Doorstop tradition revived in Russia

[Dave Monroe]

>From Mel Gordon, "Songs from the Museum of the Future:
Russian Sound Creation (1910-1930)," in Wireless
Imagination, ed. Douglas Kahn and Gregory Whitehead
(Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992), pp. 197-252 ...

"[Arsenij] Avraamov's best-known creation appeared in
the Caspian port of Baku for the Fifth Anniversary of
the Soviet Republic on 7 November 1922.  This bruitist
spectacular, called the Symphony of the Factory
Sirens, used the services of a huge cast of choirs
(joined by spectators), the foghorns of the entire
Caspian flotilla, two batteries of artillery guns, a
number of full infantry regiments (including a
machine-gun division) hydroplanes, and all the factory
sirens of Baku.  'Conductors' posted on specially
built towers signaled various sound units with colored
flags and pistol shots.  A central 'steam-whistle
machine' pounded out 'The Internationale' and 'La
Marseillaise' as noisy 'autotransports' (half-tracks)
raced across Baku for a gigantic sound finale in the
festival square.  Villages far beyond the walls of
Baku could hear the revolutionary melodies of
Avraamov's percussive concert." (p. 220)

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?tid=3548&ttype=2

http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=8943

http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/7-1/html/body_reed.html

Includes Arseni Avraamov, "The Symphony of Sirens
(1923)" ...

--- jd <wescac at gmail.com> wrote:

> one of the most awesome things I've ever heard of
> was this song called Iron Foundries which was, I
> guess, an "industrial ballet" where instruments
> mimicked the noise of machinery, and "this was
> performed in Baku in 1922 using foghorns of the
> Caspian fleet, factory sirens, two batteries of
> artillery, machine guns and massed choirs".  Now
> THAT'S fucking MUSIC.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com