Poème électronique

Poème électronique (English Translation: "Electronic Poem") is a piece of electronic music

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, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...

 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....

. 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. It was 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. The principal designer was Iannis Xenakis, who was also an experimental composer....

 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...

.

Poème électronique (English Translation: "Electronic Poem") is a piece of electronic music

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, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...

 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....

. 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. It was 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. The principal designer was Iannis Xenakis, who was also an experimental composer....

 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 performance

For the performance, 425 loudspeakers, placed at specific points in Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris, who chose to be known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and also painter, who is famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called Modern architecture or the International Style...

's Philips Pavilion were triggered to sound at specific intervals (as a result, the performance never sounded exactly the same in any specific location).

Scoring

Tape Studio

(8 minutes, 5 seconds)

0 s	1.	a.	Low bell tolls. "Wood blocks." Sirens. Fast taps lead to high, piercing sounds. 2-second pause.
43 s		b.	"Bongo" tones and higher grating noises. Sirens. Short "squawks." Three-tone group stated three times.
1 min 11 s		c.	Low sustained tones with grating noises. Sirens. Short "squawks." Three-tone group. 2-second pause.
1 min 40 s		d.	Short "squawks." High "chirps." Variety of "shots," "honks," "machine noises." Sirens. Taps lead to
2 min 36 s	2.	a.	Low bell tolls. Sustained electronic tones. Repeated "bongo" tones. High and sustained electronic tones. Low tone, crescendo. Rhythmic noises lead to
3 min 41 s		b.	Voice, "Oh-gah." 4-second pause. Voice continues softly.
4 min 17 s		c.	Suddenly loud. Rhythmic percussive sounds joined by voice. Low "animal noises," scraping, shuffling, hollow vocal sounds. Decrescendo into 7-second pause.
5 min 47 s		d.	Sustained electronic tones, crescendo and decrecendo. Rhythmic percussive sounds. Higher sustained electronic tones, crescendo. "Airplane rumble," "chimes," jangling.
6 min 47 s		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)."

External links

• Philips Pavilion

Listen to Poème électronique (Audio File)


Watch video of Poème électronique

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1AT8rI_A8M

Watch video of Poeme Electronique perform

• http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rzxQ3itf-FE&feature=channel_page