Electronic Music and Musique Concrete

by F.C. Judd

Frederick Charles Judd (1914-1992) was a pioneer of British electronic music, composing and recording at his home studio. 'Electronic Music and Musique Concrète', originally published in 1961, was one of the earliest books to introduce to a popular audience a form of music then in its infancy. From the late 1950s into the 1960s Judd toured Britain giving lectures and demonstrations of techniques and equipment, often in the company of his friend and fellow innovator Daphne Oram. Judd's biggest commercial success as a musician came in 1963 with Space Patrol, the first British TV series to feature an all-electronic score. A second book by Judd, 'Electronics In Music' (1972), is also published by Foruli Classics.

Genres: Music

106 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2013

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book hoping to see a little more about some of the early writing on Music concrète, an early movement of experimental music that combines dissimilar sound sources. Unfortunately, this is only mentioned over four pages at the very end of the book. I mention this only because if someone is interested specifically in Music Concrete, this book will not be a very valuable resource.

Having said that, I think it’s a fascinating read on the early stages of electronic music, during which many of the things we take for granted are revolutionary. A sine wave generator, now common and easy to produce, is described as “haunting” and strange. The circuit diagrams all incorporate vacuum tubes, given that the transistor had not yet been widely available for these applications. But it’s fascinating to see that early on, musicians saw the value of integration and differentiation circuits, etc.
All in all a fascinating read, but again: not if you are looking on an early text that focuses on Music concrète.