Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/02/20/debussys-clair-de-lune-on-mo.html
…
4 Likes
Back in the 60s, there was the album Switched On Bach.
8 Likes
Ha! My parents had that LP. I never could listen to it with a straight face.
1 Like
That’s too bad! It’s one of my favorite albums. I think Wendy Carlos’s interpretations of Bach rank up there with Glenn Gould’s.
And, of course, her work for Kubrick is killer. I find her vocoderized “Ode to Joy” pretty badass.
I guess it’s natural to compare ann annie’s “Clair de Lune” to Switched-On Bach, given that both are recordings of classical music done with modular synths, but their instruments, techniques, and source material are massively different.
ann annie’s modular is almost entirely digital, can generate multiple notes simultaneously, uses a variety of synthesis models, and is sequencer-controlled. Carlos’s modular was entirely analog, could only produce one note at a time, was predominantly used for subtractive synthesis, and was controlled by a manual keyboard.
This “Clair de Lune” sounds great, imo!
11 Likes
It’s been over 25 years since I last heard it, so very willing to give it another try with more mature ears.
5 Likes
Check out Isao Tomita’s Debussy works on analog synthesizer.
8 Likes
The programming was a bit ‘meh’ but the artistry in the way the hand delicately turned those knobs was inspiring.
/s
Yes - wonderful.
1 Like
Here is the Ann Annie (aka Eli) background and rig rundown. Discussion of the actual gear begins around the 10 minute mark:
(edit)
The harp like polyphonic sounds are generated via the two Mutable Instruments Rings modules, which transforms pulses, clicks, or any signal in general and “resonates” it using a technique called modal synthesis. Each module can provide 4 polyphonic notes.
Modular synthesis (most commonly based on the Eurorack standard) preserves an analog signal path. Most inputs and outputs shared between modules in a rack are analog, even if the modules themselves use digital technology to transform the signal(s).
As noted above, WCW’s Hooked on Bach was produced one voice at a time and played by hand, as the original Moog was monophonic. Later versions of analog monophonic synthesizers incorporated sequencer modules which would feed a series of pitch controls to the main oscillators according to a pattern.
4 Likes
and, from a vlogger I enjoy…
Clair de Lune is important to listen to in a quiet room, or with headphones.
when I applied the same conditions to the synth version, I could hear a immense amount of tape hiss, and not a great deal of delicacy, So it’s a new way of hearing the tune, but is it a way the composer intended it to sound?
1 Like
A reminder that Debussy based many of his works on literature.
1 Like
I had to listen to this after to listening to the above.
Because… reasons.
(I’ll show myself out…)
1 Like
No I’m pretty sure Claude Debussy (22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) didn’t intend it to sound like it’s being played on a eurorack near a window. So?
1 Like
There’s something that’s missing.
3 Likes
and the follow-on The Well-Tempered Synthesizer. Wonderful albums.
1 Like
and for old-school synth-heads out there, do you all know about the forthcoming Behringer 2600 clone? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY7WFWQ-Exc
1 Like
3 Likes
Gorgeous stuff! Tomita’s interpretation of Debussy’s Premier Arabesque is wonderful.
1 Like
Yes, Behringer is cloning the 2600, but Korg is actually re-releasing it with the help of ARP co-founder and engineer David Friend. The Behringer knock-off should be decent, but Korg’s re-release should be impeccable.
While the Korg 2600 is out of my price range however, I would easily choose it over Behringer’s if I did have the money. Hopefully Uli Behringer won’t track me down and sue me for voicing my opinion on the matter, like he did to Dave Smith and those other people.
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
