VOX V
of an electroacoustic
tapepiece.
by Tlevor Wishart. Theanalysls
Tom Williams
Gontext
Voxis a work for four amplifiedvoiceswith electronics
andtapein sixindependentmovements(anythingbetween
one and all six can be in a conceft),andtotallingoveran
hour'sworthof music. Thecyclewas composedoveran
eight year period between1980 and 1988 (Wishart
composedonlya few additionalpiecesin this period)and
is a development
from suchearlierworksas Anticredos
for amplifiedvoicesandthe tape pieceRedBird.Allthese
worksexolore the voice as a "multimedia"instrument
Music,Vol.7, p. 6
Journalof Electroacoustic
throughlanguage,
semanticandphonetic,dramaticintent;
metaphor, transformation and the voice as a sonic
generatorconceptually
similartotheanalogue
synthesizer.
Vox is a synthesisof the electronic,
the ethnic (withthe
incorporation
of otherworldvocaltechniques),the popular
(especiallyin movementVl) the avantgardeas well as
polymetric/polyrhythmic
techniques more usual in
medievalmusics.
An analysisof TrevorWishart'sVoxV
Vox, or movements thereof, have been performed
throughoutthe world with Vox V receivinginternational
prizesand considerableacclaim. lt is availableon two
for
majorrecordinglabels(VirginandWergo)- remarkable
a tape piecethat is little morethan five yearsold.
Vox V the graphic score
In orderto cometo a deeperanalyticalunderstanding
of
this pieceit has beennecessarytotake it out of time,to
'now' bygivingsomekind
capturethe phenomenological
of visual representationof the piece over time. The
graphicscoringof the work is differentto a conventional
Westernmusicscorein that itonlyallowsusto surveythe
musicnotto reconstructit. In that sense'map' is a more
appropriateterm: a map's sole purposeis to guideus
through an area. Furthermore,unlike conventional,
acousticcomposition,wherethe composerbeginsfrom
writeshis/her musicout of
the scoreand consequently
time, whichdetermines,bythis note by notedissection,
is
certainintellectualactivities, the electroacoustician
that
workingwithin
a soniccontinuum- the evanescense
is sound itself. The processis more akin to painting
wherethe pictureis the artobject,forthe viewerdoesnot
have a series of instructions to create the painting.
Musical notation,that is the instructionsneededto
recreate and present the work as'heard'as a
phenomenological
object by the composer,allowsby its
manifestation
out of time and its 'pre-musichearing-asseen', an insight into the mechanics,the thought
processes,as well as the adoptionof compositional
unheard. In this
deviceswhichare phenomenologically
wayit is possibleto study a scoreandfind methodsused
by the composerwhich are not aurallyapparentand yet
integral
tothe musicalprocesses.Muchof electroacoustic
music works within a pitch and rhythmiccontinuum
wheretimbre is metamorphological. Westernnotation
scheme. Most
workswithina fixed nonevolvingtimbral
witha 'lattice'
Westerninstrumentsaresolelyconcerned
of articulation.(Latticeis a Wishartterm,muchd iscussed
in hisbookOn SonicArt,wherepitchis on theverticalaxis
and rhythm the horizontal.) This is, as the specific
instrumentis, almost solely limited to mechanical
for timbralalteration- pizzicalo,
sul ponticello,
instruction
con sord. etc. These instructionsare non-timbrally
evolving;there is no smoothtimbraltransition(a sonic
continuum)betweenarcoand oizz.or muteandno mute.
as
0f coursethereareexamplesof sonictransformation;
with degreesof vibratoon a sustaininginstrument or
gradationsbetweensul ponticelloandsultasto:moreover,
composers,such as Xenakis,haveexploredmethodsof
in the acousticmediumwithin a
timbraltransformation
groupof instruments(e.9. Pithoprakta).
repertoireof extendedvocalpieceshave
A considerable
evolvedsince the 1950s, for the voice is the most
malleableof all the musicalinstruments(apartfromthe
computer!). Wisharthas taken the malleabilityof the
voice and possiblypushed it further than any other
comooserinto a 'non-latticesonic continuum'. In so
doing,it has beennecessarytoinventa notationthat can
give determinateand comprehensiveinstructionfor his
musical'vision'.
Music,Yol.7,p.7
Joumaf
of Electroacoustic
[To see examplesof Wishart'sdeterminatenotationin
the soniccontinuumfor the voicesee Anticredosor Vox
t.l
Vox V 'scored'
Wishart,in someof his vocalwriting(includingVox),has
developeda notationfor the timbralcontinuum.This is
based on a mixtureof mechanicalinstruction(howto
makethe sound)and the final sound as object - as in
Anticredos, or Vox/. However,VoxV,a piecewith no live
musician,requiresno musicalartifact.Withno performer,
the presentationof the work no longer requiresthe
symbolsof conventionalmusical notation. They are
simplyredundant.Thecomposerneedsno middleparty
to give a presentationof the work and, as this is
unnecessary,
there is no symbolicconvention.
Manycomposers
of electroacoustic
tapemusicconstruct
a 'diffusionscore'. This is solelyfor the benefitof the
soundprojectionistin a concertsituation. Certainkey
points within the electroacousticpiece need to be
prescibedin orderthat the work be dynamically
shaped
and spatiallydiffusedthroughoutthe auditorium- ideally
ea (electracoustic)performances have multiple
loudspeakers
with individualdynamiccontrolaroundthe
performancespace . These 'scores' are usuallyvery
Iimitedintheir information.Wishart has madea d iffusion
scoreof VoxV, (see example). lt itemisesthifteen key
pointswithinthe piecelargelyby verbaldescriptionand
timing. Below it gives deciBel indicationsfor the
projectionist;OdBis the optimumperformancelevel,and
fromtherethe tape is cut or boostedby 'ridingthefaders'
(volumecontrol).Apartfrom the final section,there are
no diffusionindications,for the piece is quadrophonic
and thereforehas a strong integrAlspatial field. At the
final 'thunderclap/rain'
sectionthe rainandthundercan
be projectedupwards,as well as surrounding
- addingto
the impressionof the 'real' landscapeintended by
Wishart.
Vox V 'mapped'
I have attempted to give a graphic representation,a
mappingof events with the scaling of time on the
horizontalaxis. This mappingis a guideto the ordering
of eventsandthe typeof gesturesfoundtherein. lt is an
extensionof the Wishartdiffusionscorebut now giving
moredetail. Thegraphicvisualization
of the soundsand
their morphosisis an attemptto impartthe gestalt. To
show howthe gesturesmoveand evolvethroughtime.
Structure and electracoustic music
willnotfall
Anea piecedominantinthetimbralcontinuum
intoanyconventionalforms,
asthereis no pitchhierarchy
no'meaning',
notonaltendency,
nodeviation
andtherefore
from expectation;for now, deviationis the norm (see L.
Meyer-EmotionandMeaningin Music). Whenea pieces
do attemptto referto conventionalforms the result can
have a simplicityof structuralcontentthat can seem
crass, let aloneunsatisfactory
- especiallywithABAtype
structures.
An analysisof TrevorWishart'sVoxV
Vox V genesis and the poetic content
The pieceis composedby takinga numberof concrete
(natural)
them withinthe
soundsourcesand redefining
music'asthe
digitaldomain.lt canbetermed'computer
pieceisgenerated
solelywithinthe computerenvironment.
Wishartalsousestheterm 'SonicArt'as thisremovesall
musicalpreconceptions
of the aftist
andhas resonances
as sculptormodellingsound.
The poeticpreceptfrom whichWishartbeganwork is a
imageofShiva-theHindugodofcreation
and
conceptual
destruction- creatingthe worldthroughejectionsfrom
This imagethen requiresa numberof
the 'supervoice'.
'foundobjects'of the realworldwhichare recognizable,
aI and therefore,intrinsically metaphoric;
thus referrenti
furthermore,
they needto be sonicallymaleable.These
'sonictransformations',
intourbansounds- social(crowds)
soundsof
or manmade(machine,
bell)or the non-urban
nature, are, as Wishart states, on a poetic level, an
explorationof the range of human experienceand
expression. Moreover, as objects, they need an
aestheticvalue- the listenerneedsto foundan interest
in them for no more reason than that the sound is
interesting. Thevoice,or poeticallyShiva's'supervoice',
is the centralconcretesource. Most of the othersound
from the voiceinto
sourceswillthen be transformations
whatever,with manyof the seeminglynon vocalsounds
of bellor gun,
havinga vocalroot. Butthe characteristic
the two most distinct examples,are imposedby the
computerprocessingthe vocalsource.
Thework is workingon two distinctlevels:the sonicor
musical discursive,which would be categorizedas
'abstract'in SimonEmmerson'sarticlein TheLanguage
of ElectroacousticMusic; and againstthe 'abstracted'to the realworld,and
soundstakenfrom and referrential
with symbolicintent. Emmersoncites Wishaft'searlier
tapepieceRedBird as an exampleandsuggeststhatthe
combination
of abstractand abstractedsoundsproduce
a surreaIityldreamscape.
Vox V as metaphor
To hearthe work is to hear soundsof the realworld. At
everystageof the piecesound-imagesare apparent.The
image of Shiva ejectingthe world from his mouth is
alwaysthere. Yet,the work is not a seriesof consecutive
soundsstemmingfroma vocalutterance,butrathera flux
of transformationswith strong associativereference,
where,usually, a vocal utteranceis the triggerfor the
transformation.The metaphorthen is as much in the
transformation
as in the originalsoundobject.lt is, as
Wishartstates,withregardto the muchearlierpieceRed
Bird , 'a rich metaphoricalfield of discourse'.0n this
pointWishart
continues,in'On SonicArt' (p91):'Using
concretemetaphors(ratherthan text) we are not 'telling
a story'in the usualsense,but unfoldingstructuresand
relationships
in time'. He alsowrites,'we must bothbe
sonically
andmetaphorically
articulate'.Thisunderpins
the pointthat it functions,as discussedin relationto
Emmerson, on two aestheticallyindependentlevels.
Wishart,in his article'SoundSymbolsand Landscapes',
'lf
refersto the depthof meaningswithintransformation:
of Electroacoustic
Music,Vol.7, p. 8
Journal
thistransformation
is setwithina wholematrixofrelated
and transformingimagesthe metaphoricalimplications
becomeincreasingly
refinedand ramified'(p54).Later,
he pointsout that 'the listenermay of coursedenyor
blankoutthemetaphorical
implications
butthisis possible
with all otherart forms whichuse metaphor'.
So multipleand transformingsound symbolsare, as
Wishartproposes,' givinga depthof meaning'. But is
this the case? SuzanneLangerin her book 'Philosphyin
a NewKey,A Studyin the Symbolismof Reason, Rite,and
Arf'states that a symbolconveysa conceptand that a
symbolis 'the essentialact of thought'for 'the human
brain is constantlycarryingon a processof symbolic
(p43);it is 'a typically
transformation'
overtactivity... the
sheerexpression
of ideas'.This is a cognitive,
conscious
activitybut this activityis alsodeeperthanthe cognitive
and, as Langersays,accountsfor 'ritual,art, laughter,
weeping,speech,superstitionand scientificgenius'.
She later writes (p89) 'this appreciationof forms is the
primitiverootof all abstraction'.[Thenotionof 'forms' is
Kantianandcanbeseenas' categories
of understanding'.
l
Withthis in mindwe can approachVoxV andsee levels
of soundsymbolismfromthe verbalized
to the primitive
and inarticulatory.lf this was not the case then its
symbolswouldbe translatableinto anothermediumlike
language. The syntacticlevelof Vox V is completely
uniqueand untranslatable
to anyotherworkof art . The
orderingof the material,its grammatical
structure,has,
to borrowLanger'swords,
a 'furthersourceof signification
... it hasa symbolicmission... afragmentaryconnotation
...to makea complexterm'.lt is notpossibletotestthis
argumentas it is impossibleto divorcethe metaphorfrom
the 'musical'- that is the sonicallyorganized.However,
whenhearingthework,the sound-image
is selfapparent
andthereforeis symbolic-metaphoric.'Bythis
hearingin,
we 'appreciate
forms'on a 'primitive'levelas well as a
surfacelevel. lt is an apprehensionas whenviewinga
paintingwheretherearea myriadof relationships
but no
'vocabulary';
it is 'presentational
symbolism',as Langer
writes.
Sound Sources
Thislist is 'as heard',not as gatheredfromWishart,and
is arrivedat by listeningin realtime and at half speedas
well as considering
the diffusionscore.
The'Supervoice'
- vocalized:phonemes,consonants- usuallyas attacks
fortransformation
as in' Ko'for the beIl/voice(2' 4O):the
ohoneme'Ko' has an inherentbell characteristic.
- ululation(1'16), an Africanvocaltechniqueused in
muchof the Vox Cycle.
- mutterings-likeincantations,
thesemaybemanufactured
from other vocal sources and not originallysampled
muttering. [sampling:recordinga soundinto the digital
domainl
- 'snaos'- seeWishartdiffusionscore- thecharacteristic
of this soundwhenheardat halfspeedsuggestsit is a
processedthunderclap,howeverit could be a vocal
phonemeor evena computergenerated
compound
of the
two.
An analysisof TrevorWishart'sVoxV
- crowd- crowdsounds,used in Vox lV, are here also.
Someof the mulitplextexturesarecreatedwiththe crowd
soundsource.
breath- inhalation,
andexhalationdovetailing
- unvoiced;
of Vox lVlo V
- sibilantsand their noiseconstituents.
- lips - flabbysoundsgenerated
Apartfrom these abstractedsourcesotherthe natural
utterancesare:
- animal:
humanbabycry, horseneighingand crowscalling.
Metaphorically,
the babyis the only humansound.
Thefinal 'living'sound is the stridulenceof a swarmof
oees
Nature- elemental
wind-thereis a naturalcorrespondence
betweenthis and
breath,
thunderclap
and subsequentrumbling- alsothe 'snap'
soundsare frequency
shiftedthunder.
rain - with its granular characteristic,the 'surge'
gestures may have rain as the originalsource. ( lt is
possibleto see some of the vocalsoundsas watery.)
Mechanical
- there are no mechanicalsounds! - examplesof
metaphoricambiguityas well as the mouldingof a
distinctsource(voice)into otherapparentlyas distinct:
- largegun at (4'08) is the voice-this becomesapparent
when listenedat slowerspeed.
the voice,see
- bell- alsovoicegeneratedby processing
stretching.
- rattling- (16"-44) whatth is sounds Iike(rattlingwindow)
is probablynot what it reallyis!
Theaboveare all the apparentsoundsources,with the
voicedominating.otherthanthe vocalsource,thereare
only a few, includingthree elementalsounds(thunder,
animal(horse,bees,
rain,wind)and three non-human
and
and crolvs). Eachis sonicallydistinct,referrential,
they easiryweavea sonic landscape.Thevoice is the
whichis consistent
mainsourceforthe transformations.
with the poetic 'supervoice'image. The malleability
of
rangeof possibilities
thevoiceallowsa vastmorphological
interestin itself,as well as the ability
of electroacoustic
soundsforthe seamlessness
of
to mimicthenon-human
the transformations
- as in addinglhe'zzz' in the voice
beforeit transformsinto the bees (2'20).
Spatial
The work was conceived and is usually performed
quadrophonrcally.For this a 4track tape recorderis
requiredwith four loudspeakers placed in the four
cornersof the auditoriumso the audienceis inthe centre
of the square. Wishartdoes this not only becausehe
sees this as beingof musicalinterest- soundsmoving
rightaroundtheauditorium,
but alsoas it allowsa graphic
kindof representation
of the' supervoice'. AlI articulaltions
can beginfrom centrefront and from there moveto the
audience.The
backto givethe illusionof surroundingthe
most dramaticexample is the opening. For the first
Music,Vol.7, p. 9
JournalofElectroacoustic
minutewherethe landscape
of crow/windis heardit is all
centrefront but the very last transformingsecondsat
L't2- t6'the soundsswoopsto the backspeakersand
from there the ululationvigorouslymovesthroughthe
whole space. Compactdiscs and the hi-fi market is
stereo,and as a consequence
Wishartmixedthe work
downontotwotracksfor CDmastering.Theseimportant
musicalgesturesare all but lost in the stereoversionthis is alsotrueof all the other yoxpieces,as theyareall
quadrophonically
conceived- the scoresof the various
movementshavespatialinstructions.However,
evenin
its two channelmode the work still maintainsa clear
spatial discourse (at its most persuasive over
headphones).
OverallForm:
A
0'- 1'16
crows duration76"
B
1'16 - 4',L8
duration182"
4'LB - 6' (end)
C
rain
duration104"
Landscape 7. wind/
ea discourse
Landscape
2.thunder/
ea discoursecan be dividedin two, almostequalhalves,
separatedby the only silencewithinthe piece:
81
t',1-6- 2'41 (85")
82
2',42-4'18 (96")
Eoisodeswithin B1:
Fiveepisodes:All are demarcatedby the end of one soundcontinuum,
eachepisodebeginswith a newvocalejaculation.They
are metamorphologically
and gesturallydefined- each
hastheirown individualgestalt. Thereis a consequent,
inherentfonvardpropulsion.Eventhe landscapesare
undergoingcontinualchange. lt is a journey for the
listenermovesthroughthe landscape:there is a sense
of becoming- not being.
Episodes:
1..
1'16 - 33 (17")
doubleululation
two vocal ululations
one pannedfully L (left)one R (right)and
from therewide spatialsweepingand filter sweeps
2.
1'33 - 46 (13")
consonantattacksand
snap (thunderclap)
to noiseband
(sibilance)
(t4")
r'46 - 2',OO
3.
vocalizedbreathlater
mixedmultiplex
4.
2'0 - 13 (13")
4 phonemes with
transformations
- useof crowdsource
5
2 ' , L 3 -4 0 (2 7 " )
cyclic transformation
voice- bees- voice, monotexture
Eoisodeswithin 82
Foureoisodes:-
t.
2'4r-3'0t (2o")
vocoder
continuum.
2.
3 ' 0 1 - 1 8 (1 7 " )
(dovetailing
to nextepisode)
3.
3',L7- 53 (36")
continuum
to singlecry
voice/belI attackswith
utterancestomultiplex
vocal
vocoder
An analysisof TrevorWishart'sVoxV
powerful climactic
4.
3'53 - 4'19 ( 26")
gestureswithvoice,horse,gun,baby,lips,
crowo
Landscaoe
1.
Beginswith a breath exhalation- this has two
A[
vocalised'creaks'to characterize
the voice- whetherthe
auditor is consciousof the two is not importantfor the
functionis to make explicitthe notionof humanbreath.
Thehigherfrequencies
areslowlyfiltered
out oversixteen
seconds.lt is a directlinkwiththe previousVoxgivinga
smoothtransitionbetweenthe live and the tape.
4"
Fromnothingemergesthe wind,th is continuesfor
a minutewhere it is slowlysubsumedinto the overall
texture.Thewindhas mixedintoa rattling;thisfunctions
whollywithinthe landscapeof wind,just as the vocalized
'creaks'do in the contextof humanbreath. Windby its
energy makes other objects rattle and we intrinsically
recognize
this and thereforeapprehendit as wind.
t4" Crows slowly emerge from background to
foregroundby 50" they are loud, dominantand and no
longer indentifiedwithin the 'real' world - from then
onwardsthere is a surreality.
39. The third distinct, bubbly, texture running
concurrently
is 'unreal" abstract,for it has no apparent
sourceor referencein the 'real'world. lt is not electronic
- no soundsare- and it most probablycomesfrom some
vocal utterance.
ca 1' beginningthe merger of the crow and bubble
teKureswith the wind - it is like a chemicalreactionof
three elementsto producea compoundsubstance- it
resultsin a fluidityof gesturethat sweepsthe pieceinto
its ea discoursewith the first vocal attack- ululation.
Lanscape1 sets up an imaginarylanscapefrom which
the listenercancontextualize
the objectsof ea discourse
which are both abstract and abstracted(see Emmerson
article in The Languageof ElectroacousticMusic) from
the world- the surreality.
Lanscaoe2 is wherethe Stormmetaphorically
breaksperhapsanelectricsummerstormwithmuchneededrain
to quenchthe thirst of a dry world.
4'L8 the firstvery'electric'thunderclap
is heard,as if
it is overhead- there is f iltering,the boostingandcutting
of somefrequencybands. Thunderwas used in VoxI as
an imageof creation. lt is one of the most powerfuland
emotivenaturalsounds.And,withthe soundof the wind
and rain,it is the soundof the birthandthe deathof the
world. ls then the first crackof thunder the birthof the
worldfromthe 'supervoice'withthe ea discourseas the
mouldingofthe world? Thisis thenone interpretation
of
the metaphoric.But as Wishartwritesin 0n SonicArt
(p.91):'Usingconcretemetaphors(ratherthan text)we
are not 'tellinga story'in the usualsense,but unfolding
structures
andrelationships
in time'. However,
it should
'raisond'etre'is
be remembered
thatWishart'sprinciple
Journalof Electroacoustic
Music.Vol.7, p. 10
to producestructuresin sound. Andthis is closeto the
semiologistJean-Jacques
Nattiez'sdefinitionof music;
the metaphoricthroughreferentiality
of any sound is of
metaphoricimport,but,not necessaryin comprehending
the work. (Comprehensibility
is a Schoenberg
term and
is deemedanessentialrequirement
if musicisto suceed
in its abilitytocommunicate
withthe listener.Totakethis
further LeonardMeyer argues that music has its own
intrinsicmeaning. To comprehendanything,meaning
needsto be imparted.)
4'28 Thunderclap
two with rumbles
5'21 Thunderclapthree
is lowerandso apparentlymore
distantandfrom hereit rumbleson.
Rightf romthefirstcrackwehavea vocodertype
continuum,
an 'unreal',abstractsoundwhichtakes nearlya minute
(likea comet?)
to, in a sense,travelacrossthelandscape
while all this time the rain becomes stronger and
distinctly wetter. This sonic 'comet', I gather from
wishart,is a massivelytime-stretched
vocalbeII utterance.
This I did not recognizein myown listening.By learning
ofthisfromthe composer,it is no longera phenemonlogical
insightbut,
instead,similartotheanalystwho
muchlater
discoversthat a passagenearthe end ofthe work,he is
has an augmentedretrograde
analysing,
inversionof the
originaltone row. Forneitheris heardas such but both
havean integralrelationshipto
whathasgoneon before.
Yet,withoutthe earlyversionsof the materialthe later
radicaltransmogrifications
wouldnot be possible.
Theworkisthen closedbythesymbolofgrowth,rain. Or
is it like Noah'sfloodwhereit is the drowningof the old
evil world for a new beginning? A cleansing?The
metaphoricreadingsare myriad.
The role of the Computer.
VoxVwouldnot havebeen realisableusingthe classic
electronic music studio resources. Red Bird is
aesthetically
inthesamedomainof metaphoric
landscape
with sonic structuresas the compositionalfeature but
composedat a time when he had only the resourcesof
the analoguestudio. The computerhas allowedthe
original sound objects to be transformed in ways
impossiblewith analoguetechnology.
Transformation
Transformation
is an importantfeatureof ea musicfor it
has suchintrinsicgesturalcontent,andgestureis oneof
the most importantelementswithinall musics- gesture
reflectsthe inneremotionof our livesand so has great
emotionalpull(see S. Langer).Whenpitch and rhythm
are no longerapprehendedthen gesture in the sound
continuum through change of one or more of the
properties in that sound over time is an essential
compositional
device. Transformation
in the workof
Wishartfrom one sound symbolto another- from one
overtlyrecognizable
soundto anotheroveftlyrecognizable
sound- has importantmetaOhoric
ramifications.
Wishart
is lookingfor transformations
that are illusive,that fool
the ear,that workbecauseas a soundgestureit has an
An analysisof TrevorWishart'sVoxV
implications.
aestheticvaluequiteoutsideits metaphoric
in so doing,it givesthe impressionof transposition.
Thephasevocodercan computethe smoothestjourney
betweentwo sounds by analysingthe sound into 513
windowsin the frequencydomain each pertainingto
approximately
2 millisecondsof sound. To stretch a
soundthe programlooksat a windowand then creates
an entirelynew windowexactlythe same lengh as an
originalbut nowthere are more. Thesenewwindowsare
interpolatedbetweenthe original windows to ensure
data. VoxV has perhapsthe classicsonic
appropriate
from the
exampleof this processin the transformation
voiceto the swarmof bees andthe returnto the voiceat
2'L3. These are two very distinct sounds. However,
when listeningto this transformationthere is no true
pointof departureor return. lt happensso smoothlythat
we are only left sayingnow it is a voice or now it is the
bees. The differenceis that in the analoguestudio we
would havetwo separatesoundsand as one was faded
out the otherwas faded in but theywouldbe alwaystwo
separatestrands.Withthe computerit is onecontinuous
sound that transmogrifies.
Bell/voiceis f irstheardat 1'16 on the f irstattackof what
I termea discourse.Thereareno furtherattacksuntilthe
bell/voiceepisodeof L'41-. Afterthat it is heardtwice
more:atthe first attackof 3'o2 and againat 3'20. lt has
sucha strongsoniccharacteristic
that it actsas a central
linkthroughoutthe piece. In the 2'40 episodeit fulfills
its compositional
consequence.
Majortransformationpoints:
to sonicstream
1-.
1'06 -16
Crows/bubbles
'snap' to ssss and then to voice
2.
2'36 - 42
in this episodeare multiple
3.
3'45 - 59
transformations
4.
2'0
each of the 4 vocalphonemesis
transformed,notablyto horseand
crowo
40
voice-bees-voice
- as an episodein
2't45.
itself
A
o,
5c z
7.
8.
9.
3'52
3'57
4't8
' FA
moving
through
multiplexcontinuum
to a singlecry
voiceto horse
lips.
babyto blowing
vox-horse-th
underclap
piece
Therearecertainlymoretransformationswithinthe
more
most
significant.
others
are
but these seem the
partof
largerea
astransformations
and
are
the
disguised
discourse.
Stretching
Allthe bell/voicesoundsarethe resultof the analysisof
hasa hardattackwithan
the consonantvowel'ko'which
open vowel. Then certainof the upperpartialsof that
- in
soundobject have been stretched inharmonically
fractionsratherthan harmonicintegers- and so creating
the bell/voice.(This is also done using the window
analysistechnique
of the phasevocoder.)lt is somewhere
inthemiddlegroundwhere,attimes,it is heardas a voice
andatothertimesa bell.Ourbrainsdo not likethemiddle
ground,we like to know what it is so we can make a
decisioneitheronewayor the other(thesurvivalinstinct
of friendor foe, to live a decisionneedsto be madevery
quickly).Therepetitions
of the bell/voicearealldifferent
but similar.Thescalic,cascadeupwardsis probablynot
of the gesturebut is rather
achievedbythetransposition
lt is stillthere
an auralillusionasthesamefundamental.
and,
but nowcertainupperpartialsare beinghighlighted
Music,Vol. 7, p. 11
Joumalof Electroacoustic
Withthe phasevocoderit is also possibleto stretchthe
soundovertime.In an analogue
environmentthe
method
to sustaina soundis to loop it- ultimatelyrepetitiveand
static. Thetwo phasevocoderpassages: L) 2' 40 -56",
2) 4'20- 5'L4, are voicestretchedvastly. others are
moredifficultto discern.
Thefinal phasevocodertechniqueused in Voxy, but not
in plainview,is the transposition
of the soundobjectbut
with the retentionof the originalformants. Frequency
shiftingwithoutth is programwi|| result in the speededup
recordsyndrome,particularlyobvious withvocaIformants
transposed. The windowanalysisallowsthe frequency
bandovertimetomaintainits shapebut nowtransposed.
This allowsradicalpitchchangesin the voicewithoutit
soundinglike a tape recordedvoice.
Some of the
sounds,notablythecrowdsource,havebeenfrequency
shifted non-analytically,
but, those 'classic' tape
techniquesare not prevalentin the piece.
Most of the techniquesare very much pioneeredby
Wishartwhen he was workingon this piece at IRCAM,
Paris. Hewrote manyof the processingprogramsusing
the phasevocoderanalysisenginealreadydevelopedat
IRCAM.Theuse of these techniqueshavebecome,since
this piece,prevalentas the powerful,numbercrunching
computershave becomemore widely availablein the
domesticmarket,and a wholelot cheaper!
References
WishartT. (1985): On SonicArt (lmagineering
Press)
EmmersonE. (editor)(1986): The Languageof ElectroacousticMusic
(MacMillan
Press)
LangerS. (1957): Philosophyin a New Key(HarvardUniversityPress)
NattiezJ-J.(1990): Music and Discourse(PrincetonUniversityPress)
Meyer L. (1956): Emotion and Meaning (Universityof ChicagoPress)
FerraraL.: Phenomenology
as a Tool for Musical Analysis(Musical
QuarterlyDfi: 355 - 373)
TomWilliamsis cunently based at BostonUniversitywith
a teaching assistantship in their studios whilst doing a
DMA.
An analysisof TrevorWishad'sVoxV
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