l'Acousmatique

We went to this electronic music concert on l'Acousmatique, a French word describing a movement in electronic music that has something to do with the audience not being able to see or pinpoint the source of the sound. Apparently Pythagoras used to sit behind a screen when he taught, thereby forcing his young pupils to listen more intently and without distraction from the visual realm. I really dont understand what l'Acousmatique means with regard to electronic music because all electronic music concerts are like Pythagorean lectures, since the rooms are dark and everyone faces a blank wall with speakers all around. The composer, invariably dressed in black, sits in the back at a folding table with a laptop and a bunch of cables, but the sounds don't come from him and so the whole experience is disorienting for the traditional concert goer.

Anyway, the concert was great; it featured music by some visiting French-Canadian composers, my favorites were Ombres, Espaces, Silences by Gilles Gobeil and StrinGDberg by Robert Normandeau. Professor Normandeau had a lovely French accent, is the same age as my parents, and teaches at the University of Montreal. Thomas spoke to him after the concert. Unlike me Thomas has some idea about l'Acousmatique because he spoke about it with Franois Bayle, a French composer widely regarded as the father of the movement. Monsieur Bayle will be in Cologne in June!