MUSIQUE CONCRTE

(French: concrete music), experimental technique of musical composition using recorded sounds as raw material. The technique was developed about 1948 by the French composer Pierre Schaeffer and his associates at the Studio d'Essai (Experimental Studio) of the French radio system. The fundamental principle of musique concrte lies in the assemblage of various natural sounds recorded on tape (or, originally, on disks) to produce a montage of sound. During the preparation of such a composition, the sounds selected and recorded may be modified in any way desiredplayed backward, cut short or extended, subjected to echo-chamber effects, varied in pitch and intensity, and so on. The finished composition thus represents the combination of varied auditory experiences into an artistic unity. A precursor to the use of electronically generated sound, musique concrte was among the earliest uses of electronic means to extend the composer's sound resources. The experimental use of machinery in musique concrte, the random use of ingredients, and the absence of the traditional composer-performer roles characterize the technique as a pioneering effort that led to further developments in electronic and computer-produced research in music. Compositions in musique concrte include Symphonie pour un homme seul (1950; Symphony for One Man Only) by Schaeffer and Pierre Henry and Dserts (1954; for tape and instruments) and Pome lectronique (performed by 400 loudspeakers at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair), both by the French-American composer Edgard Varse.