Entry 7: Edgar Varese – Poeme Electronique

This piece is truly a landmark in early electronic music. Varese gave all of his sounds disinct gestures whether it be a bell ringing, a sine wave, or a jackhammer and they all have a sense of direction and shape. The material Varese used and his craft in implementing it are great in terms of contrast and balance especially with his use of subtle and agressive gestures. On formal a level he is very effective as well with the many clear sections and highs and lows throughout the piece. Many sections in this work could be considered static in their nature, but I feel a sense of direction thoughout all of the sections in this work which I contribute to his wonderful gestures that leave “imprints” so to speak as they seem to linger on long after they have played (and I don’t mean reverb). There is a very dark almost neo-expressionist feel to this piece and while most of the piece has this dark atmosphere, there are small sections that are rather comical or at least are not so dark they bring quite a contrast to the piece and usually bring a change in momentum. Varese makes great use of dynamics in his musical gestures and explores some interesting ideas involving intensity, like pioneering electronic composers should. The piece seems a little spaced out at times, but for the most part there is a sense of direction as well as a good formal balance. I’ve heard much spatial ideas in electronic music, but I’m guessing that back in 50s this was actually ground breaking in its use of space. Varese’s electronic music will always stand out to me as his approach to music trancended acoustic and electronic idioms and could be applied in both realms.