and contrasts percussive sounds with vocal sounds (all synthesized, of course). A reflective work, featuring pauses and a more subdued tone compared to the fullness of sound in the previous pieces.
In short, electronic music enthusiasts and those interested in its historical evolution should be on alert: with these pieces, John Chowning has laid down a winning hand.
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