Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2pzkn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-11T18:31:49.668Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Soundscape Elements in the Music of Denis Smalley: negotiating the abstract and the mimetic

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 February 2011

James O'Callaghan
James O'Callaghan*
Affiliation:
202–1620 E Pender St, V5L 1W3, Vancouver, BC, Canada
*
Email: jamesocallaghan3@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examines the use of soundscape elements and mimetic sound-identities in the music of Denis Smalley. It attempts to reconcile these elements with the acousmatic tradition from which his music emerges, illustrating that it does not represent a contradiction, but rather a refined aesthetic where spectromorphological and soundscape concerns relate in symbiosis. A close look at key works, including Empty Vessels (1997), Valley Flow (1992) and Pentes (1974), reveals how these elements manifest themselves in his work, and how the spectromorphological and soundscape aspects of these pieces work together toward shared goals.

Type
Articles
Information
Organised Sound , Volume 16 , Issue 1: Denis Smalley: his influence on the theory and practice of electroacoustic music , April 2011 , pp. 54 - 62
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Atkinson, S. 2007. Interpretation and Musical Signification in Acousmatic Listening. Organised Sound 12(2): 113–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basanta, A. 2010. Syntax as Sign: The Use of Ecological Models within a Semiotic Approach to Electroacoustic Composition. Organised Sound 15(2): 126–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Camilleri, L., Smalley, D. 1998. The Analysis of Electroacoustic Music: Introduction. Journal of New Music Research 27(1): 3–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chion, M. 1993. The State of Musique Concrète. Music, Society and Imagination. Contemporary Music Review 8(1): 51–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drever, J. 2002. Soundscape Composition: The Convergence of Ethnography and Acousmatic Music. Organised Sound 7(1): 21–27.Google Scholar
Emmerson, S. 1986. The Relation of Language to Materials. In S. Emmerson (ed.) The Language of Electroacoustic Music. New York: Harwood Academic.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Landy, L. 2006. The Intention/Reception Project. In M. Simoni (ed.) Analytical Methods of Electroacoustic Music. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
López, F. 2000. Schizophonia vs. L’ objet Sonore: Soundscape and Artistic Freedom. www.franciscolopez.net/schizo.html (accessed 29 May 2010).Google Scholar
McCartney, A. 2002. Alien Intimacies: Hearing Science Fiction Narratives in Hildegard Westerkamp's Cricket Voice. Organised Sound 7(1): 45–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Normandeau, R. 2010. Spectromorphology of Denis Smalley. In E. Gayou (ed.) Denis Smalley: Polychrome Portraits. Paris: Institut national de l'audiovisuel.Google Scholar
Saariaho, K. 1987. Timbre and Harmony: Interpolations of Timbral Structures. Contemporary Music Review 2(1): 93–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schafer, R. M. 1977. The Tuning of the World. Philadelphia, PA: University of Philadelphia Press.Google Scholar
Smalley, D. 1986. Spectro-Morphology and Structuring Processes. In S. Emmerson (ed.) The Language of Electroacoustic Music. New York: Harwood Academic.Google Scholar
Smalley, D. 1992. Impacts intérieurs. CD liner notes. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IME–9209-CD.Google Scholar
Smalley, D. 1996. The Listening Imagination: Listening in the Electroacoustic era. Contemporary Music Review 13(2): 77–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smalley, D. 1997. Spectromorphology: Explaining Sound-Shapes. Organised Sound 2(2): 107–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smalley, D. 2000. Sources/Scènes. CD liner notes. Empreintes Digitales: IMED 0054.Google Scholar
Smalley, D. 2007. Space-Form and the Acousmatic Image. Organised Sound 12(1): 35–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smalley, D. 2009. Interview with Denis Smalley. In E. Gayou (ed.) Denis Smalley: Polychrome Portraits. Paris: Institut national de l'audiovisuel. 2010.Google Scholar
Smalley, D. 2010. Spectromorphology in 2010. In E. Gayou (ed.) Denis Smalley: Polychrome Portraits. Paris: Institut national de l'audiovisuel.Google Scholar
Truax, B. 1994. The Inner and Outer Complexity of Music. Perspectives of New Music 32(1): 176–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truax, B. 2001. Acoustic Communication. Westport, CT: Ablex Publishing.Google Scholar
Truax, B. 2002. Genres and Techniques of Soundscape Composition as developed at Simon Fraser University. Organised Sound 7(1): 5–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truax, B. 2008. Soundscape Composition as Global Music: Electroacoustic Music as Soundscape. Organised Sound 13(2): 103–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Windsor, L. 2000. Through and Around the Acousmatic: The Interpretation of Electroacoustic Sounds. In S. Emmerson (ed.) Music, Electronic Media, and Culture. Aldershot: Ashgate.Google Scholar
Wishart, T. 1996. On Sonic Art. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

DISCOGRAPHY

Smalley, Denis. 1981. The Pulses of Time (1978). On The Pulses of Time. Norwich: UEA Recordings, UEA 81063.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 1992. Valley Flow (1991–92). On Impacts intérieurs. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IME-9209-CD.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 1992. Wind Chimes (1987). On Impacts intérieurs. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IME-9209-CD.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 1993. Vortex (1982). On Tides. New Zealand: Ode Records. CD MANU 1433.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 2000. Empty Vessels (1997). On Sources/Scènes. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IMED 0054.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 2000. Pentes (1974). On Sources/Scènes. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IMED 0054.Google Scholar
Smalley, Denis. 2000. Tides (1984). On Sources/Scènes. Montreal: Empreintes Digitales: IMED 0054.Google Scholar