Section 6: A Sampler of Electronic Music
Side A: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse
Side B: Horn
Title
Section 6: A Sampler of Electronic Music
Side A: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse
Side B: Horn
Side A: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse
Side B: Horn
Subject
Electronic music; Experimental music; Varèse, Edgard, 1883-1965--Influence; Tape music; Live electronic music; Chance operations; Cybersonic console; French horn; Electroacoustic music; Sound art; Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center
Description
A 33 1/3 RPM flexidisc recording presenting two contrasting approaches to electronic music composition. Side A features a studio-created magnetic tape piece composed at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, where all sounds were generated and manipulated entirely by the composer in the tape studio setting. Side B presents a live-performance work utilizing chance operations in which a French horn equipped with a specialized mute containing a microphone feeds sound through two cybersonic consoles operated by performers who shape the composition during each performance based on parameters established by the composer. This results in a work that varies with each performance, reflecting John Cage's influence on indeterminate music.
Creator
Davidovsky, Mario, 1934-2019 (Composer, Side A); Mumma, Gordon, 1935- (Composer/Performer, Side B)
Publisher
Roaring Fork Press, New York City; AMERICOM (Record label)
Date
Spring 1967
Contributor
Ashley, Robert (Electronics/Cybersonic console operator, Side B); Cacioppo, George (Electronics/Cybersonic console operator, Side B); Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center (Recording facility, Side A); ONCE Group (Mumma's performance ensemble); Sonic Arts Group (Mumma's performance ensemble); Merce Cunningham Dance Company (Mumma's associated ensemble); Marks Music Corporation (Publisher/rights holder, Side A)
Relation
Is part of Aspen Magazine No. 4 (Spring 1967); Side A created at Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center; Side B associated with ONCE Group theater ensemble and Sonic Arts Group; References and memorializes Edgard Varèse (1883-1965)
Format
7-inch flexidisc (flexible phonograph record); 33 1/3 RPM; Two-sided recording
Language
English
Type
Sound recording; Flexidisc; Phonograph record; Audio artwork; Experimental music recording
Coverage
Temporal: 1965-1971 Spatial: New York, N.Y. Aspen, CO.
Collection
Citation
Davidovsky, Mario, 1934-2019 (Composer, Side A); Mumma, Gordon, 1935- (Composer/Performer, Side B), “Section 6: A Sampler of Electronic Music
Side A: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse
Side B: Horn,” Exhibits, accessed March 29, 2026, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/29836.
Side A: In Memoriam Edgar Varèse
Side B: Horn,” Exhibits, accessed March 29, 2026, https://exhibits.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/29836.