Reviews [Editor’s note: Selected reviews are performances, lectures, demonstra- ateur choir of 24 voices who per- posted on the Web. In some cases, tions, and workshops exploring con- formed under their conductor Martyn they are either unpublished in the temporary music for voices and Warren an impressive and articulate Journal itself or published in an ab- showcasing computer music research new work by Karen Wimhurst. The breviated form in the Journal. Visit and new creative developments at choir also participated (most imagi- http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi the University of Plymouth. It was a natively) in electroacoustic works by /comj and, under “Inside the Journal” most successful collaboration be- Andrew Lovett and Mr. Miranda. at the left, click on “CMJ’s Website.” tween ICCRM and Peninsula Arts, A lively program of lectures and Then click on “Reviews” at the top.] an organization set up by the univer- workshops surrounded the concert sity under the direction of Simon events. Mr. Miranda gave a presenta- Ible to animate music both on and off tion of great clarity that examined the campus. the techniques he has been develop- Events The festival promoted three major ing to create an artificial phonologi- concerts in three different spaces. cal system for his work Sacra The opening event brought together Conversazione, an opera in five acts. the jazz partnership of Mike and Kate His coda to the lecture introduced Voices: Peninsula Arts Westbrook with ICCMR researcher the intriguing notion that his newly Contemporary Music Festival Marcelo Gimenes, an accomplished developed research tools could well pianist whose program of music from be used to explore how early humans Interdisciplinary Centre for Com- Brazil made a lively mix with the may have spoken, and in conjunction puter Music Research, University of Westbrooks’ cabaret performances of with robotic simulations, might go Plymouth, Plymouth, UK, 24–26 Feb- Kurt Weill alongside their celebrated further to exploring communication ruary 2006. William Blake settings. Saturday’s and behaviors. Ms. Lynch gave an in- concert focused on the unique pres- valuable “how to do it” guide for per- Reviewed by Nigel Morgan ence of Frances Lynch, one of the few formers and composers. It was the Wakefield, West Yorkshire, UK international singers to have worked kind of common-sense presentation closely with composers of electro- all too rare in a cultural climate The South West peninsula of the acoustic music. Her dramatic and where the interpretation of digitally United Kingdom is all set to become most commited performances con- mediated work is so often regarded as one of the major new areas of techno- tinue to inspire many composers, not the sole property of the artist and no logical and cultural growth in Eu- least Mr. Miranda, whose Requiem one else. Sadly, composer Karen rope. At the epicenter lies the city of per una perduda Ms. Lynch was able Wimhurst’s session could have bene- Plymouth, whose enterprising uni- to rehearse and develop during a fited from a different slot in the versity is already making waves in short residency promoted by ICCMR. schedule. What she said about her the academic world, not least in its Her concert also featured one of the work and her background in com- establishment of the Interdisciplinary classics of the genre, Alejandro munity and theatre arts was most re- Centre for Computer Music Research Viñao’s Hildegard’s Dream. The third vealing, but those who heard her did (ICCMR). This center is formed of concert gave listeners an opportunity so at the end of six hours of continu- scholars from different backgrounds to experience something of Ply- ous events. and different departments across the mouth’s own alternative musical Voices was a most imaginatively University, bringing together Com- scene in a performance shared be- planned and well-executed mini- puting, Neuroscience Education, tween remix performers Daniel and festival that deserves to be established Music, and Media. ICCMR is led by Matthew Smith and the songwriter as a regular part of the contemporary Eduardo Reck Miranda, a composer John Matthias. music calendar in the UK. Further in- who deftly marries in his academic Woven into and around these formation can be found on the festi- work visionary ideas about future concerts were performances that cel- val Web site (cmr.soc.plymouth.ac.uk/ states of music with the ability to ar- ebrated the wealth of community in- event.htm). ticulate accessible and realistic mu- volvement in regional music-making. sic experiences. Saturday’s concert with Frances Voices was a weekend festival of Lynch was shared with Voces, an am- Events 77 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/comj.2006.30.3.78 by guest on 25 September 2021 Publications shown on late-night television on oc- proach to creating electronic music, casion, and it is possible to rent or pur- and also provides an outline history chase on DVD. Until this publication of electronic instruments and stu- by musicologist James Wierzbicki, dios, experimental techniques, and James Wierzbicki: Louis and Bebe however, the music has not been other uses of electronic sounds in Barron’s Forbidden Planet: A studied in depth, either on its own or film. The listing of films that make Film Score Guide in the functional context of the film. use of Theremin sounds and so forth Louis and Bebe Barron’s FORBID- is a useful resource for anyone want- Softcover, 2005, ISBN 0-8108-5670-0, DEN PLANET: A Film Score Guide is ing to explore the wider context for Scarecrow Film Score Guides, No. 4, the fourth of the Scarecrow Film the Forbidden Planet soundtrack. 185 pages, illustrated, notes, bibliog- Score Guides. It is an admirable book, The invented circuits that Louis raphy, index, US$ 24.95; Scarecrow looking in detail at the music and the Barron built were intended to make Press, Inc., P.O. Box 317, Oxford OX2 film, and setting Forbidden Planet— “interesting sounds” that were “non- 9RU, UK; or The Rowman & Little- and the Barrons—into historical con- logical” and “unstable.” He appar- field Publishing Group, Inc., 4501 text. The text is organized into five ently found theoretical justification Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, chapters. The first, “Origins and for his approach in the cybernetics of Maryland 20706, USA; telephone (+1) Connections,” provides biographical mathematician Norbert Weiner, who 800-462-6420; fax (+1) 717-794-3803; information on the Barrons, includ- attempted to link the organizational Web www.scarecrowpress.com/. ing their relationship with John Cage. systems of machines and living or- I had always understood that the Bar- ganisms to information theory. For Reviewed by James Harley rons had supported his Music for Barron, the creation of sound- Guelph, Ontario, Canada Magnetic Tape project by providing producing circuits that behaved in equipment and technical assistance. unpredictable, but controllable, ways The music produced by Louis and Here, though, I learned that in fact and that followed a natural life cycle Bebe Barron for the 1956 Hollywood Cage had paid them for this work (the period of activity before circuit science-fiction film, Forbidden from a grant he had received, and that components failed) was extremely at- Planet, ranks as one of the important they in essence were his employees tractive. Bebe Barron’s main creative milestones in the history of elec- for a period of about one year. Mr. role, we learn, was to listen to the tronic music for being the first such Wierzbicki notes an often-overlooked many recorded hours of circuitry out- major commercial project to be cre- point, that the Barrons’ tape composi- put to select musically interesting ated entirely from electronic sounds. tion For An Electronic Nervous Sys- moments. The couple would then Furthermore, although many film tem (1954) was one of the creative work on the material using standard scores today are likely to have been outcomes of this project, along with tape manipulation techniques. produced using entirely digital means, Cage’s William Mix (1952), Earle Chapter 3, “Historical and Critical most imitate traditional instruments Brown’s Octet I (1953), and Christian Contexts,” focuses on the film. The at least in part. The music for Forbid- Wolff’s Music for Magnetic Tape author presents the social and aes- den Planet was created from custom- (1952). This chapter also discusses the thetic backgrounds for Forbidden built electronic circuits, and the genesis of the film, how the Barrons Planet and its critical reception over sounds resemble traditional instru- came to be hired to provide the music time. He also discusses the screen- ments or styles not at all. (the studio never intended that they play, including its Freudian psycho- The soundtrack album for Forbid- should score the whole film, appar- logical elements and its resemblance den Planet was released on vinyl in ently), and the aftermath, both with to Shakespeare’s The Tempest. 1977 (and on compact disc in 1989) regard to the film and the Barrons’ ca- Chapter 4 presents a detailed musi- and was reviewed in these pages by reer. One should not (definitely not!) cal analysis of the soundtrack as Curtis Roads in 1983 (CMJ 7:1). The follow a similar path if one is aiming heard on the Forbidden Planet album. music is commonly discussed in his- to make a career doing music in Hol- The recording differs from the music torical accounts of electronic music lywood, but the Barrons’ determina- heard in the film in many ways, and an excerpt of the soundtrack is tion and uncompromising aesthetic which Mr. Wierzbicki carefully included on at least one compilation vision are a joy to read about. notes. Some of the cues are shorter, recording: OHM:The Early Gurus of Chapter 2, “Compositional Tech- some are longer, and of course none Electronic Music.