The Liberation of Sound: An Introduction to Electronic Music

Prentice Hall [Published date: 1972]. Hard cover, 315 pp. Includes an 8 page section black and white illustrations. [From jacket flaps] Ping, pluck, THUD, the hum of the airport, whir of the turnstile, scream of the universe ...ELECTRONIC SOUND. Electronic wasn't even in the dictionary until 1940, and the tape recorder and magnetic tape weren't developed until the 50s. In its current forms, electronic music is essentially a product of post-World War II society, yet the roots of what has been called the New Music extend back more than a century. The Liberation of Sound is the first book about electronic music that is intended for laymen as well as professional musicians and electronic enthusiasts. With insight and skill, Herbert Russcol traces the growth of this new music - from the cautious yet revolutionary departures from strict tonality in the nineteenth century to the mind-bending experiments with sound today. In detailing the context within which the New Music has developed, Russcol discusses the nature of sound and analyzes the dreams and techniques that have led to its liberation. Of particular interest is the far-reaching work being done with electronic sound and computer-produced composition at Bell Laboratories. As a result of this kind of work, composers now have available to them for the first time the entire spectrum of sound and the technology of the electronic age. What emerges is a music that is still controversial - thought of by some as cold and mechanical, by others as reflecting the ambiguities and complexities of modern life more eloquently than any other art form. Drawing on history and sociology, Russcol focuses on men and events - the partnership of Le Corbusier and Varèse in building the great Poème electronique for the Brussels World's Fair . . . the smashing of equipment by angry New York Philharmonic musicians who refused to play a John Cage composition . . . the mad rush of millions to buy the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album. . .