| Sound collage | |
|---|---|
| Etymology | coller (french word) - means "to stick together" sonus (latin word) |
| Other names | Musique concrète, Audio Collage |
| Stylistic origins | Musique concrete,Break-in (1950s) |
| Cultural origins | 17th century |
| Derivative forms | |
| Subgenres | |
| Epic collage | |
| Other topics | |
In music,montage (literally "putting together") orsound collage ("gluing together") is a technique where newly brandedsound objects orcompositions, including songs, are created fromcollage, also known asmusique concrète. This is often done through the use ofsampling, while some sound collages are produced by gluing together sectors of differentvinyl records. Like its visual cousin, sound collage works may have a completely different effect than that of the component parts, even if the original parts are recognizable or from a single source. Audio collage was a feature of theaudio art ofJohn Cage,Fluxus,postmodernhip-hop andpostconceptualdigital art.
The origin of sound collage can be traced back to the works ofBiber's programmatic sonataBattalia (1673) andMozart'sDon Giovanni (1789), and certain passages inMahler symphonies as collage, but the first fully developed collages occur in a few works byCharles Ives, whose pieceCentral Park in the Dark (1906) creates the feeling of a walk in the city by layering several distinct melodies and quotations on top of each other.
Earlier traditional forms and procedures such as thequodlibet,medley,potpourri, andcentonization differ from collage in that the various elements in them are made to fit smoothly together, whereas in a collage clashes of key, timbre, texture, meter, tempo, or other discrepancies are important in helping to preserve the individuality of the constituent elements and to convey the impression of a heterogeneous assemblage.[1] What made their technique true collage, however, was the juxtaposition of quotations and unrelated melodies, either by layering them or by moving between them in quick succession.
A first documented instance of sound collage created aselectronic music isWochenende (in English,Weekend), a collage of words, music and sounds created by film-maker and media artistWalter Ruttmann in 1928.[2] Later, in 1948,Pierre Schaeffer used the techniques of sound collage to create the first piece ofmusique concrète,Étude aux chemins de fer, which was assembled from recordings oftrains. Schaeffer created this piece by recording sounds of trains onto severalvinyl records, some of which had lock grooves allowing them to play in a continuous loop. He then set up multiple turntables in his studio, allowing him to trigger and mix together the various train sounds as needed.[3]
According to music theorist Cristina Losada, the third movement ofLuciano Berio'sSinfonia is often considered "the prototype of a musical collage."[4] In an essay written in 1937,John Cage expressed an interest in using extra-musical sound materials[5] and came to distinguish between found sounds, which he callednoise, and musical sounds, examples of which included: rain, static between radio channels, and "a truck at fifty miles per hour". Cage began in 1939 to create a series of found sounds works that explored his stated aims, the first beingImaginary Landscape #1 for instruments including two variable speedturntables with frequency recordings.[6]
Important modern sound collage pieces were created byPierre Schaeffer and theGroupe de Recherches Musicales. In 1950s and early-1960s Schaeffer,Pierre Henry,Olivier Messiaen,Pierre Boulez,Jean Barraqué,Karlheinz Stockhausen,Edgard Varèse,Iannis Xenakis,Michel Philippot, andArthur Honegger all worked with sound collage. Examples areÉtude I (1951) andÉtude II (1951) by Boulez,Timbres-durées (1952) by Messiaen,Étude aux mille collants (1952) by Stockhausen,Le microphone bien tempéré (1952) andLa voile d'Orphée (1953) by Henry,Étude I (1953) by Philippot,Étude (1953) by Barraqué, the mixed piecesToute la lyre (1951) andOrphée 53 (1953) by Schaeffer/Henry, and the film scoreMasquerage (1952) by Schaeffer andAstrologie (1953) by Henry. In 1954 Varèse and Honegger createdDéserts andLa rivière endormie". John Cage created his influential collage pieceWilliams Mix in 1952. More recently,George Rochberg used collage inContra Mortem et Tempus andSymphony No. 3.[7] In the 1980sMinóy made many palimpsest-like multi-trackedsoundscape compositions that used sound collage.
Micromontage is the use of montage on thetime scale ofmicrosounds. Its primary proponent is composerHoracio Vaggione in works such asOctuor (1982),Thema (1985, Wergo 2026-2), andSchall (1995, Mnémosyne Musique Média LDC 278–1102). The technique may include the extraction and arrangement of sound particles from a sample or the creation and exact placement of each particle to create complex sound patterns or singular particles (transients). It may be accomplished through graphic editing, a script, or automated through a computer program.[8]Granular synthesis incorporates many of the techniques of micromontage, though granular synthesis is inevitably automated while micromontage may be realized directly, point by point. "It therefore demands unusual patience" and may be compared to thepointillistic paintings ofGeorges Seurat.[8]
Freak Out!, the 1966 debut album bythe Mothers of Invention, made use of avant-garde sound collage, particularly the closing track "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet".[9]The Beatles incorporated sound collage on their 1968self-titled double album (also known as theWhite Album) with the track "Revolution 9".[10][11]Uncut wrote thatRequia byJohn Fahey made use of meditative guitar soli with tape collage experimentation on "Requiem for Molly".[12]
The Beatles' Revolution 9 brought experimental music to a global audience.
... the freedom they gave themselves to make experimental works like 'Revolution 9.'
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