Poème électronique
Encyclopedia
Poème électronique is a piece of electronic music
by composer
Edgard Varèse
, written for the Philips Pavilion
at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair
. The Philips
corporation commissioned Le Corbusier
to design the pavilion, which was intended as a showcase of their engineering progress. Corbusier came up with the title Poème électronique, saying he wanted to create a "poem in a bottle". Varèse composed the piece with the intention of creating a liberation between sounds and as a result uses noises not usually considered "musical" throughout the piece.
, with a narrow entrance and exit on either side of a large central space. As the audience entered and exited the pavilion, Iannis Xenakis
' composition Concrèt PH was heard. Poème électronique was synchronized to a film of black and white photographs selected by Corbusier which touched on vague themes of human existence. Corbusier's original concept called for a pause in the film while his voice was heard, speaking directly to the audience. However, Varèse objected to the idea that Corbusier's voice would be played over his composition, and the idea was abandoned.
The interior of the pavilion was also lit by a constantly changing pattern of colored lights, and in addition to the film, three separate projectors showed additional still photos on the walls.
scheme which was synchronized to the film. Prefiguring the acousmonium
style of sound projection, hundreds of speakers were controlled by sound projectionists with a series of rotary telephone dials. Each dial could turn on five speakers at a time out of a bank of 12. Many estimates of the pavilion's sound system go as high as 450 speakers, but based on the limitations of the switching system and the number of projectionists used, an estimate of 350 seems more reasonable. The speakers were fixed to the interior walls of the pavilion, which were then coated in asbestos. The resulting appearance was of a series of bumps. The asbestos hardened the walls, creating a cavernous acoustic space.
The spatialization scheme exploited the unique physical layout of the pavilion. The speakers stretched up to the apex of Corbusier's points, and Varèse made great use of the possibilities, sending the sound up and down the walls.
The sequence of sounds in Varèse's composition:
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
by composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Varèse
Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse, , whose name was also spelled Edgar Varèse , was an innovative French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States....
, written for the Philips Pavilion
Philips Pavilion
The Philips Pavilion was a World's Fair pavilion designed for Expo '58 in Brussels by the office of Le Corbusier. Commissioned by Philips, an electronics company based in the Netherlands, the pavilion was designed to house a multimedia spectacle that celebrated postwar technological progress...
at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair
Expo '58
Expo 58, also known as the Brussels World’s Fair, Brusselse Wereldtentoonstelling or Exposition Universelle et Internationale de Bruxelles, was held from 17 April to 19 October 1958...
. The Philips
Philips
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , more commonly known as Philips, is a multinational Dutch electronics company....
corporation commissioned Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
to design the pavilion, which was intended as a showcase of their engineering progress. Corbusier came up with the title Poème électronique, saying he wanted to create a "poem in a bottle". Varèse composed the piece with the intention of creating a liberation between sounds and as a result uses noises not usually considered "musical" throughout the piece.
Original performance
The pavilion was shaped like a stomachStomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
, with a narrow entrance and exit on either side of a large central space. As the audience entered and exited the pavilion, Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis
Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...
' composition Concrèt PH was heard. Poème électronique was synchronized to a film of black and white photographs selected by Corbusier which touched on vague themes of human existence. Corbusier's original concept called for a pause in the film while his voice was heard, speaking directly to the audience. However, Varèse objected to the idea that Corbusier's voice would be played over his composition, and the idea was abandoned.
The interior of the pavilion was also lit by a constantly changing pattern of colored lights, and in addition to the film, three separate projectors showed additional still photos on the walls.
Spatialization
Varèse designed a very complex spatializationSpatial music
Spatial music, music in space, or space music uses the localization of sounds in physical space as a compositional element in music, in sound art, and in sound editing for audio recordings, film, and video...
scheme which was synchronized to the film. Prefiguring the acousmonium
Acousmonium
The Acousmonium is the sound diffusion system designed in 1974 by Francois Bayle and used originally by the Groupe de Recherches Musicales at the Maison de Radio France. It consists of 80 loudspeakers of differing size and shape, and was designed for tape playback...
style of sound projection, hundreds of speakers were controlled by sound projectionists with a series of rotary telephone dials. Each dial could turn on five speakers at a time out of a bank of 12. Many estimates of the pavilion's sound system go as high as 450 speakers, but based on the limitations of the switching system and the number of projectionists used, an estimate of 350 seems more reasonable. The speakers were fixed to the interior walls of the pavilion, which were then coated in asbestos. The resulting appearance was of a series of bumps. The asbestos hardened the walls, creating a cavernous acoustic space.
The spatialization scheme exploited the unique physical layout of the pavilion. The speakers stretched up to the apex of Corbusier's points, and Varèse made great use of the possibilities, sending the sound up and down the walls.
Recording
The piece was originally recorded on three separate mono tapes, two of which were in turn recorded onto a stereo tape with panning effects. The stereo tape and the remaining mono tape were finally combined onto 35-mm perforated tape in order to synchronize the tape with the film and lighting changes.Sequence of events
The images in Corbusier's film are all black and white still photographs and willfully abstract. The first image is a bull's head in a spotlight. The final image is a woman holding an infant. Corbusier assigned thematic sections to the film:| 0 - 60" | Genesis |
| 61 - 120" | Spirit and Matter |
| 121 - 204" | From Darkness to Dawn |
| 205 - 240" | Man-Made Gods |
| 241 - 300" | How Time Moulds Civilization |
| 301 - 360" | Harmony |
| 361 - 480" | To All Mankind |
The sequence of sounds in Varèse's composition:
| 0" | 1. | a. | Low bell tolls. "Wood blocks." Sirens. Fast taps lead to high, piercing sounds. 2-second pause. |
| 43" | b. | "Bongo" tones and higher grating noises. Sirens. Short "squawks." Three-tone group stated three times. | |
| 1'11" | c. | Low sustained tones with grating noises. Sirens. Short "squawks." Three-tone group. 2-second pause. | |
| 1'40" | d. | Short "squawks." High "chirps." Variety of "shots," "honks," "machine noises." Sirens. Taps lead to | |
| 2'36" | 2. | a. | Low bell tolls. Sustained electronic tones. Repeated "bongo" tones. High and sustained electronic tones. Low tone, crescendo. Rhythmic noises lead to |
| 3'41" | b. | Voice, "Oh-gah." 4-second pause. Voice continues softly. | |
| 4'17" | c. | Suddenly loud. Rhythmic percussive sounds joined by voice. Low "animal noises," scraping, shuffling, hollow vocal sounds. Decrescendo into 7-second pause. | |
| 5'47" | d. | Sustained electronic tones, crescendo and decrecendo. Rhythmic percussive sounds. Higher sustained electronic tones, crescendo. "Airplane rumble," "chimes," jangling. | |
| 6'47" | e. | Female voice. Male chorus. Electronic noises, organ. High taps. Swooping organ sound. Three-note group stated twice. Rumble, sirens, crescendo (8 minutes and 5 seconds)." |