P R O J E C T C ASPAR

OCUMENTATION OF THE R E V I V A L O F D

IADÈMES B Y M A R C A N D R É A L B A V I E D - D [1986]

BY KARIN WEISSENBRUNNER IN COOPERATION WITH ALAIN BONARDI, SERGE LEMOUTON & JÉRÔME BARTHÉLEMY REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

ABSTRACT ...... 3

A. DOCUMENTATION...... 3 1. INTRODUCTION: DOCUMENTATION OF DIADÈMES' PRESERVATION...... 3 2. LIVE-ELECTRONICS IN DIADÈMES...... 4 3. BASIC MATERIAL AT DISPOSAL ...... 5 3.1. SCORES & ARCHIVE MATERIAL ...... 6 3.2. REVIEW OF PREVIOUS VIRTUALISATION ATTEMPTS OF THE FM SYNTHESIS...... 8 4. THE FM SYNTHESIZER YAMAHA TX816...... 8 4.1. RECORDING OF THE SYNTHESIZER SAMPLES...... 9 4.2. CONCLUSION...... 12 5. PROCESSING OF THE VIOLA: ELECTRONIC EFFECTS...... 13 6. SESSION WITH MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE ...... 15 6.1. COMPARISON OF THE RECORDED SOUNDS ...... 15 I. Quality of dynamic...... 16 II. Sound quality: Timbre, ADSR-curve ...... 16 III. Sustain, Fade-out...... 16 7. CONCLUSION OF THE DOCUMENTATION ...... 16

INTERVIEW...... 17

B. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ...... 21 1. CONSIDERATIONS TO THE INTERVIEW...... 21 1.1. PRESERVING THE SOUND...... 21 1.2. INTERPRETATION WITH LIVE ELECTRONICS...... 21 1.3. SOUND AESTHETIC/ CHANGING AUTHENTICITY ...... 21 1.4. CONCLUSION...... 22 2. PRESERVING LIVE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT...... 22 2.1. MUSICAL COMPARISON OF PRESERVATION ACTIONS...... 23 2.2. TECHNICAL COMPONENTS TO PORT LIVE ELECTRONICS ...... 25 2.3. COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SOLUTIONS ...... 26 I. Emulation/Plug-in ...... 26 II. Virtualisation...... 27 III. Sampling of recorded sounds ...... 28 2.4. AUTHENTICITY IN PRESERVING PROCEDURES...... 29 3. CONCLUSION...... 30

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A BSTRACT

Here we document the preservation and the revival procedure in the framework of the Caspar Project of Diadèmes, written by Marc-André Dalbavie in 1986. The Live-electronic parts of this piece evoke problems now, because of the obsolescence and the instability of the technical equipment. We also illustrate our search for technical solutions to re-perform pieces using such live-electronic instruments as FM synthesizers. As it is not possible to preserve the original devices in the case of Diadèmes a new version is necessary, which has to satisfy certain requirements.

From the beginning of electric music instruments or devices, people had to struggle for their longevity. On the one hand, they facilitated for the first time the materialization of a certain sound event within a medium. Additionally they enabled the creation of artificial sounds, e.g.the early electronic instruments Mixtur-Trautonium or Ondes Martenot. But on the other hand, as opposed to scores or acoustical instruments they are at the same time the shortest lasting artefacts. "We must always think that in music 50 years is a very short future."1 Notation also changes but not at the same rate and we can still read music from more than 500 years ago. Technological evolution is accelerating while at the same time the lifetime of electronic instruments decreases ever more.

In the context of the CASPAR project, it is necessary to set a documentation to study the process, identify intentions and look for tools of preservation. The main focus is keeping the authenticity of the preserved version. A detailed documentation in part A shows the preparation of archival material, the technical procedure of migration of live-electronic equipment and the validation of the new version by the composer. Since there are many pieces for live-electronic machines, in part B we try to find more general methods for preserving pieces written during the last few decades. Additionally the analysis of the interview with the composer Marc-André Dalbavie will help to find overall key elements. After we reflect general considerations of preserving processes in the framework of the CASPAR project referring to the OAIS (Open Archives Information System) model. We try to point out the issues for the further handling of pieces using live electronics, which may no longer be reliable, to prevent losses of important musical information/elements.

A. D oc u men ta tion

1. I NTRODUCTION : D OCUMENTATION OF D IADÈMES ' P RESERVATION

The first FM-synthesizers or artificial effects like the first harmonizers commercialized by Yamaha in the eighties are examples of electronic instruments that have become obsolete. This commercial technique also offered new possibilities to composers of contemporary music. We will consider the musical piece Diadèmes, written in 1986 by Marc-André Dalbavie; it was his first piece realized at Ircam in Paris. Because of the integration of traditional instruments with digitally generated sound, Diadèmes won the Ars Electronica prize in 1987, after the first performance on June 16th, 1986 in Paris. What makes this piece special is the mixture of three musical groups: a classical orchestra next to an electronic orchestra, and electronic effects for live transformations of a solo viola. The electronic orchestra was realised with two Yamaha TX816 synthesizers based on FM synthesis, “played” by two Midi keyboards. The effects for the transformation of the viola were a harmonizer, an echo, reverberation and panning.

Since these synthesizers are no longer produced and old models have become obsolete, a preservation effort for further performance is essential. A new performance of Diadèmes on December 5th, 2008 in New York necessitates its revival. The first step was to set an overview of the migration requirements in April 2008. At this time, the decision of preserving each sound of the synthesizer was taken. Serge Lemouton, a computer-music designer at Ircam in charge of Diadèmes, was responsible for finding a solution for a new version, especially for the FM-synthesizer. He focused already in April

1 BERNARDINI, Nicola, and VIDOLIN, Alvise. Sustainable Live Electro-acoustic Music. In Proceedings of the International Sound and Music Computing Conference, Salerno, Italy, 2005, p. 2

3 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 on the idea of programming a sampler, which would load all the recordings of the synthesizer sounds to replay them with a keyboard. After collecting all the material (scores and archive material), preparing and repairing the old Yamaha equipment, and finally analysing and interpreting the data, he started the realisation of this new version in July 2008 in CASPAR project's company. Marc-André Dalbavie came to Ircam on July 18th, 2008 to examine the results.

2. L IVE - E LECTRONICS IN D IADÈMES

The live-electronic part in Diadèmes next to an acoustic orchestra was realized with two keyboard players, triggering sounds of a Yamaha FM-synthesizer and with the live transformation of the solo viola.

LIST OF LIVE-ELECTRONICS IN DIADÈMES Devices Module

2 or 1 YAMAHA TX816 FM-Synthesis for 2 Yamaha KX88 keyboards

2 YAMAHA SPX1000 Effects/Transformation of the viola: Harmonizer & Panning

2 YAMAHA REV5 Effects/ Transformation of the viola: Reverberation & Echo

The piece is separated into three movements. The first part is only written for acoustic instruments (groups of winds, brass, percussions, keyboards, and strings). In the second movement the live electronic instruments start and subsequently dominate musical writing. The third section proposes a mixture of the traditional ensemble with live-electronic possibilities.

In Diadèmes, Marc-André Dalbavie generated sounds with the FM-synthesizer in two different ways. The sounds mostly effect an interpolation between two acoustic instruments. Having a certain imagination of the sound in mind, he tried to find the suitable FM algorithms in the synthesizer. This kind of sound occurs for example on pages 36 - 38 (see score), bar 56: the percussion instruments are the marimba and the vibraphone, and in addition a third electronic sound of keyboard 2 (program 5) appears, consisting of a colour between the marimba and the vibraphone.2 The other way, he synthesized the sounds, facilitates the fusion between the natural instruments in the piece. Altogether there are 32 different sounds saved as programs for keyboard 1 and 32 sounds for keyboard 2. The programs of the second keyboard are nearly the same as those of keyboard 1, but often tuned a quartertone higher. (See chapter 4.1)

The sound of the solo viola is routed to the effects Yamaha REV5 and SPX1000 and to the mixing desk via a microphone and transformed in real-time. The right programming of the multi-effects from the eighties, which could still be found at IRCAM, were also saved on the CD-Rom of the archive. (See chapter 5)

In the original implementation, it was possible to use two TX816 synthesizers or just one. The two Yamaha KX88 keyboards can be replaced by two Yamaha DX7 keyboards according to the score. For performing the piece just one technician is required for the mixing desk.

2DALBAVIE, M.-A, in .Actes du symposium, Systèmes personnels et informatique musicale, IRCAM October 1986, publisched in 1987, MAD, page 9

4 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

Figure 1, setup of the live-electronic ensemble in Diadèmes, modified from the score

3. B A S I C M A T E R I A L A T D ISPOSAL

S CORES

- A conductor score by Jobert-Paris/Lemoine, edited in 1986 (including notes of pencil and highlighted passages) - The parts for keyboard 1 and 2 (including notes of pencil)

Figure 2, score Diadèmes 5 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

A R C H I V E M ATERIAL OF I RCAM

- The Cahier d'exploitation, Diadèmes - 1986 - Marc-André Dalbavie, Marc Battier, second edition, April 2001 - The software on CD-Rom for Yamaha TX816 synthesizer, and the effects Yamaha REV5 and SPX1000

Figure 3, archive material, CD-ROMs

L IVE - ELECTRONIC E QUIPMENT FROM THE EI GHTIES

- 1 Yamaha TX816 synthesizer with 7 DX7 modules together in one case - 1 Yamaha REV5 effect - 1 Yamaha SPX1000 effect - 2 Yamaha KX88 keyboards

Figure 4, FM synthesizer Yamaha TX816

M AX- PATCHES OF P R E V I O U S V IRTUALISATION ATTEMPTS OF THE FM SYNTHESIS AT I RCAM

- By Ipke Starke, November 1998 - By Colin Yates, December 2001

(Detailed description in chapter 3.2)

Figure 5, Max-patch/Virtual FM by Colin Yates

The first step was to pick up all material for reconstructing the live-electronic part in Diadèmes. The editor Jobert sent the conductor score and the parts of the keyboards, where technicians’ handwritten notes were included, to IRCAM. As a result of a first preservation in 2001 at IRCAM, a Cahier d'exploitation and software on a CD-Rom were stored in IRCAM's archives to reactivate the live- electronic equipment using Max/MSP and GalaxyLoad programs. Connecting the synthesizer and the effects with the Max-patches, the midi modules could be controlled. The required midi data for the synthesizer sounds and the module memory of the effects have been saved to enable automatic setup of these devices. The Cahier d'exploitation contains detailed information about the programs, preferences, midi- and audio-settings3 and an extract of an article about the piece Diadèmes by Marc- André Dalbavie published at the occasion of the Actes du Symposium in October 1986 at IRCAM. The CD-ROMs of the archive include, besides the reactivation software, Ipke Starke's trials of porting the synthesizer Yamaha DX/TX in Max/MSP. Additionally Serge Lemouton added a FM virtualisation by Colin Yates.

3.1. SCO RES & ARC HIV E MATERIAL

The score implies technical instructions of the synthesizer for the two parts of the keyboards and for

3 On page 11 of the Cahier d'exploitation incorrect information about the tuning of the synthesizer was discovered. The schema orders generally a quartertone higher tuning for the second keyboard (tuning 42). But in addition to the tuning in the programs of keyboard 2 all in all the tuning would be a half tone higher. This would be a quartertone to high in comparison to the notation in the score.

6 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 the effects in the viola part. The electronical ensemble starts first in the second movement of the piece on page 30 in the score. Generally, editions of live electronics parts raise problems, as we can see in Diadèmes. Important information to perform the electronics of the piece is often not published, or implementation instructions of the equipment are missing. The scores as well as the parts for the keyboards of Diadèmes contain extra handwritten technical pencil instructions which are indispensable for performing the piece with the synthesizer. As their author(s) is (are) unknown, an almost archaeological search for program numbers, pedals and transposition information started.

E XAMPLES FROM THE SYN THESIZER SCORE

In the second movement of the piece in the bars 20 - 38 a transposition (8va) for keyboard 1 is handwritten, which is neither published in the part nor in the score. (Figures 6 and 7)

Figure 6, keyboard 1, bars 20 - 38 Figure 7, score, bars 19 - 21

On page 8, the part of the second keyboard advises the use of the volume pedal for realising the decrescendos. (Figure 8)

Figure 8, keyboard 2, p. 8

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E XAMPLES OF E F F E C T S N OTATIONS IN THE S CORE

In the score coloured marks indicate the effects: red/orange stands for the harmonizer, blue for echo (the crossed arrows symbolise panning) and yellow for reverberation. Figure 9 shows page 40 of the score (bar 81 – 84) as an example:

Figure 9; score Diadèmes, p. 40, bar 79-84,

4 3.2. RE VIE W OF PR EVIOUS V IRTUALISATION ATTEMPTS OF THE FM SY NTHES IS

The first attempt to create a virtual FM synthesis in Max/MSP was made by Ipke Starke in 1998. Unfortunately the work is incomplete and examples of its sounds could not be played. In 2001 Colin Yates continued Ipke Starke's ideas within the framework of an internship at IRCAM. His project was to work on a Max-patch, which would replace the TX816. His modelling focused on a similarity to the Yamaha synthesis but technical problems remained unresolved.5 To give an example: "There is also still a problem with polyphony. On a G3 at 500MHz, 1 note uses around 13% of the CPU. Therefore, it is only possible to have 4 polyphonic notes running before the speed of the computer is drastically affected."6 Colin's Max-patch did not sound close to the original sounds. Nevertheless we can reason that the idea of preserving the FM-synthesizer and the consciousness of the obsolescence of live- electronic equipment already existed ten years ago. The experience of this two attempts showed that a virtualisation requires a lot of work and time, if we are to obtain a satisfying solution.

4. T H E F M S YNTHESIZER Y A M A H A T X 8 1 6

The porting of the FM-synthesizer Yamaha TX816 represents the most important part for the electronic revival of Diadèmes because the synthesizer is very unstable and rare today. There were originally three TX816 available at IRCAM. Unfortunately, two of them were already out of order and the one that remained only had 7 instead of 8 modules. Fortunately this had no influence on the sounds, because only two modules are necessary to generate the sounds of each keyboard, the rest of the modules were used for the tuning of the same sounds. In April 2008 it was considered to maintain a recording of the original Figure 10, Studio 2 with equipment, IRCAM synthesizer sounds as a reference, as audio-files should be one of the most long-lasting data memory. They might be useful for comparisons in the case of different uses in the future. Recordings of performances on CD's or DVD's are not suitable as a reference because the whole voices of the orchestra are mixed and several sounds are not audible. The need of recorded references of each sound is one of the most prominent feature emerging from researches achieved by InterPARES study based on interviews of composers, sound engineers and computer music designers.7

4 Virtualisation here means the attempt to create the same output like from the TX816 with a software program like Max/MSP, but independently from the technical equipment 5 YATES, Colin, ReadMe-Virtual FM, 06/12/01- Colin Yates, IRCAM, Final Backup 6 ibid. 7 DOUGLAS, Jennifer, PETRIE, Carolyn and ROCAN, Claudette. InterPARES 2 Project - General study 03 - MUSTICA Final Report, 2006, page 10, available at http://www.interpares.org/display_file.cfm?doc=ip2_gs03_final_report.pdf

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As a solution Serge Lemouton chose the approach of implementing the recorded sounds in a Max- patch that can replay the recordings from a sampler with a keyboard in real-time. He had programmed an object called samplor~ in Max/MSP before, which enables the handling of a sampler in Max/MSP. For that reason he was also able to calculate the technical viability of this solution, in terms of the quantity of the FM synthesis sounds in Diadèmes, and to evaluate the quality necessary of the recordings. Additionally a practical reason to record these sounds was to make a sound reference available for the future. Contrary to the design of a FM-synthesis emulator or any kind of port, pasting these recorded sounds in a sampler might have been a faster method. This was the conclusion of the above-mentioned Colin Yates experiments. Since the sampler uses recorded original sounds, the result is expected to be close to the previous TX816 synthesizer. But this statement has to be moderated: samplers roughly enable the modelling of the permanent part of sounds, and the problem of modelling fine transitions (mainly attacks and decays of sounds) is always an issue. When reporting Dalbavie’s intervention in July 2008, we will discuss this point, especially the attacks, timbres and reverberations of sounds played by the sampler, compared to the original ones. Another reason why Serge Lemouton decided not to continue the last FM synthesis virtualising attempts (see chapter 3.2) was the idea to create a definitive version, not one just for today. A virtualisation might have to be replaced again by a newer version in the future because of technical progress. Bearing in mind the potential disappearance from the market of any commercial software in the future, the choice of the software solution seemed secondary. The audio-files as references can guarantee the reliability of the electronic part of the piece Diadèmes. The planned duration for the realisation was from July 1st till July 11th 2008.

4.1. RECORDING OF THE SYNTHESIZER SAMPLES

LIST OF TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT OF STUDIO 2, IRCAM:

- 1 Yamaha O2R mixer - 1 Mac Book Pro Macintosh (MacOS 10.5.3 with Max/MSP 5) - 4 Amadeus MPB 200B loudspeakers - 1 Yamaha TX816 synthesizer, 7 rack-mounted DX7 modules together in one case - 2 Yamaha KX88 keyboards - 1 RME FIRE FACE 400 interface

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Figure 11, setup studio 2 Thanks to the archived documentation a successful reactivation and the full implementation of the synthesizer was possible. The programs for keyboard 1 and 2, which were saved on the CD-Rom in the program Galaxy Load, were loaded on the synthesizer. Galaxy was a part of Mac OS 9 software for communication via MIDI between SysEx of a computer and the synthesizer. On the KX88 the 32 programs can be selected.8

The next step for the recording was to collect all required sounds of the piece in the categories: keyboard, program, pitches, tunings, velocities and durations. The given dynamics in the parts, p, mf and ff, were specified as midi values: p = 40 mf = 64 ff = 126.

To give an overview, Serge Lemouton listed the multiple programs in an excel table including all information like sound description, velocity sensitivity, tuning, register or the channels. The numbers in column A on the left side represent the program numbers for the synthesizer. The columns B and C give information about the sounds of keyboard 1. The notes in columns D and E belong to keyboard 2 in relation to keyboard 1. The programs, which seemed not to be used in the piece, are highlighted in grey. The sounds of keyboard 1 and 2 are mainly the same. (See Figure 12)

8 After program 16 numbering at the keyboard restarts with 1. (Program number 17 = 1)

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Figure 12, excel table of the programmed sounds for keyboard 1 and 2

Now every single sound corresponds to a midi note event in a midi file. These midi files are stored as Max text-files (I. e. TX1-1.midi.txt). The midi tracks were recorded into the sequencer program Digital Performer (see Figure 14) to facilitate the recording of every single sound of the piece. These tracks were played back and the sounds were recorded into an audio-track as aiff-files (frequency rate 44,1 kHz, 16 bit). After that we could segment the recording to make one audio-file for each midi note. Firstly, the sounds for keyboard 1 were recorded and stored with information about their voice, register, program number, pitch and velocity. (See example in Figure 13)

Figure 13, description of audio-file names

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Figure 14, recording in Digital Performer

The next step was to create the Diadèmes-sampler patch in Max5, which could play the recorded sounds in real-time while being controlled by a midi keyboard. Serge Lemouton was able to test the recorded samples and compare them with the original sounds of the synthesizer. For this purpose he connected one keyboard with the synthesizer and another one with the sampler patch. Finally the sounds of the second keyboard were recorded the same way as keyboard 1. All the samples of both keyboards (1318 recordings) were loaded in the Max-patch Diadèmes-samplerV9 (Figure 15) over a 32-channel system (on 8 July 2008). In the last days some sounds had to be recorded again to adjust the right velocity and to optimize the results. For example, some synthesizer sounds developed a reverberation after releasing the keys. If this reverberation was not recorded, the sound would stop immediately, and a special character of the sound would be lost. The last version of the Max-patch Diadèmes-sampler before comparing the sounds with the composer was V9.

Figure 15, Max-Patch Diadèmes-sampler in Max5

4.2. CONCLUSION

Serge Lemouton has developed a solution close to the original synthesizer’s sounds. The focus of the reconstruction was in this case on the result of the FM synthesis, not on the algorithmic structure. It was attempted to keep authentic characters such as the possibility to play the sounds on a keyboard and let a musician control the dynamic and the sustain. This could be realised by the sensibility of the

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Max/MSP-patch to the velocity of the keys. In addition, the option was maintained to regulate the velocity and the sustain by pedals. Due to the extreme variability of the sounds with the touch- sensitivity, the recordings entailed the most problematic issues. The query by keyboard seems to be fragile because of touch-sensitivity. In addition a discrepancy to the original can appear when the performer plays a wrong note. If the note is not used in the score, the sound that is played is not recorded but interpolated from a transposition of the closest sound in pitch. The composer validated the recorded sounds at the meeting on July 18th 2008 (see chapter 6).

5. P ROCESSING OF THE VIO LA: ELECTRONIC EFFECTS

S T U D I O 2 , IRCAM:

- 1 Yamaha O2R mixer - 1 Mac Book Pro Macintosh (MacOS 10.5.3 with Max/MSP 5) - 1 Yamaha REV5 - 1 Yamaha SPX1000 - 1 RME FIRE FACE 400 Interface

Figure 16, setup studio 2 The Cahier d'exploitation contained very detailed information for the multi effects written by Denis Lorrain. All the parameters of every program used in Diadèmes were precisely notated (see Figure 17). The right preferences could be loaded on the effects very easily. As there was no precise indication for the processing of the viola, Serge Lemouton prepared a very simple Max-patch DiadèmesViolaEffects (see Figure 18) for the effects, which can be used for further concerts. The structure of the patch consists of an input for the viola, 8 cues to switch the program (as in the original) and 3 outputs of the effects. Echo and panning are controlled together on one channel. The first step was to emulate the effects as close as possible to the original. After this, an improvement of the sounds could be considered. As a starting point the basic effects were replaced by Max/MSP-effects from the eighties. For conservation reasons the various effects in REV5 and SPX1000 were additionally recorded as audio-files. To record the impulse responses of the different reverberations and echoes, an impulse was sent to the original effects (via Max/MSP) and via the analogue output recorded in Max/MSP as well as the input signal. The harmonizer was recorded with a sine wave of 1kHz as a signal (mono input, stereo output). The original panning was very simple therefore no recording of it was made.

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Figure 17, excerpt of Cahier d'exploitation, page 32

Figure 18, Max-Patch DiadèmesViolaEffects in Max 5 Finally, whether the composer appreciates to use the old effects in further performances or not was unclear. The recorded sounds of the harmonizer, the reverberation as well as the echo can be stored as a reference and enrich the archive more precisely than mere descriptions of machines. The recorded impulse responses (of the impulse or the sine wave) afford additionally the possibility of analysing the frequency response for a potentially accurate reconstruction of the algorithm. If the process of the viola should sound close to the original from the eighties, then this is a controversial issue as the viola belongs to the acoustic instruments; it should thus be transformed as naturally as possible. A specific electronic sound by the effects was not proposed, but they deliver nevertheless a characteristic element of the piece from the eighties.

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6. S ESSION WITH M ARC - A N D R É D ALBAVIE

The meeting with the composer Marc-André Dalbavie took place on July 18th, 2008 to estimate the result of the migration and, at the same time, for a brief interview about his personal concerns about the re-performance and preservation of Diadèmes. Marc-André Dalbavie appreciated the preservation of the sounds of the synthesizer, as there were already problems with the technique in the nineties during a tour and the performances were cancelled three times. The lacking quality of electronic instruments in the eighties were by all means noted, therefore he wrote the bigger part of his piece for acoustical instruments. "Tout dépend, bien entendu, de l'idée musicale mais aussi de contraintes techniques existantes."9

6.1. COMPARISON OF THE REC ORDED SOUNDS

Concerning the handwritten technical notes in the score and in the parts, Marc-André Dalbavie thinks that the potential authors are the technicians between 1996 and 1998: Xavier Bordelais, Franck Rossi or Etienne Bultingaire (he was on the mixer at the tour of Diadèmes with Pierre Boulez as director). During the comparison Serge Lemouton and Marc-André Dalbavie had to correct the part of keyboard 2 anew. In the bars 49 and 50 they manually changed the number of the program 24 to number 23. Program 24 was not used for keyboard 2. The score showed the correct program number.

Serge Lemouton used the same equipment and setup as showed in chapter 4.1 for the comparison. The sounds were not calibrated but adjusted by listening. The original sounds of the TX816 were played on one KX88 and the sampled sound on the other keyboard. To examine the second keyboard's sounds, the technical assistant changed the keyboards. That means the original sound was played from now on from the other KX88 as for the sounds of the voice keyboard 1. They used the patch of Max/MSP 5 Diademes-samplor V9. Marc-Andre Dalbavie validated the synthesizer sound and the recorded sound by listening.10

For validating the sampler-solution, we have to consider that the perception of the composer has changed between the eighties till now. According to his comparisons of the sound with science fiction, the composer's perception has changed and seems more analytic to the eighties sounds than 25 years ago. There can also be modifications in the technical equipment, in the synthesizer as well as each keyboard due to obsolescence. The sound of the synthesizer which we reproduced with the software of the archive (in Max/MSP) differs maybe from the real sound in the eighties. One bug in the original TX sound was discovered during the comparison session in program 9 of keyboard 2. In the final fade out part of this sound, two other short sounds appeared. Assuming that this was a technical bug the additional sounds were not recorded for the sampler. They used the two identical keyboards KX88 and the same loudspeakers for the comparison. All these parameters influenced the resulting sound, showing that the synthesizer sounds were probably not exactly the same as in the eighties. They compared the sounds systematically and started with program 1 of keyboard 1. After this they examined some sounds of keyboard 2, but not the programs from 11 to 21. While playing parts of the piece to detect the differences, the composer remarked the mistakes of the recorded sounds and Serge Lemouton noted them in a list. Because of the touch-sensitivity or the articulation occurred during the session strong varieties.11 If the sound is a mixture of two different features (i.e. of a marimba and a vibraphone), more piano or staccato instead of tenuto can cause a dominance of one character in the sound or more reverberation. The critical notes of the composer were collected and categorized in the following section:

9 DALBAVIE, M.-A, in .Actes du symposium, Systèmes personnels et informatique musicale, IRCAM October 1986, publisched in 1987, MAD, S. 9 10 The whole session including the interview was recorded with two small microphones. 11 Trials with a Yamaha DX7 keyboard for the recorded sounds and a Yamaha KX88 keyboard for the sounds from the synthesizer caused enormous differences in the sound. A small difference in the touch-sensitivity caused generally strong viabilities in the sound composition. For this reason two identical KX88 Keyboards were used.

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I. QUALITY OF DYNAMIC In sections with staccato notes and at the same time crescendos, as in the programs 26, 27 and 28 of keyboard 1, the raising dynamic must be controlled with the touch-sensitivity of the keys. The composer tried to realise this sections with the recorded sounds and missed a more continuous dynamic. To reach this continuity, more differentiated dynamics of the sounds as three (p, mf, ff, see chapter 4.1) must be recorded.

In other cases Marc-André Dalbavie criticised the different velocity of the samples. As in program 17 and 23 of keyboard 1 the sound was louder than it should have been. Aside from the differences in the loudness, varieties in the sound quality occurred, because of the different velocity. In program 19, keyboard 1, just one note (c) was recorded too loudly. This was the other case in program 32 of keyboard 1 where the sounds were not enough 'sforzando' for the composer.

II. SOUND QUALITY: TIMBRE, ADSR-CURVE Dalbavie regarded the different formants in program 5 of keyboard 2 or recognized differences in the attack or resonance quality of the sounds, like in program 16 (keyboard 1), 8 and 9 (keyboard 2). As the composer created sounds consisting of two different electronic instruments (i.e. marimba and vibraphone, see chapter 2), the attack of the key is crucial. A light and short attack can cause a dominance of the one sound with a reverberation, for example, and a strong attack the dominance of the other electronic instrument without reverberation. In consequence of this, new audio-files are required with an attack more diverse.

In other sounds he generally noticed another timbre, like in program 7 of keyboard 1, where the sound of the TX should be duller and deeper ("he used an onomatopoeic expression like "plus bongé") than the recorded sample. These differences appeared by playing certain notes or in connection of an accord. In program 4 of keyboard 2 the fade out of the sample was too neutral in comparison to the synthesizer sound. The samples for program 2 (keyboard 1) included one note, which sounded totally different to the others. This must have been a mistake of the Max-patch or of the recording.

III. SUSTAIN, FADE-OUT A lot of differences between the recorded and original sounds came from the sustain. In the recorded sounds of the programs 5, 11 and 12 of keyboard 1 the sustain was missed. In program 31 (keyboard 1) the synthesizer sound had a little bit more sustain as the recorded sound, but the composer validated the sample nevertheless.

The composer’s attention was also concentrated to the missing fade-outs in the samples of program 10, 21 and 22 of keyboard 1. He recognized that the samples have the right quality but break off abruptly.

C ONCLUSION

The composer became more and more critical during the comparison. We can conclude that the composers concerns for validating the solution were focused on the sound quality, mainly dynamic or timbre. Additionally he made a distinction between sound quality and other sound elements as fade out or sustain. The problems which the composer criticised occur especially at this sampler solution such as recording the sounds and replaying them by a keyboard. Serge Lemouton will improve the sounds with more precise recordings. The preparations of the samples were also able to be adjusted when the cuts of the audio-files were too abrupt. This process of looking for the sounds to record correctly points at the technical trickiness of preservations, in addition to the philosophical problems.

7. C ONCLUSION OF THE D OCUMENTATION

In the documentation of the revival process of Diadèmes (part A) we can see that the port of the synthesizer to a sampler-software with recordings of each sound could provide a satisfying solution for the composer. The performance in December in New York will be the last test for the new version of

16 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

Diadèmes. The audio-files of the sounds will stay as a reference and are included in the patch. This simplifies at the same time a general application of further reconstruction works. The sampler solution can be considered for further pieces, using the Yamaha TX816 or similar machines. Instead of the audio-files of Diadèmes, other recordings can be automatically produced and loaded into the sampler. The task of future projects is the recording of every sound in other pieces as long as the synthesizer TX816 works. In addition the programming of the sampler version is planned in Pure Data (open source software) and Mach5 (an universal sampler of MOTU). The only requirements would be accurate recordings of the sounds. Serge Lemouton has saved the frequency responses of the old effects for archival purposes. This approach could be recommended for other pieces.

I nt e rv ie w

After the comparison Dalbavie was willing for a short interview in English about his opinion of preserving the piece. But already before comparing the sounds, Marc-André Dalbavie uttered some notes about the sampler solution.

Dalbavie's notes before the comparison of the sounds, M.-A. D: Marc-Andre Dalbavie, S. L: Serge Lemouton, I: Interviewer (Karin Weissenbrunner)

M.-A. D: The major problem is that this machine - fonctionne - it works with an algorithm. I mean, when you play, it is an algorithm that produce the sound. And, and he [Serge Lemouton] will use a sampler, and a sampler is a sort of photo. It is not the algorithm; it's a photo of the sound after have been produced. So it is totally different.

I: You would prefer the algorithm?

M.-A. D: No, if, - I prefer the result. If the result is okay, I don't care.

M.-A. D: No, because - Ja, because the reality of the algorithm, I don't care, maybe - . What was interesting in this algorithm was the sound. At this period it was the best sound you could use with this kind of machine. That's all. If I would have other I would have used that. There is no - philosophy of saying I want to use frequency modulation, because it's really the topic, you know, it was not [idea or ideal?] It was just, that was interesting, at this period it was the best. That's all. So if we can arrive - we have a photo to have the same result – what was important for me, it was the result. The algorithm is in the music not in the machine.

Interview:

I: Who do you think is responsible to preserve a piece?

M.-A. D: Publisher! [Break.]

I: Okay, the next question is...

M.-A. D: No, because - for those kind of thing, it's not for him to preserve the machine. But it's him to be responsible of that and to follow the fact that the piece can be played. Because that's his job. The piece must be played. That why he build a material and etc. That's why he writes the parts and... So, he must follow that. After, of course, like in an acoustic music the 'luthier' are doing the job. The builder of instrument will do a job. Publisher is not the builder of an instrument. In the conservatoire, doing the job to teach musician. But the publisher must always follow the piece that it's possible to play it.

I: That's the most important point that the piece is possible to play? Or also, that it sounds like it sounded before?

M.-A. D: Yes, it must sound the close as possible. If there is electronic. Because, of course, when you play acoustic instrument, you don't have this problem, because, of course, someone who will play music now will play differently, plays music differently than 30 years ago. Even Johann Sebastian Bach and all that. We change always. Interpretation change. But here we don't speak about interpretation. It has nothing to do. It's sounds, which are produced by a machine, and we are closer to electro- acoustic technique. It's like a movie, when you restore the movie you try not to interpret the movie. It's not theatre, it's a movie. There is parts of this piece, which are interpreted. The part is played by the acoustic musician, played the violin, the trumpet all that. And the conductor. But there are parts of the piece which were like a movie that mean you must - If we have to restore we have to restore as it was - how it sounded before. That's really what I want, because, of course, it’s - the problem is, what is the interpretation in a music with electronic. So, it's a big question. It's a question that we [me?] have thought about a long time. That's why I didn't want to do a music with a tape. Because I wanted musician to have the rhythmic, if you see, the way you play even it changed, it changed the quality of the attack of the note or etc. I wanted to have this fluctuation. That each musician that plays can really put his little bit his way of playing but of course, the fact that it's electronic, the richness of the spectrum is not enough to bring interpretation into the sound really, like in a violin. It's so rich that - and also there is a subject tradition of playing violin that the musician can really control, if he is very good, he can control everything.

17 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

I: Okay, I understand that the music should sound now as 20 years ago if possible...

M.-A. D: The electronic sound, not the music. Because, if I would have done this piece with a tape, that's exactly what you have to say. That means, the music must sound exactly like it was when it was created. The fact that I didn't want to use the tape and that I used those machine. I wanted to have the possibility of the instrumentalist to make fluctuation. So, there is a fluctuation but not on this sound.

S. L: But with the same instrument than 20 years ago?

M.-A. D: Yes, with those keyboards, who have an after touch -, who have a velocity control, and all that. That was my major attack on music with tape and orchestra, because: When I came in IRCAM in 83 or 84, it was the tradition of orchestra and tape or you have, you had a real-time x machine with Boulez, real-time wave instrument. Me, I didn't want real-time because it was not the idea I wanted to follow, because - probably - can speak about that after. But for me what was interesting it was the work with the tape because it was going inside the sound. It was developing really the sound such in [?] etc., which is not the concept of real-time as it was developed at this period. But the problem with the tape for me, I remember a piece of York Höller, the name was Résonance, the problem of that - and Arcus of York Höller, you know that? York Höller? He is a German composer.

I: no

M.-A. D: He is old now, he must be 80 or 70 years old – And he did two pieces, I've heard at this period. One is Arcus and the other is Résonance - And it was for tape and orchestra and ensemble. And what I didn't like is that conductor had a click-track in his ears, and he was conducting like a machine. And so, the musicians were playing like a machine, I didn't want that. I wanted to have the softness [souplessness] of the rhythmic fluctuation. That's why I used that.

I: And what is about the effects, the reverb and the harmonizer, beacause ...

M.-A. D: That's on the soloist. Just on the soloist.

I: But do you think the same effects are important for your piece or...?

M.-A. D: Yes

I: Or could modern effects replace it?

M.-A. D: Oh, if, oh, yes, my point of view is that for those effects with the viola, if the modern effects are better, I prefer the modern effects. Because at this period the echo, chamber, comment dire en anglais chambre...?

S. L: The reverberation.

M.-A. D: The reverberations were not fantastic. It was a lower quality. Because there you have an acoustic instrument with transformation [transform]. And of course, more you have a machine with more memory, more calculation, more computing, and more of the rich [richess] sound of the origin that mean the viola, is preserved and developed. It's not the same than this.

I: Okay, but the harmonizer has also the characteristics of this synthesizer -

M.-A. D: Yeah, but I was, I didn't like that. I wanted - I didn't have the possibility to have.. It was the best harmonizer at this period. It was French...

S. L: It was the first one.

M.-A. D: It was the first one - and really - the problem is that it cuts the quality of the sound of the viola. And of course, if I can have the sound of the viola with the same kind of transposition, that would be the best.

I: Okay, so here, you want a more modern sound.

M.-A. D: Ja.

I: But it doesn't sound the same as in the 80ies...

M.-A. D: Exactly, because there are two thing in this piece: you have synthesizer and transformation. It's two world different. So, synthesizer: I could redo Diadèmes! I could redo “Diadèmes” and say, okay, I will start with the sound I have now, the sound number one and I will rework this sound to make it better in my idea. That mean I will had more harmonics, more, I don't know what. I would, I will try to make it more acoustic in a certain way, you know, because the reference of quality is acoustic for us. But I think it's like, if you take for instance a symphony of (Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart, if you see the horn section. The horn section can just play some note, because they just had the harmonic note. So, they just have a c, c, g, c, e, g, c, d, e, f, g. that's all. After you transpose it in bflat, in eflat, but it just had that. So, you can say, okay, if Mozart would have a chromatic horn, probably he would have used more the horn and differently. But that would not be Mozart any more. That become (Sergej) Prokovjew classic symphony or (Pjotr) Tschaikowski Mozarteum, you know, the Mozarteum cycle. So, it changed the

18 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 aesthetic. And of course, Mozart would never use the horn like he used it if he would have the chromatic palette. So, if we change that it's not any more Mozart. And that's why me, it was this period I had that, I did this sound [claps once in his hands], we stay there. The viola is different, because, if you have a better reverberation for the viola, for the instrument, which is already acoustic, rich and etc. If the reverberation - it doesn't change the mind of the piece, it just change the quality. It doesn't change the aesthetic of the piece. It changes the quality of the viola and that's better. It's better if the reverberation is better. I prefer.

I: Okay, than, the last question is - because the others where answered during the session -

M.-A. D: During the big speech. [laughter]

I: So, last question is: Do you think this possibility to have the original sounds recorded is - Would you prefer that or this algorithm?

M.-A. D: No, it's really - well, this piece - I used this machine because at this period that was - you know, you have three worlds, when I just start to use that there were three worlds at this period. You had the electro-acoustic work, an electronic, a studio, you had all the beginning of the real-time computing with Boulez and all that, and you had the commercial synthesis for rock 'n' roll and things like that. You just had those three possibility at this period. And me, like my friend Tristan (Murail) and all that, we were interested in those little material but we wanted the best one. So, when I used Yamaha. TX816 for me it was not the frequency modulation in which I was interested. It was just a machine, which could do that I wanted the best possible. If I would have another synthesis, which - I had with Seuils, my piece that was done after, I used frequ, eh- model de resonance modern and (analogue?) so, face vocoder, that was done here in IRCAM and I didn't use that. I used a better synthesis. For me, I had sound in my head that I wanted to arrive to produce it and I used this machine to approach this sound. That's totally different. So, that's why I was really happy when we did the record because for me, I said, okay, now it's on the tape and so we have a reference and we have to find this reference. We have to find this sound. Because that's the sound I wanted to.

S. L: Because, for the continuation of this project, we have the idea to try to reproduce this sound. Starting from the sounds with FM algorithms. Just to see if we can do it. Just as a work concept.

M.-A. D: But, if, we can see, when we work with a sampler, sometimes we have problem but it can be resolved. Me, I don't care if it's that.

S. L: Yes, it's just to see if we can do it the other way.

M.-A. D: The idea of the tool is secondary for me. We can use a physical model, (modem, moan?) modulation, frequency modulation, a resonance model, face vocoding... I don't care about the technique of the producing the sound. What is important for me is the sound. Because the sound has a meaning in this piece for this kind of form at this moment. There is a dramatic or not dramatic or construction of the construction etc., etc. So, what's important for me is the function it has in the piece. After I try - I'm not orthodox on the fact that I'm - I will use this kind of synthesis [synthes] because it's this kind of synthesis [synthes]. (and trust me?) I tried to find the synthesis [synthes] that could be the best for the music I want. That's all.

I: So, the aim is to have a result that is as close as possible to the original sound?

M.-A. D: Ja.

I: Okay, thank you. (general laughter)

M.-A. D: Ja, because, of course, if we take that and. It's another piece. I do another piece. And it's, it would be nice to try, it's like you take a score [partit] of (Johann Sebastian) Bach that was played on a barock violin and you can play it on a modern violin.

I: Ah no, there are emulators, it's not a modern - it's a modern FM synthesis but it emulates the DX7.

M.-A. D: Ja, the emulators [les emulateurs]? I don't know them. I don't know if they are better or not.

S. L: [Tout ce qu'on a essayé ne donnait pas de bons resultats mais maintenant qu'on a ça on peut repartir des enregistrement pour voir si - peut-être dans un futur plus en mois lointain on arrivera à refaire. C'est, c'est.. mais..] . 01:16:03:21.70 Everything of that, we have tried, didn't deliver good results, but now, when we have that we can restart recording to see if - maybe we will arrive to regenerate it in the future more or less far.

M.-A. D: The thing, which is important for me is that - I'm not orthodox on the technique of producing the sound. I'm orthodox on the result.

I: And are you - is it important for you that we still can play it on a keyboard?

M.-A. D: Yes, this is very important. Because that was at this period the - it was a big fight, because the tradition here, for instance, when I came to IRCAM, the tradition was tape - tape and ensemble - or if people wanted to work with colour, with sound, with new sound, which was for me, what was important because I was interested in new vocabulary trying to explore

19 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 new words, you know. So, the system they had was tape and ensemble. And this I didn't want because I was a musician, I was conductor at this period, I played a lot and all that, so, I didn't want a click-track in my ear each time I did something. I thought that was totally against music. I need the separation between, for me, I need the separation between the conception of the piece and the interpretation of the piece. This separation for me is a dialectic thing. It's very rich. That's why when you hear (Ludwig van) Beethoven opus 1, 11 by (Yefim) Bronfman, or by - (Maurizio) Pollini or by - (Christian) Zimmermann. It's the same piece but also it has a different breath. It has a different - that’s fantastic this dialectic. For me it's - it's progress in front of painting.

I: Yes, for some it is an advantage and for others it is, I don't know - they don't agree with this dialectic.

M.-A. D: Ja, ja, each composer has his thing. But [mais] for me it's evident that - - it's evident that the interpretation part is a phenomenology part. It's a human part. It's - the body, it's not just this, it's the body with this. And if you do - for instance Tristan [Murail], I'm sure, Tristan doesn't like it, for him, there is a continuity between the way to play and the conception of his music. He doesn't want musician to interpret. Ah? He likes - I have friend, Ives Pureille...(?).. , it is the same. For him what is written must be exactly played. And for me, no. Because, of course, what is played, - it's this part of body; it's this part of phenomenology that is bringing music, which is fantastic. It's not just a concept. It's very, it's very poor. For me it's very poor when the music is totally exactly of the manners as [thoughted]. Even in the movie when the stage director does his 'screenerie' and all that. You have actors and they bring this - they interpret and not exactly what, what the director [metteur en scene] really wants. They have their own way of looking, of moving their skin and all that is a part of, what is passionate in art. If there is just body, it's terrible. If just concept, it's terrible. When it's both, it's fantastic. No?

I: Yes, always both, I think.

M.-A. D: Always both?

I: There are also animation movies, where you can control everything.

M.-A. D: Oh, I see, animation movies is another problem. (general laughter) It's not - it's another problem. But you know, you see, the animation movie - now, what they do, is that it, they try to copy the realistic - behaviour of human being. So, we are strongly in sort of a simulation pure. And, okay, if you want, it's part of our crazy evolution of technology. That we try to copy human to forget human. Ok, it's started with Descartes, this problem. (general chuckling) It's a Cartesian problem. No? [C'est cartésien. Le fait d'avoir l'autofondation de la conscience (à partir de ce moment la). L'homme devient tellement enorme que sa machine elle meme devient plus enorme que lui. (C'est irresistible...ah?)] It's Cartesian. The fact to have a self-building of the consciousness (up to this moment)... Man develops such enormously that his machine becomes more enormously than him. (That's irresistible, isn't it?)

I: We have also recorded these old effects to keep this imagination of the piece from the eighties. It's also important, just for preserving, but not for playing, for performing.

M.-A. D: Ja, I think, exactly. I think, no, because, even the fact, that a piece has a touch of a certain years. It brings a certain emotion. And this emotion is part of artistic emotion. When you - it's evident, I remember when I was very young, and there was all this critic on (György) Ligeti music. So, that was first part of seventies (or later?). And lot of people say, oh, Ligeti is so cold, you know, it has no - you know, the critics was 'it's cold' because it's always repetitive process etc. But after all the development of the electronic music that arrives at the same time than after, when people heard again Ligeti in the eighties, they say: 'Oh, it's so warm'. (Laughing) So, the perception has totally changed. Because environment has changed. And, - and also, there was a nostalgia [nostalgy]. There is always a nostalgia [nostalgy]. Nostalgia [nostalgy] is part of emotion.

S. L: It's impossible to preserve authenticity because we are changing. (Laughter.)

M.-A. D: That's what Boulez said about the Barock. When he answered to the first baroque were really (insulting noise) like this, you know. Even if someone is fantastic, like Gustav Leonard or people like this. But there are some really, you know, like this, they say, if you really want to be authentic, you have to go in a cemetery and to bring back the public of this period. (general laughter.) Because authenticity is not just producing it's also perceiving. And we don't perceive the same now. So, and if you see, the evolution of baroque is very interesting, because, of course, now they are less authentic but they have more success. (Laughing:) No?

S. L: It's interesting, because the people that play baroque music today, they have learned to play -

M.-A. D: - baroque

S. L: - from recordings.

M.-A. D: From recordings, oui. But they have totally, how do you say it, made it them, their music. They didn't, they don't, if you see, baroque musician, even if they are always very authentic to historical research and all that, they really play music, like they want. Not like before, that mean, not like an historian who wants them to play music. They really have pleasure and the sound changed.

20 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

B. General Considerations

1. C ONSIDERATIONS TO THE I NTERVIEW

1.1. PRESERVING THE S OUN D

Marc-André Dalbavie's interests in preserving the FM synthesizer were related to the result, which should sound as close as possible to the original. He commented some doubts before he had heard the recorded samples of the new version because "it is an algorithm that produces the sound" and compared the recorded sounds with a photo of the sound. But in the end he preferred the idea of sampling to preserve his piece, instead of recreating the algorithm in a modern synthesizer: "The algorithm is in the music not in the machine." He chose the FM synthesis 25 years ago because it seemed to be the best way achieving his desired result. He did not select the FM synthesis because of the algorithm. "It was just a machine, which could do the best what I wanted." The kind of tool he used was secondary for him. "I don't care about the technique to produce the sound." The issue of most importance for Marc-André Dalbavie was the recording as reference of the synthesizer's sound from the original machine, because this is the sound he wanted 25 years ago: "...now it's on the tape and so we have a reference and we have to find this reference. We have to find this sound. Because that's the sound I wanted to."

1.2. INTERPRETATION WITH LIV E ELECTRONICS

When Dalbavie wrote Diadèmes there were three options to compose electronic music: the tape, the FM synthesis or the real-time interaction. The keyboard as part of the synthesizer influenced Dalbavie's choice for the FM-synthesizer decisively, because it facilitated the possibility of interpretation by a musician. "That's why I didn't want to do music with a tape [...] I wanted to have this fluctuation. That each musician that plays can really put his little bit his way of playing [...]" The dialectic between the composer and the interpretation of a musician plays a prominent role, as he was a musician and conductor himself at that time. He wanted to avoid a click-track in the ear of the conductor thus acting as a machine. "I need the separation between the conception of the piece and the interpretation of the piece. This separation for me is a dialectic thing. It's very rich." This aspect points out the importance of maintaining the keyboard, because it can be seen as an interface between the electronic machine and the human being. In the preserved version the fluctuation of an instrumentalist should be possible in his opinion. But there is no fluctuation in the sound. The interpretation can be different after 30 years, but not in the electronic part. At the same time, Dalbavie relativised the richness of an interpretation in electronic music. "The fact that it's electronic, the richness of the spectrum is not enough to bring interpretation into the sound really, like in a violin." "What is the interpretation of electronic music?” he wondered.

1.3. SOUND AESTHETIC/ CHANGING AUTHENTICIT Y

The electronic sounds in Diadèmes carry a certain function in the piece. Certainly, the piece delivers a touch from the eighties nowadays and evokes certain emotions and nostalgia because the perception and the environment have changed. A piece stands always in a context of the time and of certain circumstances. The perception of electronic music has totally changed since its beginning. The usage in film music and especially in science fiction movies for effects shaped the characteristics of electronic instruments like the Yamaha synthesizers and conveyed its popularity in the eighties. Dalbavie mentioned the expression as he heard the FM synthesis sounds again, that they sound like 'science fiction'. In the article of Herbert Eimert "Zur musikalischen Situation" in 195412 we can find the general criticism of the early electronic music that the sounds are without tradition or history to the ear. But in comparison to the beginning of electronic music in the fifties, our perception of old electronic sounds now is set in the context of better quality and bound in nostalgic feelings. Dalbavie was conscious of that and remembered the general view of Györgi Ligeti's music first as too cold, but then the opinion changed after a few years in a totally opposite way. An example for a modified notice now would be the uttered "noise floor" of the original synthesizer sounds, as we can read in an article of Native

12 EIMERT, Herbert, Zur musikalischen Situation, in NWDR (Technische Hausmitteilung), 1954, page 45

21 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008

Instruments. They simulated the sounds of the TX816 with a software synthesizer called FM7 on Native Instruments with following result: "In the end, everybody agreed that the original sound of the hardware instruments had been reproduced in detail with KORE and FM7, the only difference being the absence of the “noise floor” that the original instruments had introduced back then."13 A comment of Serge Lemouton during the interview hinted: "It's impossible to preserve authenticity because we are changing", whereon Marc-André Dalbavie agreed with: "[...] authenticity is not just producing, it's also perceiving. And we don't perceive the same now."

In Dalbavie's opinion, the modern sound of the FM synthesis would change the aesthetic of the piece. Would he have written the piece now using new synthesizers, then he might have created a more natural sound and this would have been a different piece. He compared this situation to Mozart, who wrote pieces for horn, which had limited sounds at that time and influenced therefore Mozart’s way of composition, which we call typical for Mozart now. By contrast Dalbavie prefers modern effects for the viola to improve the quality of the piece. A modern transformation would not change the piece, according to his statement because the effects influence an acoustical instrument. We could imagine if he had rewritten the piece now using modern effects, he would not have composed another piece because they are just effects, which do the same as 25 years ago but with better quality. Even in the eighties people were aware of the bad sound quality or were limited by the equipment. From this point of view it is understandable to realise the same piece with better technology as they had in the eighties. But the processing of the eighties' effects is still problematic, because especially the Yamaha harmonizer SPX1000 features very characteristic sound elements from the eighties, as the quality was much worse.

It might stand in contrast to our general standard now and in future, as we are used to better quality. But maintaining the aesthetics of the eighties carries the ability to show what this piece could achieve and what it stated before. In this context it gives an impression of the former technical limits. Performing the piece with new synthesizers would evoke a comparison to modern pieces with FM synthesizers, which might give the piece another value.

1.4. CONCLUSION

The composer Marc-André Dalbavie used in Diadèmes a FM synthesizer to generate particular sounds but not to realise a specific algorithm. For that reason the result of the new version should be as close as possible, otherwise the aesthetic of the piece would have been changed. However, the old electronic effects are supposed to be replaced with modern effects, in order to improve the quality (of the acoustic instrument treatment) without influencing the aesthetic of the piece, in Dalbavie's point of view. In addition Dalbavie's opinion of interpretation in electronic music shows the importance of preserving not only the sound elements but also the interfaces between musicians and electronics. The questions, which appeared during the interview about interpretation, fluctuation and quality improvements of live electronics show the need of more definitions. This points in addition at the problematic handling of live electronics in a traditional context like in Diadèmes. A discussion of these topics can be found in the conclusion (chapter 3 Part B).

2. P R E S E R V I N G L I V E E L E C T R O N I C E QUIPMENT

At the beginning of the 20th century, the reproducibility and the definable construction of electronic instruments were considered to be main advantages because of their base on certain physical models and algorithms. Due to the characteristic of their electronic devices they are less reproducible and long lasting as acoustic instruments. Thus, in addition to their unreliability nowadays, pieces like Diadèmes must be preserved and modernised or further performances will not be possible anymore.

More generally we have to face the aspect squarely that the preservations of the machines as the Yamaha TX816 must be done now. If we wait too long, the next performances of pieces using electronic equipment are in danger because their electronic devices are no longer reproducible and their information is lost. Bearing in mind that reconstructions done now will be the only source in the

13 http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=philharmonic&L=1, page 2, (accessed 09/2008)

22 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 future we must be aware of our responsibility while considering the appropriate context. Additional information and regards are required, because preserving through time means maintaining the possibility of re-performing correctly. Meanwhile the electronics' sustainability concerns many institutes which as a result are funding several projects today.

CASPAR14 (Cultural, Artistic, and Scientific knowledge for Preservation, Access and Retrieval), a European project, created in 2006, and started by bringing together 17 partners including IRCAM to study general topics of preservation of digital data. Implemented from the OAIS reference model (Open Archival Information System), CASPAR brings together three different communities of scientific knowledge, of cultural heritage, and of performing arts along with commercial partners and world leaders in the field of information preservation. The aim of the work at IRCAM is to develop tools and methods for preservation of musical works with electronics.

The MUSTICA Research Initiative is an international project, coordinated by the University of Technology of Compiègne, which targets the performing research on the topic of contemporary music preservation between 2003 and 2004 [Bachimont & al. 2003]. MUSTICA is in collaboration with the two contemporary music institutions INA (Groupe de Recherches Musicales at the Institut National de l’Audiovisuel) and IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique).

Current activities like emulation15, virtualization or sampling of electronic modules show the tendency to replace the hardware equipment by software solutions or to migrate from software to software platforms. We show in the first part what preservation requires. In the second part the general strengths and weaknesses of the different solutions to preserve pieces are compared facing their technical, musical and practical dimensions. We reference to the OAIS model and to the Caspar framework delivering general ideas of authenticity and problematics. We then finally deliver general ideas about authenticity and other issues.

2.1. MUSICAL COMPARISON OF PRESERVATION ACTIONS

T HREE - AXIS APPROACH OF PRE SERVATION

− First axis is ‘content’, i.e. the preservation of content files and data. These contents are sounds in general. − Second axis is ‘algorithm’, i.e. the preservation of algorithms that process any multimedia information. − Third axis is ‘human to machine musical interface’, i.e. the preservation of interfaces to electronic devices used by musicians and musical assistants to play the piece.

We try to compare successive versions of musical pieces, on the point of view of musical intentions (we give at this step no practical details, for instance to explain whether the harmonizer was a hardware or software one). These frames show a possible comparison between two works using FM Synthesis that had to be re-performed (Diadèmes and Madonna of Spring and Winter). The solution for the preservation of Madonna of Spring and Winter remains on the algorithm axis whereas the sampler solution in Diadèmes crosses the algorithm/content boundary.

14 One may refer to the official Website of the project: http://www.casparpreserves.eu 15 An emulator duplicates (provides an emulation of) the functions of one system using a different system, so that the second system behaves like (and appears to be) the first system. (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulator)

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Diadèmes/ Creation version (1986) New version (2008) Marc-André Dalbavie sampler in Max/MSP

C ONTENT / - TX 816 sampling

- FM Synthesis / A LGORITHM - Solo viola sound - Solo viola sound transformation transformation (reverberation, (reverberation, harmonizer) harmonizer) - 2 keyboards triggering FM - 2 keyboards triggering H UMAN TO MACHINE synthesis - Viola sound acquisition with a MUSICAL INTERFACE - Viola sound acquisition with a microphone microphone

Madonna of Spring and Creation version (1986) New version (2006) Winter/ FM7 of Native Instruments Jonathan Harvey

C ONTENT / /

A LGORITHM - FM Synthesis - FM-Synthesis on FM7 of Native Instruments

H UMAN TO MACHINE - 2 keyboards + manual - 2 keyboards M U S I C A L I NTERFACE operation

Mantra/ Creation version (1970) New version (2001) Karl-Heinz Stockhausen Morse codes of the note c from C ONTENT a radio or recorded from a Recorded Morse codes on CD magnetic tape

A LGORITHM

H UMAN TO MACHINE - Tuning a Radio or operating a - Operating a CD-Player MUSICAL INTERFACE magnetic tape

The presence of these three axes in a new version can be crucial for the understanding of the piece. Especially the interface component seems to be underestimated in migration procedures but affects the authenticity of the result. In the case of Madonna of Winter and Spring by Jonathan Harvey the FM7 facilitated the handling of the keyboards. The original manual operations have disappeared. The human-to-machine interaction can also feature performing characters as in Mantra of Stockhausen. The replacement of the Morse codes from a radio or magnetic tape with a CD-Player in Miller Puckette's migration can shift meanings in the piece.16. Indeed, if the Morse codes in the radio are rare these days it is important for the piece to keep the sound of the Morse codes. But playing the sounds

16 PUCKETTE, Miller, New Public-Domain Realizations of Standard Pieces for Instruments and Live Electronics. Proc. of the Int. Computer Music Conf. Miami, USA, page 2

24 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 from a CD instead of playing them on a shortwave radio tuned by a performer or from a magnetic tape subducts important senses of the piece and changes the levels of reception. For instance the action of randomness of the Morse signals if the player has to tune the radio. The general progress of technology can also tamper with the piece. For instance, the first pieces of musique concrète were composed on loudspeakers with a bandwidth from 80 to 10 000 Hertz. If we listen to these pieces these days on modern loudspeakers, with a broader bandwidth, we might hear additional frequencies, which the composer could not hear previously.17

2.2. TE CHN ICAL COMPONENTS TO PORT LIVE ELECTRONICS

Another point of view focuses on the various implementations. Creating or composing sounds with live electronics involves several processes: 1) Composers often use synthesizers/electronic devices to realize a certain 'algorithm' to create a sound. 2) The specific 'features of the operating system', also in a machine, influence the sound accessorily. 3) As the software is not completely independent from the hardware, the technical devices implicate a certain characteristic in the sound. 4) An additional component to the sound-producing machine is the interface, which affects the sound result, for instance especially a keyboard with its certain kind of touch-sensitivity. In the case of Diadèmes, the keyboard must be seen as a crucial interface for the musical interaction to perform and to represent the synthesizer sounds as an instrument. Fortunately, the original Keyboard Yamaha KX88 seems not to become obsolete, so that we just have to replace the synthesizer (till now). 5) In the end, there is just one perceptible sound as a result, which concentrates all the other components. This leads us to the technical problematic of preserving the sounds of live electronics, because there are 5 components bundled (see Figure 19 as example in Diadèmes): 1) The composer’s algorithm/ custom application 2) Features of the operating system 3) The hardware features 4) The interface level 5) The sound result

A solution bundling all components in the result appears impossible without reconstructing the whole machine. The synthesizer TX816, for instance, shows almost the same characteristics of an electronic instrument.18 There are several possibilities to preserve particular elements of live electronics, with assets and drawbacks. We can categorize the main requirements for an authentic solution into following criteria:

- Which solution represents the most components of the original device? - Which solution represents the general intentions of the composer the best?

17 TERRUGI, Daniel, Preserving and Diffusing in Journal of New Music Research, vol.30, n. 4, 2001, page 2 18 The main difference to live-electronic instruments is the departure in a visual component representing the sound (the keyboard) and the producing component (the synthesizer). Live-electronic instruments include both components, wherefore satisfying, authentic preservations without rebuilding the instruments were unsuccessful till now, example: the Ondes Martenot from 1928.

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Figure 19, example Yamaha TX816 synthesizer in Diadèmes

P R A C T I C A L A PPLICATION

In addition practical criteria are important for preservation, because they ensure to maintain the authentic elements in the preservation. Otherwise the authenticity can become affected afterwards. They are:

- Reliability - Usability - Feasibility/Realisability

2.3. COMPARISON OF SEVERAL SOLUTIONS

We have till now 3 different solutions for preserving the Yamaha synthesizer, which can be estimated with the criteria mentioned above: I. Emulation/Plug-in II. Virtualisation III. Sampler

I. EMULATION/PLUG-IN One way of preservation could be porting the same features of the operating system from the Yamaha synthesizer in another synthesizer or software of a computer. This plug-in solution would maintain two components: the software characteristic and also the original algorithm for the sounds. The sound result would still be different because of the hardware characteristic. This solution could achieve the

26 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 requirement in a high degree. But it requires an emulation of the previous operating system by Yamaha. Due to copyright issues it is not allowed to use the original or recreated software. But Yamaha created 2007 a plug-in (PLG150-DX19) for the synthesizer Yamaha motif XS, which is compatible to voice data of TX816 synthesizers. This solution would keep the operating system and additionally a part of the hardware characteristics. This might reach one of the closest results. A comparison of these sounds with the TX816 is planned. It is not clear if the maintained programs of the old synthesizer can be loaded. More research in this subject might be worthwhile because the very close sound result of the plug-in could replace the TX816 for reference recordings.

II. VIRTUALISATION Another option of migrating shows for example FreeX7, a program for simulating the synthesizer Yamaha DX7, but without using the original operating system. It results from the project named Modernising Live Electronics Technology in the Works of Jonathan Harvey in 2006.20The authors Jamie Bullock and Lamberto Coccioli of the Birmingham Conservatoire had the same problems and circumstances as in Diadèmes with the pieces of Jonathan Harvey. They chose this kind of solution in cooperation with the composer. The goal was to maintain the algorithm of the creator and to find an efficient solution to modernise several pieces.

It should also achieve the practical criteria. FreeX7 was created with the open source software Pure Data, and should therefore be available as a free download. The main advantage here is the usability because this module is available for every composer to preserve or modernize his old pieces by himself. It should be an efficient method to modernise more pieces, which used the Yamaha synthesizer DX7. Improvisation parts with the synthesizer in the pieces would cause no additional problems. Till now it is not evident on the web blog of the inventors, if the project has succeeded and is hence realisable21. As FreeX7 is based on the open source software Pure Data, the creators can update the virtualisations themselves because they know the source code. But the sustainability of a solution with only software is questionable. Additionally, there is the possibility that the virtualisation becomes recreated again in the future, because of technical progress. In this case they just have the imitated sounds as reference, which can cause a less authentic new result. The quality of this solution is also dependent on the current standard of the software. As we can see at the virtualisation trials by Ipke Starke and Colin Yates (see chapter 3.2), they could not achieve a good sound quality because of software limits in Max/MSP ten years ago (i.e. DSP status). Therefore, these problems with the reliability of software can influence the authenticity of the solution in the future as the sound results are not safe. As there is no reliable reference of the original sounds for the future, the imitated sounds can diverge more and more from the original sound of the synthesizer. This problem could be solved however with additional high quality recordings of the original sounds as a reference, if possible.

FreeX7 achieves the first component: the composer's algorithm (1). Emulating the other components could result into the sound becoming more accurate. Till now it is unclear why this solution was not employed in the last performance of the piece Madonna of Winter and Spring (1986). In September 2006 at Berlin’s Philharmonics they used instead the FM7 virtualisation software of Native Instruments. Now the software was already used to modernise two pieces written by Jonathan Harvey. However the reliability of this software is questionable as they already issued the new version FM8.22 Information about the complete compatibility with the previous version FM7 is vague. Additionally the fact that this is a commercially available software solution, its sustainability depends on the existence of the company Native Instruments.

Until now the question of how close the virtualisation FreeX7 or FM7 sounds to the original TX816 stays unanswered. Jonathan Harvey seemed to have the same opinion as Dalbavie, that the ported sound result should be as close as possible to the original.23 In Diadèmes Marc-André Dalbavie was not interested in the algorithm structures themselves (see interview). In this case, the component of the sound result would be more important than the algorithm.

19 http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D1965%252526CTID%25253D206800,00.html# 20 http://postlude.co.uk/freeX7/ (accessed 09/2008) 21 http://postlude.co.uk/freeX7/, accessed August 2008. 22 http://www.nativeinstruments.de/index.php?id=fm7_de 23 http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=philharmonic&L=1, page 2

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III. SAMPLING OF RECORDED SOUNDS This solution developed for Diadèmes by Serge Lemouton is one of the newer possibilities and seemed to be a 'premiere' in the world of preservation. In contrary to the solution for Jonathan Harvey as explained in II, the focus of preserving was set on the resulting sound. This was the reason why high quality audio-files as references were intended. Audio-Files are supposed to have a much longer lifetime than software solutions. We can generally constitute, that recordings, as references, are very long-lasting elements for preservation and should be initiated in any case if the piece can afford this possibility. Serge Lemouton's solution offers a sound very close to the original. The solution can reach a high degree of authenticity as the sound result (component 5) includes all the other components of the synthesizer: the composer's algorithm (1) and the characteristics of the machine itself (2+3). The sampler solution's feasibility will be proved at the performance in December 2008. Still there were a lot of improvements of the patch, which shows the enormous importance of the recordings technical accuracy. The validation by the composer guaranteed in the case of Diadèmes the correctness of the audio-files. The sampler solution maintained the option to play the piece on a keyboard, but it is not applicable in pieces with improvisation parts. The usability is also limited because of the need of the original synthesizer to record the sounds before. This dependency requires recording the sounds as long as the synthesizers work. A constraint for the feasibility might occur in pieces with a large number of sounds, which could overstrain the operating system. The same problems in the reliability like any other commercial software might appear given that the sampler solution was created in Max/MSP. The difference to other solutions is the independency of any special software because of the guarantee of authenticity by the recordings. The idea itself to create a sampler for the recorded sounds can be realised with any other software.24 However, the quality of the different sampler versions will affect the result.

24 Several sampler versions basing on Pure Data or Mach5, universal sampler software, are projected.

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Figure 20, sampler-solution

2.4. AUTHENTICITY IN PRESERVING PROCE DURES

According to a survey of the project InterPARES25 the question about the authenticity in preservations seems often so obvious to composers that they do not utter any concerns about it. As they preserve their pieces mostly themselves their concerns are more dedicated to accuracy. However, the authors of the article Authenticity Issue in Performing Arts using Live Electronics26 set the main focus on the authenticity of the preservation result. They give general hints aiming a result, which should be conform to the intentions of the creator. The whole result of preservation cannot own a quality of authenticity. According to this paper, authenticity will always be threatened through transmission across space or time. Though the parts have to be authentic, i.e. authentic recordings, and the composer is the only person who can validate the result if he is still alive. There are three main tasks for a preservation process of live electronics to ensure an authentic character:

1. Identifying the actors and their parts of the work 2. Studying the intentions of the composer 3. Identifying the features to describe precisely the results

Theories of authenticity in digital preservation processes can be found in the paper of Mariella Guercio

25 LONGTON, Michael, Record Keeping Practices of Composers, InterPARES 2, 2004, http://www.interpares.org, accessed July 2008 26 GUERCIO, Mariella, BARTHÉLEMY, Jérôme, BONARDI, Alain, Authenticity Issue in Performing Arts using Live Electronics, 4th Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC 07), actes pages 226-229, Lekfada, Grèce, juillet 2007.

29 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 and Giovanni Michetti: Modeling Authenticity of 2007. Their suggestions are based on conceptions of the CASPAR project, and on main results of international communities projects, like InterPARES. Following the general idea of Nicola Bernardini and Alvise Vidolin27 to rely the live electro-acoustic works to a low technology or no technology (i.e. paper), the storage of digital data is planed in generic languages like FAUST (Functional AUdio STreams) or OWL. For each step of lifecycle of an object, an Authenticity Protocol (AP) must be created to guarantee their identity and fixity. The research for defining simple criteria and methods aims to achieve a measure of the authenticity of the new implementation. As CASPAR is in the development process of research methods, the preservation of Diadèmes provides a test bed to IRCAM. For this purpose, it is planed to confront the output results of the obsolete machine and of the new implementation on physical levels (e.g. frequency spectra, differences of noise), which were recorded during the comparison session with Dalbavie. This research result can also deliver tools for validating a new version of a piece if the composer is not alive anymore.

Referring to the article The Preservation, Emulation, Migration, and Virtualization of Live Electronics for Performing Arts: a State of the Art28 for the whole preservation process all available digital files should be generally collected such as audio recordings, patches, documentation, scores, etc. Next to this and including the experiences of Diadèmes' revival, following features are advisable to keep ensuring that the piece can be re-performed:

• As much reference material as possible, especially audio-files for each sound, recorded and checked very precisely, also named and described • Abstract descriptions of the electronic patches in low technology • Test files of various inputs (e.g. impulse response), to compare new versions of patches or to store them as references, also of interfaces, like a keyboard • Maintenance of the relations of the human-machine interfaces

3. C ONCLUSION

Preservations of musical pieces using live electronics, which are no longer available, present a recent research field. Accordingly many questions are unanswered and problems unsolved. In the last chapters, we tried to shape general and efficient methods:

We pointed out that a port could shift a piece into different directions in a musical realm of the three axes Content, Algorithm and the Human-to-machine musical interface. To avoid changes in the meaning of the piece, the distinction of this musical component could give a helpful overview. Particularly with regard to the 'Human-to-Machine Musical Interface', for instance the manual operations, changes between the original and the new version can be discovered more easily.

The separation in the different technical components to port live electronics as well as the practical application can help to compare different solutions of ports. Live electronics are analysed in different components in a general way, which might help to distinct them from other electronic machines, as for example electronic instruments. This chapter additionally points out, that the strengths and weaknesses of a port also depend on the practical application.

An approach of the assets and drawbacks of the different solutions as plug-ins, virtualisations and the sampler solution can be found for the example of the FM-synthesizer TX816. A comparison - also on physical levels - in this realm of the various sound results is still missing. A better knowledge of the different possibilities could facilitate and formalise the procedures in order to further preserve the works for pieces using a similar synthesizer.

27 BERNARDINI, Nicola and VIDOLIN, Alvise Sustainable Live Electro-acoustic Music. In Proceedings of the International Sound and Music Computing Conference, Salerno, Italy, 2005, p. 6 28 BONARDI, Alain and BARTHÉLEMY, Jérôme., The preservation, emulation, migration, and virtualization of live electronics for performing arts: An overview of musical and technical issues. ACM J. Comput. Cultur. Heritage 1, 1, Article 6 (June 2008), page 19

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Finally we can conclude which features must be stored to maintain the authenticity. The importance of preserving audio-files of each sound and test-files of the interfaces, effects etc. as references results from the chapters before. Therefore we stored in Diadèmes the impulse responses of the effects as test files and the recordings of each sound. In addition the human-machine interface as an extra component must be considered safeguarding. We could keep an impulse response of the Yamaha KX88 keyboard, which can be implemented in other keyboards. In the framework of the Caspar Project, Raffaele Ciavarella29 described and evaluated some strategies on the footing of risk analysis theory. All of them are based on a block diagram model – basing on following scheme – and when put in evidence, changes in the workflows of digital preservation, e.g. with the real-time processing engine Max/MSP.

A - APPLICATION A.2 A.1 CUSTOM LIB APPLICATION

B - ENGINE B.1 B.2 MAX/MSP LIB MAX/MSP

C - COMPUTER C.1 OS

C.3 COMPUTER

D.1 EXTERNALS

In the case of Diadèmes the obsolescence of live electronics was discovered especially with the Yamaha TX816 due to the demand to re-perform the piece. Another possibility to detect technical devices of live electronics, which endanger pieces to become unperformable, would be by using the OAIS model. The concept is to use a preservation orchestration with a warning system, which detects if any machines are in danger to disappear such as the Yamaha TX816. The solutions for detecting obsolete technical devises are not specified so far. Additionally, questions of organisation and responsibility are not clear. The recording of other pieces must start immediately in order to save in this case the sounds of a TX816 as a reference as long as this machine still works. A testing of the Yamaha plug-in PLG150-DX might deliver new knowledge and new possibilities to preserve the synthesizer. Generally we might constitute a tendency of commercial companies offering new plug-ins or software for old equipment (Yamaha, Native Instruments). This development can additionally influence preservation procedures in future. Therefore more classifications of technology – even of evolving ones – are to consider.

German philosopher Werner Rammert (Free University, Berlin) has tried to define technology30 by no longer using substantial difference but relationships between technologies. For Rammert, new

29 CIAVARELLA, Raffaele, created for the All-hands meeting heraklion university of Crete, September 2007 30 RAMMERT, Werner, Relations that constitute technology and media that make a difference: towards a social pragmatic theory of technicization, in E. Agazzi/H. Lenk (eds), Advances in the Philosophy of Technology, Newark, Delaware: Society for Philosophy and Technology. 1999, pages 281-302

31 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 technologies are constituted by a type of relations he calls evaluative. Technologies are always related to other technologies, according to two mechanisms: − A technology is in relation of competition with newer ones. − A technology is in relation of compatibility with established ones.

In the world of technologies, Rammert proposes the concept of a “technological archive” derived from Foucault and Derrida. The idea is a kind of collection of “State of the art” technologies: a collection is not a fixed database but rather a painting collection, a moving set of elements in connection together. The idea is to handle the difference between established, highly-evaluated technologies and profane, non-evaluated technologies. We can try to represent part of it on the case of FM-synthesis, associating deprecated TX816 and more recent technologies not yet established, i. e. software as samplers or FM7 by Native Instruments.

Figure 21, Representation of Rammert's ideas of 'technological archives' on the FM-synthesis

Furthermore, definitions concerning composition with live electronics could be helpful for a research. In addition new definitions for electronic instruments are required as we noticed in the interview with Dalbavie. Especially one must ask the question concerning, why live electronics are not just an instrument like the acoustical instruments, which could be replaced by modern ones. In the future, electronic devices will always be constituted in competition to newer electronics but with better quality or more options. Even acoustic instruments are replaced by modern ones in Barock performances, for example, because people prefer the better sound quality.

More concrete ideas by the philosopher Gilbert Simondon deliver some thoughts about the distinction of acoustic and electronic instruments. In his book Du mode d’existence des objets techniques (1958), he distinguishes two states in the design of complex objects (composed of several units): − On the one side, abstract machines (usually belonging to the first ages of technologies), where every unit is designed as an absolute and requires forming a closed system. − On the other side, concrete machines (often belonging to more recent ages), where unique structures have been developed that include and overcome several previous functions. We need further investigations in the field of organology to confirm what could be an interesting

32 REVIVAL: PROJECT DIADÈMES BY MARC-ANDRÉ DALBAVIE CASPAR 2008 hypothesis in understanding the difference between acoustic instruments and electronic modules: can we think of acoustic instruments as concrete machines since they have been reshaped for centuries? Can we think of software modules for performing arts as abstract machines, still not converging to concrete machines including multiple functions?

In general a revival project might be seen in two ways: the first one is to create a version capable of having broader performances of the piece. The other one is by maintaining the sounds as originally accurate as possible with archaeological precision for preserving them like in a museum. In a research project of the TU Berlin in Germany and other institutions, a virtual reconstruction of the piece Poème électronique by Edgar Varèse was recreated, combining visual virtual reality and binaural audio.31 The creators considered many details of original material and equipment like the low quality of the original loudspeakers and the frequency response of walls of asbestos, which caused a very dry acoustics. As it transpired in a public discussion after the rehearsal in Tesla Berlin32, the resulting sound was a disappointment to most of the listeners in comparison to the well known stereo version consisting of a little bit of reverberation. But at least this work can be viewed as a museum's piece, which can document the circumstances in the Phillips Pavilion of the fifties.

If the composer validates a new version of his piece with modern sounds, effects or interfaces, the question might appear, if there is no public interest to store in addition all the electronics as close as possible to the original for the future. In Diadèmes we strike this border between the wish of a better sound quality such as electronic effects and sounds of the FM synthesizer as close as possible to the original.

31 WEINZIERL , Stefan et altri, The virtual electronic poem (VEP) project, http://www.edu.vrmmp.it/vep/stage.htm (accessed 09/2008) 32 http://www.tesla-berlin.de/_page.php?aktion=SHOW_PAGE&Page_ID=177, (accessed 09/2008)

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REFERENCES

BERNARDINI, Nicola and VIDOLIN, Alvise Sustainable Live Electro-acoustic Music. In Proceedings of the International Sound and Music Computing Conference, Salerno, Italy, 2005 BERNARDINI, Nicola, and VIDOLIN, Alvise. Sustainable Live Electro-acoustic Music. In Proceedings of the International Sound and Music Computing Conference, Salerno, Italy, 2005 BONARDI, Alain and BARTHÉLEMY, Jérôme., The preservation, emulation, migration, and virtualization of live electronics for performing arts: An overview of musical and technical issues. ACM J. Comput. Cultur. Heritage 1, 1, Article 6 (June 2008)

DALBAVIE, M.-A, in .Actes du symposium, Systèmes personnels et informatique musicale, IRCAM October 1986, publisched in 1987, MAD DOUGLAS, Jennifer, PETRIE, Carolyn and ROCAN, Claudette. InterPARES 2 Project - General study 03 - MUSTICA Final Report, 2006, page 10, available at http://www.interpares.org/display_file.cfm?doc=ip2_gs03_final_report.pdf

EIMERT, Herbert, Zur musikalischen Situation, in NWDR (Technische Hausmitteilung), 1954

GILBERT, Jean, Du mode d’existence des objets techniques, 1958 GUERCIO, Mariella and MICHETTI, Giovanni, Modeling Authenticity 2007 GUERCIO, Mariella, BARTHÉLEMY, Jérôme, BONARDI, Alain, Authenticity Issue in Performing Arts using Live Electronics, 4th Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC 07), actes pages 226-229, Lekfada, Grèce, juillet 2007

LONGTON, Michael, Record Keeping Practices of Composers, InterPARES 2, 2004, http://www.interpares.org, accessed July 2008

PUCKETTE, Miller, New Public-Domain Realizations of Standard Pieces for Instruments and Live Electronics. Proc. of the Int. Computer Music Conf. Miami, USA

RAMMERT, Werner, Relations that constitute technology and media that make a difference: towards a social pragmatic theory of technicization, in E. Agazzi/H. Lenk (eds), Advances in the Philosophy of Technology, Newark, Delaware: Society for Philosophy and Technology. 1999

TERRUGI, Daniel, Preserving and Diffusing in Journal of New Music Research, vol.30, n. 4, 2001

WEINZIERL , Stefan et altri, The virtual electronic poem (VEP) project, http://www.edu.vrmmp.it/vep/stage.htm (accessed 09/2008)

YATES, Colin, ReadMe-Virtual FM, 06/12/01- Colin Yates, IRCAM, Final Backup

WEBPAGES http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emulator http://postlude.co.uk/freeX7/ (accessed 09/2008) http://postlude.co.uk/freeX7/, accessed August 2008 http://www.casparpreserves.eu http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=philharmonic&L=1, page 2, (accessed 09/2008) http://www.tesla-berlin.de/_page.php?aktion=SHOW_PAGE&Page_ID=177, (accessed 09/2008)

FIGURES Figure 1, setup of the live-electronic ensemble in Diadèmes, modified from the score...... 5 Figure 2, score Diadèmes...... 5 Figure 3, archive material, CD-ROMs ...... 6 Figure 4, FM synthesizer Yamaha TX816 ...... 6 Figure 5, Max-patch/Virtual FM by Colin Yates...... 6 Figure 6, keyboard 1, bars 20 - 38 ...... 7 Figure 7, score, bars 19 - 21 ...... 7 Figure 8, keyboard 2, p. 8 ...... 7 Figure 9; score Diadèmes, p. 40, bar 79-84,...... 8 Figure 10, Studio 2 with equipment, IRCAM...... 8

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Figure 11, setup studio 2...... 10 Figure 12, excel table of the programmed sounds for keyboard 1 and 2...... 11 Figure 13, description of audio-file names...... 11 Figure 14, recording in Digital Performer...... 12 Figure 15, Max-Patch Diadèmes-sampler in Max5...... 12 Figure 16, setup studio 2...... 13 Figure 17, excerpt of Cahier d'exploitation, page 32...... 14 Figure 18, Max-Patch DiadèmesViolaEffects in Max 5...... 14 Figure 19, example Yamaha TX816 synthesizer in Diadèmes...... 26 Figure 20, sampler-solution...... 29 Figure 21, Representation of Rammert's ideas of 'technological archives' on the FM-synthesis...... 32

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