Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (French: [ɛdɡaːʁ viktɔːʁ aʃil ʃaʁl vaʁ… Read Full Bio ↴Edgard Victor Achille Charles Varèse (French: [ɛdɡaːʁ viktɔːʁ aʃil ʃaʁl vaʁɛːz]; also spelled Edgar Varèse; December 22, 1883 – November 6, 1965) was a French-born composer who spent the greater part of his career in the United States.
Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm and he coined the term "organized sound" in reference to his own musical aesthetic. Varèse's conception of music reflected his vision of "sound as living matter" and of "musical space as open rather than bounded". He conceived the elements of his music in terms of "sound-masses", likening their organization to the natural phenomenon of crystallization. Varèse thought that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?"
Although his complete surviving works only last about three hours, he has been recognised as an influence by several major composers of the late 20th century. Varèse saw potential in using electronic media for sound production, and his use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the "Father of Electronic Music" while Henry Miller described him as "The stratospheric Colossus of Sound".
Varèse actively promoted performances of works by other 20th-century composers and founded the International Composers’ Guild in 1921 and the Pan-American Association of Composers in 1926.
The Electronic House duo Varese from Argentina redirects to here as well
Varèse's music emphasizes timbre and rhythm and he coined the term "organized sound" in reference to his own musical aesthetic. Varèse's conception of music reflected his vision of "sound as living matter" and of "musical space as open rather than bounded". He conceived the elements of his music in terms of "sound-masses", likening their organization to the natural phenomenon of crystallization. Varèse thought that "to stubbornly conditioned ears, anything new in music has always been called noise", and he posed the question, "what is music but organized noises?"
Although his complete surviving works only last about three hours, he has been recognised as an influence by several major composers of the late 20th century. Varèse saw potential in using electronic media for sound production, and his use of new instruments and electronic resources led to his being known as the "Father of Electronic Music" while Henry Miller described him as "The stratospheric Colossus of Sound".
Varèse actively promoted performances of works by other 20th-century composers and founded the International Composers’ Guild in 1921 and the Pan-American Association of Composers in 1926.
The Electronic House duo Varese from Argentina redirects to here as well
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Ionisation
Edgard Varèse Lyrics
No lyrics text found for this track.
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
Alex Johnston
I have a theory about why the teenage Zappa loved this so much.
Listen to it. The snare drum has a definite motif. Zappa’s first instrument was marching band drum. He was taught the rudiments, and the recorded evidence shows that he wasn’t a bad drummer. The snare drum is basically the lead instrument in this piece, with the sirens an important supporting instrument.
Zappa grew up with a father who worked as a contractor for the Department of Defense. He spent the earliest years of his life growing up next door to Edgewood Arsenal in the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. He must have got used to the sound of sirens; they used to be used all the time. I had friends as a kid who lived in Cork city in Ireland, and sirens were used every morning to alert dock workers that it was time to clock in. You could hear them all over the city. They must have been used even more frequently in US military installations, if only for emergency drill purposes.
The teenage Zappa hears a piece of modern music that incorporates snare drum, his own instrument, and sirens, the sound he most didn't want to hear.
No wonder he wanted to become a composer.
Der Ufen
This is beautiful. I don't believe that I'm able to comprehend entirely what's going on. But the sheer sounds of the instruments as they go along in the composition are very stimulating. I would love to hear that in a concert hall.
Bethany Lowe
If you're enjoying it, you're understanding it! Maybe not true of all pieces of music but here the sound and the vibe are all important :)
Pranav Kumar
Totally blown away! When i first heard the audio of this, I had my fair share of doubts if anyone would be able to pull this off live. You guys did a splendid job!
fuel925
It's awesome listening to all the different timbres of the percussion instruments, and the variety of sound that can be coaxed from each instrument depending on how it is played. Great audio quality too :)
Patrick Keenan
Performed this many years ago, forgot how much groove there is to certain sections. Grade A club smasher.
Iain Duncan
Same here! one of my most memorable musical experiences in my life. what a trip.
K. Stafylides
Hey man, freshman musicology student, just wanna say I love your comments. I just saw you commenting on Webern's symphony Op. 25, it's nice to see people that aren't a) lmao frank zappa or b) holy fuck im 145 years old and love this
Patrick Keenan
@K. Stafylides I love Webern. He really was on top of his pointilistic serial banger game. Whenever I hear his 5 bagatelles dropped in the club I lose my shit.
K. Stafylides
@Patrick Keenan Keep it up lmfao
M.S.G
@K. Stafylides Zappa