Electroacoustic Music - (Contributions to the Study of Music and Dance) by Thomas Licata (Hardcover)

About the Book

Electroacoustic music, a flourishing medium for over half a century, remains today, in a wide array of technological forms, one of the major areas of creative activity in music. However, it has long been overlooked in theoretical studies--possibly in part because it does away with traditional scores and notation. In this landmark collection, a group of distinguished composers and theorists who have actively worked in the field present detailed analyses of important electroacoustic works while also demonstrating some recent approaches to the analysis of the music of this medium. Included here are discussions of such significant works as Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge (1955/56), Iannis Xenakis' Diamorphoses (1957), and Jean-Claude Risset's Contours (1982). Overall, the collection aims to elucidate the sonic design of each of the electroacoustic music works under investigation, using its best examples as a lens through which to examine an unduly neglected genre.

Demonstrating recent techniques in the analysis of electroacoustic music, the volume also considers various compositional approaches as well as computer applications that have become an irreplaceable tool in the composing of this music. So little has been written about this 20th-century art form that Electroacoustic Music: Analytical Perspectives is at once a fresh, bold step forward in musicology and analysis.

Book Synopsis

Electroacoustic music, a flourishing medium for over half a century, remains today, in a wide array of technological forms, one of the major areas of creative activity in music. However, it has long been overlooked in theoretical studies--possibly in part because it does away with traditional scores and notation. In this landmark collection, a group of distinguished composers and theorists who have actively worked in the field present detailed analyses of important electroacoustic works while also demonstrating some recent approaches to the analysis of the music of this medium. Included here are discussions of such significant works as Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gesang der Jünglinge (1955/56), Iannis Xenakis' Diamorphoses (1957), and Jean-Claude Risset's Contours (1982). Overall, the collection aims to elucidate the sonic design of each of the electroacoustic music works under investigation, using its best examples as a lens through which to examine an unduly neglected genre.

Demonstrating recent techniques in the analysis of electroacoustic music, the volume also considers various compositional approaches as well as computer applications that have become an irreplaceable tool in the composing of this music. So little has been written about this 20th-century art form that Electroacoustic Music: Analytical Perspectives is at once a fresh, bold step forward in musicology and analysis.

Review Quotes

"Of late, Greenwood Press has been publishing a number of interesting books....including the present and very compelling volume on electroacoustic music....The book is aimed at an audience of both professionals and students, with some essays accessible by undergraduates and others requiring a highly technical background....All of the essays in this volume are quite valuable....[A]nalysts, composers and instructors have a powerful new set of essays to work with as the slow work continues towards developing a critical literature about electroacoustic music."-Perspectives of New Music

"The essays in this book reflect a broad range of analytical approaches. This methodological heterogenity, and the solidness of each and every one of the essays, may very well come to distinguish this book as a milestone in scholarly research on contemporary music...[I]t is refreshing to come across a book that so nicely balances the language and technical expectations of music analysis with the composition-theoretical imperatives of the music considered. I would hope that this volume energizes further efforts along these lines."-Computer Music Journal

?[a] welcome addition to electroacoustic serial studies.?-Journal of the Music Library Association

?Of late, Greenwood Press has been publishing a number of interesting books....including the present and very compelling volume on electroacoustic music....The book is aimed at an audience of both professionals and students, with some essays accessible by undergraduates and others requiring a highly technical background....All of the essays in this volume are quite valuable....[A]nalysts, composers and instructors have a powerful new set of essays to work with as the slow work continues towards developing a critical literature about electroacoustic music.?-Perspectives of New Music

?The essays in this book reflect a broad range of analytical approaches. This methodological heterogenity, and the solidness of each and every one of the essays, may very well come to distinguish this book as a milestone in scholarly research on contemporary music...[I]t is refreshing to come across a book that so nicely balances the language and technical expectations of music analysis with the composition-theoretical imperatives of the music considered. I would hope that this volume energizes further efforts along these lines.?-Computer Music Journal

"Ýa¨ welcome addition to electroacoustic serial studies."-Journal of the Music Library Association

"[a] welcome addition to electroacoustic serial studies."-Journal of the Music Library Association

About the Author

THOMAS LICATA is Assistant Professor of Music at Hartwick College in New York where he coordinates the composition, music theory, and computer programs.