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James Harley

“From Trains to Plains: An Historical-Critical Consideration of Soundscape Composition”

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From Trains to Plains: An historical-critical consideration of soundscape

composition

James Harley

According to esteemed electroacoustic composer Barry Truax, “soundscape composition” is understood as “a form ofelectroacoustic music characterized by the presence of recognizable environmental sounds and contexts, the purpose

 being to invoe the listener!s associations, memories, and imagination related to the soundscape” "Truax, n#d#$# Theintent of this paper is to problematize the central concepts of this definition%“environmental” and “electroacoustic”% 

&ithin an historical examination of the use of “real'&orld” sounds in music composition#The incorporation of environmental sounds into electronic music composition &as strongly underscored right at the

 beginning of musique concrete, &ith (ierre )chaeffer!s Étude aux chemins de fer  "*+-$# .sing the limited recordingand studio technology available, train sounds &ere recorded, manipulated and shaped into a formal musical structure#

/ne cannot help noting the mared difference of this &or from the others of the set, Cinq etudes de bruits, in its intentto guide the listener outside the studio to location sounds that could have been recorded no&here else but &here they

originated0 in this case, a train station# The choice of train sounds underscores a strong connection to one of the earliest"and most influential, historically$ films, L`arrivee d`un train à la Ciotat , by Auguste and 1ouis 1umi2re, from *-+3#4hile this etude by )chaeffer has been extremely influential, there &ere precendents for the use of recorded and real'

&orld sounds that are &orth pointing out for historical record# 5xperimental film'maer 4alter 6uttman producedWochende in *+78# This &or &as billed as “an experimental film &ith sound only, no image#” This soundtrac

 presents aural recordings of life in Berlin0 trains, traffic, etc# 5arlier, in *+9:, 6uttman had created a silent film of lifein Berlin, &hich he gave the musical title of Die Sinfonie der Großstadt # 1ie Wochende, this &or &as less adocumentary than a collage, presenting fragments of life in the city, organized in an abstract, musical fashion rather

than follo&ing a more conventional narrative structure#(rior to the advent of audiovisual technology, the Intonarumori orchestra of noise'instruments produced as aconse;uent of 1uigi 6ussolo!s eorge Antheil " $allet m%canique, *+93, for pianos, percussion, and airplane engine, andintended to accompany an experimental film by Grard >risey incorporates pulsar signals transmitted from outer space into his percussion ensemble &or Le "oir de l.Étoile "*++8$#The term “soundscape” &as first coined by 6# urray )chafer in *+C+ &ithin the context of his “4orld )oundscape(ro@ect” at )imon

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much focused attention as they &ould listen to a piece of music being performed in a concert hall# The practice ofsound&al has been important to the compositional practice of Hildegard 4esteramp and Andra cartney, among

others# urray )chafer himself has gone on to create acoustic compositions "primarily his #atria cycle$ intended for performance in the &ilderness0 in a forest, around a lae, etc# The music is designed to include the environmental

sounds along &ith singers and instrumentalists# #rincess of the Stars , for example, is set on a lae and begins beforeda&n the &aing of the birds @ust prior to the sun coming up is part of the compositional intent#

/ne of the first explicit “soundscape” electroacoustic compositions &as #resque rien& "o+ 8 "*+:8$ by 1uc