computermusicblog.com » Buchla

Five Elements Embracing by Forrest Tobey

evan — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 21:26:48 +0000

This is a performance for Buchla Lightning and synthesizer from 1998. I am, in 2010, returning to my work with the Lightning, and find that this performance still stands the test of time, despite the fairly low quality of the video. MaxMSP was used to control the Lightning performance. The entire performance is 13 minutes long, so the remaining section is on a second video. [1]

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rw1t_y4X14

Lum by Alfred Duarte

evan — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:16:39 +0000

Alfred Duarte brings us another beautiful “wiimote instrument.” This one is built using Sony’s gesture controller, but the basic gestural control remains the same. In fact, this particular instrument bears a striking resemblance to gestural instruments from the 1980s, in the way that the distance between the two controllers acts as a sound parameter. Specifically, it resembles Buchla’s Lightning MIDI Controller and Max Mathews’ Radio Baton. Duarte calls his instrument LUM, and the video is a pretty demonstration of its capabilities.

Via CDM.

Oraison Performed on Buchla 200e and Haken Continuum

evan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:29:01 +0000

From the performer, Richard Lainhart:

…from the time I first touched the Haken Continuum, I’d dreamed of using it to play a composition by Olivier Messiaen called “Oraison”. I first heard “Oraison” years ago as a student of electronic music, and had fallen in love with its simple, beautiful harmonies and profound sense of mystery.

“Oraison” is not only a lovely piece of music, but has historical interest too – it may be the first piece of purely electronic music written expressly for live performance. Also of note is that Messiaen re-arranged “Oraison” for cello and piano and used it for the fifth movement of “Quartet for the End of Time”, which he composed in a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1941; the “Quartet” is one of the great classics of 20th-century music.

“Oraison” (“prayer”) is from a suite of pieces for six Ondes Martenot called “Fete des Belles Eaux” (“Celebration of the Beautiful Waters”), composed for the Paris International Exposition in 1937. The Ondes Martenot was among the first electronic instruments, and is still among the most expressive. The Continuum’s own expressive qualities seemed at least the equal of the Ondes Martenot’s, while allowing for polyphony and the possibility of performance of the work by a single player. I transcribed “Oraison” for my Buchla 200e/Continuum system, programmed the modern system in homage to the sound of the Ondes Martenot, and now offer this performance to you.