In a sense, this collection is a document of Bruno Maderna's process of familiarization with the Studio di Fonologia Musicale of the RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, which he and Luciano Berio founded in Milan in 1955. It begins with Maderna's first composition in the studio, "Notturno", whose instrumental character almost conveys the same shape and form of a flute or an oboe. As the collection moves chronologically though Maderna's works in the studio, the pieces grow in complexity, thanks in large part to Marino Zuccheri, the studio's engineer and a long unsung hero of Italian electronic composition. There is a marked interest in the use of acoustic sources, evidenced in the use in the four closing pieces of flute, marimba, and particularly voice. The closing "Le Rire" is as much an abstraction of everyday sounds as the opening "Notturno" is a facsimile using synthetic means.
Give it a listen.
Grazie mille!
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