In 1980, France Culture explored over four episodes the ideas and repertoire of the GRM, the Groupe de Recherches Musicales that succeeded the Group de Recherches de Musique Concrète founded by Pierre Schaeffer in 1951. This exploration traced back to the intersection of the forties and fifties when the composer and engineer recorded his initial experiments and studies, laying the foundations of a new sonic art.
In the first episode of this series, Francois Delalande, a researcher at GRM, engaged in a dialogue through archives with Pierre Schaeffer, at times contradicting him, while commenting on Schaeffer’s reflections on musique concrète, sound, and music in general.
The conversion of noise to sound is a significant notion explored. While noise may be perceived as a nuisance, a useless parasite, sound holds real utility, playing a role in musical construction or message transmission. Delalande explains Schaeffer’s belief that noise transforms into sound, becoming one of the fundamental aspects at the origin of musique concrète.
The discussion moves on to musical interpretation in Robert Francés’ book “La perception de la musique” from 1958 and the embedded meanings within music. Delalande draws a parallel to Pierre Henry’s piece “Variations pour une porte et un soupir” from 1963, illustrating how sounds from common objects can evoke deeper, emotional responses.
One of Schaeffer’s key experiments involves isolating sounds through a closed loop system, redefining musical conception and contextualizing sound elements for new musical compositions. The focus shifts from the semantic value to the formal value of sound as a material.
The new article “La transformation du bruit en son” on France Culture explores the boundaries between noise, sound, and music, delving into the profound philosophical and practical implications of these distinctions within the realm of art and music.
