Pierre Schaeffer, des transmissions a Orphee.(Review)

Martial Robert: Pierre Schaeffer, des transmissions a Orphee

Softcover, 1999, ISBN 2-7384-7975-8, 416 pages, preface, illustrations, annotated lists of recordings, films and videos, archives and libraries, thematic bibliography; L'Harmattan, 5-7 rue de l'Ecole-Polytechnique, 75005 Paris, France; L'Harmattan, Inc., 55 rue Saint-Jacques, Montreal, Quebec H2Y 1K9, Canada

Pierre Schaeffer, des transmissions a Orphee was published in May 1999 as the first volume of Communication et musique en France entre 1936 et 1986, a trilogy on Pierre Schaeffer by Martial Robert. The book appears in the Communication and Civilization Collection, which Nicolas Pelissier edits for L'Harmattan of Paris and Montreal. Mr. Robert, who possesses a doctorate in musicology, is a composer of electroacoustic music, a researcher, and an educator. Pierre Schaeffer comprises a photograph of the subject, a preface by Jean-Claude Risset, an introduction by the author, five chapters, a postface, and thirteen illustrations. There are annotated lists of sound documents and images, lists of archives and libraries, a commented thematic bibliography, and a table of contents. The author has examined eight thousand pages (many unpublished, two hundred radio broadcasts, and ten television programs. This volume was approaching completion in August 1995, when Mr. Schaeffer died.

As Mr. Risset notes in the preface, the writing is enthusiastic and apologetic. Its function is neither to assess nor to put into context. However, because Mr. Robert has worked extensively on public archives, an unexpected amount of objective data is brought into play. Chapter One (pp. 19-86) surveys Mr. Schaeffer's biography, from his ancestry and birth (1910) to life in post-Vichy Paris (1944). Chapter Two (pp. 87-126) focuses on the 1946 publication, "Notes sur l'expression radiophonique" (in Machines a communiquer: genese des simulacres, Paris: Seuil, 1970, pp. 89-118) and the 1948-1951 Journals (A la recherche d'une musique concrete, Paris: Seuil, 1952, pp. 9-1200. Chapter Three (pp. 127-174) tackles Mr. Schaeffer's transition from "musique concrete" to "recherche musicale," with particular reference to his experimental method. Chapter Four (pp. 175-242) presents Mr. Schaeffer as divided between composition and musicology. Chapter Five ...