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Nicola Candlish Phd 2012 Durham E-Theses The Development of Resources for Electronic Music in the UK, with Particular Reference to the bids to establish a National Studio CANDLISH, NICOLA,ANNE How to cite: CANDLISH, NICOLA,ANNE (2012) The Development of Resources for Electronic Music in the UK, with Particular Reference to the bids to establish a National Studio, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3915/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 ‘The Development of Resources for Electronic Music in the UK, with Particular Reference to the bids to establish a National Studio’ Nicola Anne Candlish Doctor of Philosophy Music Department Durham University 2012 Nicola Anne Candlish ‘The Development of Resources for Electronic Music in the UK, with Particular Reference to the Bids to Establish a National Studio’ This thesis traces the history and development of the facilities for electronic music in the UK. It covers the early attempts to experiment with electronic music and create studios in less than ideal circumstances and the subsequent bids to create a national centre. It also covers some elements of worldwide development of electronic music and sound recording, in particular those which occurred before 1965. The thesis calls upon non-traditional sources and the author was able to access many documents in the personal archives of electronic music pioneers. There is substantial reference to committees and societies for electronic music and their effects on the development of facilities for electronic music in the UK. Some of the early pioneers are studied in detail; these include Daphne Oram, Tristram Cary and Hugh Davies. Unprecedented access to information on Hugh Davies and Daphne Oram was provided by the family estates of these recently deceased composers. This allowed the author to gain valuable insight into the working patterns and methodology of these composers. Many references to later pioneers such as Trevor Wishart are also made but the focus remains on the facilities available to composers rather than the composers and their works. 2 Table of Contents LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ..................................................................................................... 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................ 11 Part 1: Introduction to the thesis ............................................................................................................................ 11 Timescale ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 Literature .......................................................................................................................................................... 14 Documentation of Activity ............................................................................................................................... 16 Obsolescence .................................................................................................................................................... 17 Part 2: Locating the thesis in the wider context ..................................................................................................... 17 Electronic music and popular culture ............................................................................................................... 17 Electronic music and the individual enthusiast ................................................................................................ 18 The significance of a lack of institutional facilities for the pursuit of electronic music activities in the UK .. 19 A national studio for electronic music in the UK ............................................................................................ 22 The development of broadcasting and studios in other countries .................................................................... 23 Early broadcasting in the UK ........................................................................................................................... 24 Magnetic tape recording ................................................................................................................................... 26 Optical sound recording ................................................................................................................................... 29 Concluding remarks on the technical background to developments in the UK ............................................... 31 Part 3: Key sources of information ....................................................................................................................... 32 The BBC Archive ............................................................................................................................................. 32 The Daphne Oram Collection .......................................................................................................................... 32 The Hugh Davies Archive ................................................................................................................................ 33 Hugh Davies ..................................................................................................................................................... 34 Répertoire International des Musiques Expérimentales ................................................................................... 37 A discography in Recorded Sound ................................................................................................................... 38 Répertoire International des Musiques Electroacoustiques ............................................................................. 39 CHAPTER 2: THE EVOLUTION OF THE STUDIO ............................................................ 42 Tristram Cary ................................................................................................................................................... 44 Roberto Gerhard ............................................................................................................................................... 46 Daphne Oram ................................................................................................................................................... 48 The BBC Radiophonic Workshop ................................................................................................................... 52 A temporary studio for radiophonics ............................................................................................................... 58 Directorship of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop ........................................................................................... 63 The opening of the Radiophonic Workshop .................................................................................................... 65 Composition at the Radiophonic Workshop .................................................................................................... 67 The birth of Oramics ........................................................................................................................................ 70 The Oramics System ........................................................................................................................................ 75 The Radiophonic Workshop – into the 1960s .................................................................................................. 77 Delia Derbyshire .............................................................................................................................................. 82 Doctor Who ...................................................................................................................................................... 83 Synthesisers at the Radiophonic Workshop ..................................................................................................... 86 3 Peter Zinovieff ................................................................................................................................................. 88 Unit Delta Plus ................................................................................................................................................. 89 Electronic Music Studios (London) Limited (EMS) ........................................................................................ 93 MUSYS ............................................................................................................................................................ 98 Closing reflections
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