Symphonie pour un homme seul
Encyclopedia
Symphonie pour un homme seul (Symphony for One Man Alone) is a musical composition by Pierre Schaeffer
and Pierre Henry
, composed in 1949–1950. It is an important early example of musique concrète
.
The Symphonie was premiered at a concert on 18 March 1950. Comprising twenty-two movements of music produced using turntable
s and mixers, it was difficult to perform due to technical problems. The number of movements was reduced to 11 for a broadcast in 1951, and then to 12 for the revised 1966 version by Henry. The revised version was used for the Pierre Schaeffer – L'oeuvre musicale recordings. Its movements are as follows:
Schaeffer started developing the idea of a "symphony of noises" (Symphonie de bruits) soon after he established his studio (Studio d'Essai
) at RTF (now ORTF). He sketched ideas for sound materials in his journal. He later described the completed work as "an opera for blind people, a performance without argument, a poem made of noises, bursts of text, spoken or musical." In the 1952 work A la recherche d'une musique concrète he commented thus on the nature of the Symphonie:
Pierre Schaeffer
Pierre Henri Marie Schaeffer was a French composer, writer, broadcaster, engineer, musicologist and acoustician of the 20th century. His innovative work in both the sciences —particularly communications and acoustics— and the various arts of music, literature and radio presentation after the end...
and Pierre Henry
Pierre Henry
Pierre Henry is a French composer, considered a pioneer of the musique concrète genre of electronic music.-Biography:...
, composed in 1949–1950. It is an important early example of musique concrète
Musique concrète
Musique concrète is a form of electroacoustic music that utilises acousmatic sound as a compositional resource. The compositional material is not restricted to the inclusion of sounds derived from musical instruments or voices, nor to elements traditionally thought of as "musical"...
.
The Symphonie was premiered at a concert on 18 March 1950. Comprising twenty-two movements of music produced using turntable
Turntable
A turntable is generally a rotating platform, and may refer to:-Music:* Turntable, a motor-driven platform that normally rotates a gramophone record at a constant rotational velocity as part of a phonograph....
s and mixers, it was difficult to perform due to technical problems. The number of movements was reduced to 11 for a broadcast in 1951, and then to 12 for the revised 1966 version by Henry. The revised version was used for the Pierre Schaeffer – L'oeuvre musicale recordings. Its movements are as follows:
- Prospopée I
- Partita
- Valse
- Erotic
- Scherzo
- Collectif
- Prospopée II
- Eroïca
- Apostrophe
- Intermezzo
- Cadence
- Strette
Schaeffer started developing the idea of a "symphony of noises" (Symphonie de bruits) soon after he established his studio (Studio d'Essai
Studio d'Essai
The Studio d'Essai, later Club d'Essai, was founded in 1942 by Pierre Schaeffer, played a role in the activities of the French resistance during World War II, and later became a center of musical activity....
) at RTF (now ORTF). He sketched ideas for sound materials in his journal. He later described the completed work as "an opera for blind people, a performance without argument, a poem made of noises, bursts of text, spoken or musical." In the 1952 work A la recherche d'une musique concrète he commented thus on the nature of the Symphonie:
The lone man should find his symphony within himself, not only in conceiving the music in abstract, but in being his own instrument. A lone man possesses considerably more than the twelve notes of the pitched voice. He cries, he whistles, he walks, he thumps his fist, he laughs, he groans. His heart beats, his breathing accelerates, he utters words, launches calls and other calls reply to him. Nothing echoes more a solitary cry than the clamour of crowds.