HPSCHD / AUTOCHAMBER by Henry Warwick
About HPSCHD:
HPSCHD was written between 1967 and 1969 and was premiered on May 16, 1969, at the Experimental Music Studios at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
HPSCHD is composed of 7 solo pieces for harpsichord and 52 computer-generated tapes. The harpsichord solos were created from randomly processed pieces by a variety of classical composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, and others, including Cage and Hiller. These works were rewritten and randomised using a FORTRAN computer program developed by Ed Kobrin based on the I Ching hexagrams.
The first 10,000 copies of the LP included a printout, each unique and different from the other, printed from KNOBS, a computer program developed by Hiller and Cage. These printouts provided randomly generated settings for volume, treble and bass for each channel at 5 second intervals. In this way, the listener becomes a performer of the piece, using the stereo set as an instrument.
I bought the album in High School in 1975. This original vinyl recording I later digitised, and then brought into Ableton Live. There, the balance, treble, and bass were set according to the I Ching / randomised data on the printout supplied in the album. In this way, one can experience HPSCHD as it was meant to be heard on the copy I owned. In this way, I “performed” the album per the printout’s instructions.
I recorded the results in 2004 and lost the recording file not long after. In summer 2022, I was rummaging through an old hard drive when I found the file, and so here it is for you.
About Autochamber:
Autochamber is the sonification of data from air sniffing autochamber machines in Kansas that generate data on the gas contents of the air. This data was then used to manipulate audio processors in Ableton Live.
To read a lengthy and detailed discussion about these recordings, go here:
http://www.christinamcphee.net/slipkonza/INTERVIEWHenryWarwick.htm
Tracklist
| 1. | John Cage and Lejaren Hiller, performed by Henry Warwick - HPSCHD | 18:53 |
| 2. | Autochamber | 9:13 |
Credits
HPSCHD was composed by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller, and performed by Henry Warwick
AUTOCHAMBER was composed and arranged by Henry Warwick
The cover photo is by Susan "Space Lady" Dietrich. The cover is manipulated and designed by Henry Warwick.
The work was made possible by Christina McPhee. Learn more about her and her amazing work here:
christinamcphee.com
License
CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.Tags
Henry Warwick is an electronic music composer, active since the mid 1980s. Originally from New Jersey, he lived in San Francisco for many years. In 2007, he moved to Toronto, where he teaches Media Theory, Sound Synthesis, and New Media. A multi / inter-disciplinary artist, you can find his other works at http://www.kether.com