An Individual Note of Music, Sound and Electronics.

First edition of this manifesto of electronic music by one of the genre's foremost pioneers. "More a philosophical treatise than a textbook, yet accessibly written, it dealt broadly with the quest to humanize electronic sound" (ODNB). Although institutionally well represented, it is rare on the market, particularly so in such fine condition. Oram composed the first electronic soundtrack to a television play in 1957, for Amphitryon 38, and was a central figure in the the foundation of the influential BBC Radiophonic Workshop in April 1958. She later set up her studio at Tower Folly in Kent where she "developed her own method of electronic sound generation. Her 'Oramics' machine worked much as an oscilloscope in reverse, generating sounds from waveforms drawn onto 35 mm films. These were passed under photo-electric cells, and controlled musical parameters such as pitch, timbre, and reverberation" (ODNB). Oram was commissioned to write An Individual Note as part of a Gulbenkian Foundation grant, but, rather than writing a straightforward manual, preferred to ruminate on the relationships between music, sound and electronics. At a time when the world was just starting to engage with electronic music and when the technology was still primarily in the hands of large music studios, her approach was innovative and inspiring and encouraged anyone with an interest in music to think about the possibilities that new sounds could bring. Her thinking was not confined to the future of music but also explored science, technology, culture and thought. Octavo. Folding plate, diagrams within text. Original laminated card wrappers. A fine copy.…