Top 10 favorite electroacoustic multi-spatial surround sound works

[James]

Gettin' with the times on this one.  Fire away boys!

[Sergeant Rock]

Gettin' with the times on this one.  Fire away boys!

This is going to be a runaway hit of a thread 

Sarge

[kyjo]

Now this is one poll I actually won't be contributing to, for once!

[Brian]

I've been to two or three world premieres of works in this genre, back when I was at a music school where composition students had to put together performances of their music. Can't remember names, though

[Bogey]

Does this count, because I do hang out here from time to time:

http://www.hos.com/

Check out the intro and let me know, James.

[HIPster]

Does this count, because I do hang out here from time to time:

http://www.hos.com/

Check out the intro and let me know, James.

Yes, that counts (at least in my world, it does Bill).  Sounds great and I dig HOS.  Aren't there some HOS releases on CD in connection with The Absolute Sound magazine?

I didn't even know that there was a polling thread. . . 

Some favorites that leap to mind:

Cluster - Cluster II
[asin]B007XCH14Q[/asin]

Tangerine Dream - Zeit
[asin]B004TRKH9O[/asin]

Laurie Speigel - Expanding Universe
[asin]B008OHV6YU[/asin]

Cliff Matinez - Solaris (soundtrack)
[asin]B004B3PBNI[/asin]

Phil Lesh/Ned Lagin - Seastones
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And Dr. Who - who can forget this theme song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkcHgI_TIYQ

The Doctor Who theme is a piece of music by Australian composer Ron Grainer and realised by Delia Derbyshire at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop. Created in 1963, it was one of the first electronic music signature tunes for television, and after nearly five decades remains one of the most easily recognised.
Although numerous arrangements of the theme have been used on television, the main melody has remained the same.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Who_theme_music

[Bogey]

Dave coming through large!

[mahler10th]

I have always liked Henk Badings.  Very strange stuff sometimes, but damned interesting.  His Genese - Music for five audio frequency oscillators - well, I don't know if it can be called music, but it sure is a an audio experience to remember.

[Drasko]

No idea if those fit the title, but first what comes to my mind are Xenakis La Légende d'Eer and Birtwistle Chronometer. Both are great pieces, fitting or not.

[amw]

I'm not sure I could identify a "top 10" but two that come to mind include Roland Kayn's Simultan (which is intended for a very large space I believe, though I've only ever heard it on my home speakers) and Bernard Parmegiani's De Natura Sonorum. Both were very impressive when I first heard them—I stopped what I was doing to listen intently and try to figure out exactly what was happening—though I haven't really listened to them complete very often since then due to their length (De Natura is over 50 minutes, Simultan about two hours). Recently I've quite enjoyed Xenakis's Persepolis, though I'm not sure I'd call it a favourite yet, and some of the work of Beatriz Ferreyra and Ivo Malec has sounded very appealing, too. Having recently relocated to New Zealand I suppose I should also explore Douglas Lilburn who actually founded the first electronic music studio in the country, but I haven't gotten around to it yet; apparently the first part of his career was spent writing acoustic music in a vein akin to the contemporary American and British symphonists (initially late-Romantic, then increasingly "thornier" and incorporating modern influences) so I expect his electroacoustic music is more finely structured than the often rather inchoate strings of noises that many lesser electronic composers indulge in.

There's also a very striking, lengthy electronic interlude (~10 minutes) in a work that's mainly for instruments, Richard Barrett's Opening of the Mouth, which has a long and complicated German title. That is a more installation-like work so I'm sure there's a spatial component to the electronic outburst which I'm completely missing by listening to it in stereo on CD, or indeed by not being able to hear the work live, where it would undoubtedly be an even more impressive & unified experience.

A lot of this music has elements of an overwhelming aural assault; there's nothing "ambient" about it and often all one can do is listen and be carried along by the flow, something I've also experienced in acoustic music (Beethoven, Bartók, Ferneyhough) but less often. Despite my tastes running well towards the crunchy in music, I'm not always in the mood for this kind of thing. Its intensity and, often, high volume can make it an uncomfortable listening experience. Even when I am in the mood, it sometimes take time for my ears to adjust, particularly considering the fast pace at which much of it unfolds. At the same time, this very intensity is also the reason I keep listening, and go back to listen again—something more tame and ambient would, I think, ultimately be less interesting. Although (to contradict myself yet again), straying outside the classical bins somewhat, I do quite like Brian Eno.  :lol

I suppose I should add that I haven't listened to a lot of electroacoustic music at all—only have ~50 hours of it, according to iTunes. There are undoubtedly a lot of great artists out there I haven't yet discovered.

[Brahmsian]

Does Wendy Carlos' music fall into this category?  I love and have several of her CDs, and it was one of my original gateways into classical music.

[The new erato]

I only have stereo.

[springrite]

Can't say I know much about this genre. Is Morton Subotnick a composer belonging to this genre? If so, he'd probably be the only one I knew relatively well and have heard a few works.

[AnthonyAthletic]

I would imagine this falls into the category as its the only one really close to James' description above.  A 6cd set which I really like.  A Sound Year by Gunner Moller Pedersen. 

Basically its 12 (half hour) pieces, two on each cd.  January/February then March/April...you get the drift, making up the Sound Year.  A real challenge to the listener to hear all the sounds of each month and season, Pedersen in the notes gives details and hints to what to watch out for.  (November was my favourite) as it sounded like most days in the UK 

Probably not something I would buy, its a whim purchase and cost only £1 which turned out to be 'what the heck is that...interestingly good'.

[asin]B00005KBCU[/asin]

[HIPster]

Are folks around here afraid of western classical composers fully embracing technology in deep way ? Is this one of the reasons why very little meaningful understanding/response in this one ..? Are the majority here mainly old fashioned? Hmmm, seems oddly out of touch with today & tomorrows world, as it is by far the most fruitful development since the war.

Please post your list, James (or even a few of your favorites).

Looking forward to checking it out!