Mixed music explained

The term Mixed music describes music combining acoustic instruments and fixed-media electronics (e.g concrete sounds, sound-file playback etc)^[1] and/or real-time electronic instrumental transformations; in other words, music which combines acoustic-instrumental and electronic sounds sources, not including electrically amplified instruments, such as the electric guitar and electronic instruments such as the theremin, electronic organs & keyboards, etc. Mixed music is therefore a subcategory of electronic music.^[2] While this term may be applied to many genres, the it generally refers to contemporary classical music and, is therefore distinct from live electronic music.

The term Mixed music is probably a calque of the French musique mixte.^[3]

History

Significant early works

• Edgar Varèse Déserts (1954) for 14 winds (brass and woodwinds), 5 percussionists, piano & magnetic-tape playback
• Iannis Xenakis Analogique A et B (1959) for three violins, three cellos, three contrabasses & magnetic-tape playback
• Luigi Nono La Fabbrica illuminata (1964) for soprano & magnetic-tape playback

Associated institutions & significant works

A number of institutions have been key in the evolution of technologies pertinent to the creation of mixed music:

• L'Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (IRCAM), Paris
  • Boulez, Pierre Répons (1981, revised 1984) for six soloists, chamber orchestra, and live-electronics
  • Boulez, Pierre Dialogue de l'ombre double (1985) for clarinet & fixed-media playback
  • Manoury, Philippe Jupiter (1987) for flute & live-electronics
  • Manoury, Philippe En Echo (1993–94) for soprano & live-electronics
  • Boulez, Pierre …explosante-fixe… (1993) version for midi-flute, two solo flutes chamber ensemble & live-electronics
• Experimentalstudio des SWR, Freiburg
  • Nono, Luigi Prometeo (1981, revised 1985) for five vocal soloists, two speakers, choir, orchestra & combined live-electronics & fixed-media playback
• Studio for Electronic Music Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Cologne
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Kontakte (1960) for piano, percussion & fixed-media playback
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Mixtur (1964) for orchestra, four sine-wave generators & four ring-modulators
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Mikrophonie I (1964) for two tam-tams & microphones with band-pass filters
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Mikrophonie II (1965) for twelve singers, Hammond organ, four ring-modulators & fixed-media playback
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Hymnen (1969), version for orchestra & fixed-media playback
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz Mantra (1970) for two pianos with ring-modulation
• Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA), Stanford
• Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT), Berkeley
• Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, New York

Suggested further reading

• Puckette, Miller The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music, May 23, 2007; World Scientific Publishing Company (978-9812700773)
• Schaeffer, Pierre In Search of a Concrete Music, January 8, 2013; University of California Press (978-0520265745)

Notes and References

1. Landy, Leigh (2007) Understanding the Art of Sound Organization, pp.154-155.
2. Book: Collins. Karen. Kapralos. Bill. Tessler. Holly. The Oxford Handbook of Interactive Audio. 2014. Oxford University Press. 302.
3. Web site: Lecrenier. Philippe. Musique mixte, à la frontière des genres.