
How Wendy Carlos Changed Music - fanf2
https://www.wfmt.com/2016/11/17/transgender-composer-wendy-carlos-changed-music-forever/
======
rectang
The secret ingredient in _Switched on Bach_ is that it is an outrageously good
musical performance.

Lots of other synth albums are technology demos, collections of cool sounds.
_Switched On Bach_ stands out because Carlos adapted Bach for the medium of
the Moog synth, clearly understanding the compositions' underlying gestures,
and ensured that those gestures all come through. In some cases, they come
through more clearly than on the original instrumentation, especially bass
lines where the synth speaks more clearly than acoustic instruments can.

Such details in another performer's hands could be distracting, messing up the
relationship between foreground and background elements and drawing attention
to the wrong things -- but Carlos's arrangement and performance are
exquisitely balanced. This could only have been achieved by someone with a
deep and sophisticated understanding of the source material, combined with
incredible patience to wrestle with difficult and immature technology until
the recordings were perfected.

~~~
bananaboy
Yes! Exactly! The key thing there is that Carlos is a musician as well.

I think Tomita is another great example of a musician who took material and
adapted it for a new medium in really interesting, innovative ways.

~~~
multi_tude
Tomita's Pictures at an Exhibition is arguably a more distinguished execution
of synthesized orchestration than Switched on Bach.

~~~
TheOtherHobbes
If you know synths it’s pretty easy to reverse engineer the sounds on SoB.
They’re unfamiliar by modern pop standards, because there’s a lot of layering
and paralleling with simultaneous envelopes and multiple filter sweeps that
(boringly...) isn’t done much today. But they’re not opaque.

I have no idea how to copy some the sounds Tomita got from his Moogs, and I’m
fairly sure no one else does either. Some are easy, some are “That’s really
clever.” But there are more than a few that I have absolutely no clue about.

The fact that he patched up and recorded these huge flamboyant orchestral-
sounding pieces note by note and line by line with such a creative range of
unique and original sounds is just _astounding._

~~~
bananaboy
Yeah I totally agree! I love SoB but the arrangements and patches are way more
traditional and straightforward. Tomita really explored and extended the
canvas of the synthesiser as a musical instrument in its own right. JMJ too.

~~~
HelloNurse
It can be argued that SoB, along with early Kraftwerk records, _defined_ the
tradition of synth patches. Tomita came a little later.

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jancsika
The Tron score did a wonderful job blending early synth sounds with an
orchestral backdrop.

It also has a odd and memorable theme that moves around using augmented triads
yet isn't octatonic nor based on a whole-tone scale.

There's also a nice moment at the beginning of the credits-- where the theme
previously wandered through harmonies quite rapidly, here it gets anchored to
a single key with a fairly lush orchestral accompaniment. Then that leads in
to a massive pipe organ solo doing the chromatic version of the theme for a
final time, then to more fitting electro-orchestral credits music that cycles
chromatically through augmented triads. (I think there's a reference to this
music in the NES metroid game somewhere, I think it's Ridley's lair)

Anyhow-- the strange orchestral changes and lyrical melodies are the kind of
thing that make you stick around for the credits. It's all very simple in a
way, but extremely effective, too.

Contrasting that-- I almost laughed in the new Star Wars movie when at the
climax the brass just loudly ascends up root position minor triad. It's like
being served a steak with a side of a stick of butter.

Edit: I guess I should have written "spoiler" about the loud arpeggiation of a
minor triad in the Star Wars movie.

~~~
1_2__4
You made me really happy with this comment. Tron was a big movie for me in my
youth and a big reason why I was drawn to computers and ultimately
programming. I also came to love synth and electronic music (Art of Noise
etc.) around the same time and have always thought the Tron soundtrack to be
amazing, especially the credits track. But I know nothing about music theory,
I'm just glad it's good music. Thanks.

I heard as an aside that the London Philharmonic parts of the soundtrack were
commissioned and recorded because Disney didn't have confidence that Carlos
would finish her work on time (or at all, the relationship was a little
strained), and using both was a decision made only afterwards.

~~~
jancsika
That's interesting about the London Phil part of the score. It's amazing how
many compelling pieces of music have fortuitous back stories like that.

~~~
iainmerrick
There's some more fascinating backstory on Carlos' own website:
[http://www.wendycarlos.com/+tron.html](http://www.wendycarlos.com/+tron.html)

I love the whole score, especially the pipe organ solo. It's interesting that
the theme was in 7/8 right from the start -- you'd have thought a power of two
would be more appropriate for computers! But somehow it works. The rhythm and
harmony both feel like they're pushing towards the future.

------
fractallyte
No mention in the article of Switched on Bach 2000. This is the album that was
a distillation all of her knowledge and skill. Entirely digital (DKS Synergy
and Yamaha FM), except for a _single_ Moog note! (She leaves it as a challenge
to listeners to locate it...)

The tracks are almost unreal: as different from 'modern' subtractive 'fat'
analog-style synths as can be. She champions complex timbres and original
tunings, and it makes a tremendous difference to the music. I compared a
classical organ recording of Toccata and Fugue in D Minor to her version, and
what a difference! Her tuning makes the music so much richer, and she
surrounds the listener with a dizzying web of sound - the surround sound is
incredible!

Her articles in Keyboard magazine, about the making of SoB2000, were a huge
influence on how I came to perceive music.

BTW, Wendy Carlos is also a brilliant eclipse photographer:
[http://www.wendycarlos.com/eclipse.html](http://www.wendycarlos.com/eclipse.html)

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jnbiche
Oh man, listening to Switched on Bach now. First music I loved as a kid; it
still evokes an emotional response. Life has been hard recently, living
through a serious illness with lots of pain, feels good to kick back and
listen to this.

BTW, archive.org has the best quality recordings I've found of Switched on
Bach. It's not got a very full sound, but there are less pops and crackles
than other sources online such as soundcloud. I wish Wendy Carlos would
reissue this as a re-mastered CD

~~~
Intermernet
You're right, this one is a particularly good recording
[https://archive.org/details/SwitchedOnBach1](https://archive.org/details/SwitchedOnBach1)
.

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racl101
I still enjoy listening to my Clockwork Orange soundtrack that I got for my
16th birthday. I used to listen to it all the time when doing math homework.
Good music for concentration.

My fave track being 'Theme from A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana)'.

~~~
kabdib
I bought the Clockwork Orange soundtrack when I was a teenager, and it took
quite some time for me to appreciate _Timesteps_.

(IIRC there are at least two versions of the soundtrack, with various tracks
added or missing. Caveat emptor . . . but I cannot find any of Wendy's music
online to purchase or stream now anyway).

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cardamomo
This article mentions Carlos's collaborations with Kubrick. She actually
composed a full score for _The Shining,_ but the director ended up using only
parts of it. [0] Instead, he used existing pieces by other contemporary
classical (acoustic) composers. Carlos's influence on music was huge, as this
article points out, but Kubrick's eventual choice of music for _The Shining_
has also gone on to influence horror movie scores since then. To this day,
many emulate the sounds of Bartok, Ligeti, and Penderecki.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Carlos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Carlos)

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lostgame
Also a pioneer for the trans community. What a fantastic person.

~~~
11thEarlOfMar
I just noticed that the album cover refers to her production company as
'Trans-Electronic Music Productions, Inc.' I guess 'trans' was a term in the
60s, but not likely that many listeners realized the significance.

~~~
flavio81
the logo for T.E.M.P was a _trans_ istor, so i think that's the "trans" Walter
and Rachel had in mind back then.

~~~
rectang
¿Por qué no los dos? I can't imagine that Carlos was oblivious to the possible
multiple interpretations.

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jejones3141
I was lucky enough to get _Beauty in the Beast_ when it came out on Larry
Fast's short-lived Audion label. It is well worth your time (and ever since
I've wished that Wendy Carlos and Terry Riley would collaborate on a piece or
an album).

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inetsee
I'm particularly fond of "Secrets of Synthesis". It gives you some idea of the
difficulties she had to overcome to create this amazing music using such early
versions of the hardware.

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fmoralesc
SOB is great and all, but _Beauty in the Beast_ is absolutely phenomenal. She
really pushed the boundaries there, creating a musical universe all of her
own.

[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j1gy2](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2j1gy2)

~~~
8bitsrule
Really. I'd heard most of Carlos' early works up until the 80s many times, but
never BitB (release 30 years ago). A close listen to <i>Just Imaginings</i>
last night was mind-blowing ... even more than 'Seasonings' was way back when
it released.

I've seldom heard anything using scales with dozens of notes in an octave that
was particularly musical. JI is very musical ... and yet with enough mastery
of timbres and rhythms to keep it just edgy enough. Wow.

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WalterBright
"The Well-Tempered Synthesizer" is still one of my favorite albums, although
it is a bit obscure. I had to wait for many years before it _finally_ came out
on CD.

Tomita's "Snowflakes Are Dancing" is the other classic synth album as far as
I'm concerned :-)

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colomon
Does anyone have an idea why her albums aren't currently available?

~~~
edraferi
Looks like Switched on Bach is available on Spotify, but not under Carlos’
name:
[https://open.spotify.com/album/3eybj65D63xdjPEho8N7s4](https://open.spotify.com/album/3eybj65D63xdjPEho8N7s4)

~~~
hokkos
It is not her, it is a random spotify artist releasing public property music
recorded by himself, listen to the pieces in the articles it is definitely not
it.

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karcass
No mention of the Tron soundtrack ... I guess it didn't "change music" but I
really liked her compositions.

~~~
androck1
It is mentioned in passing.

