Presque rien [Almost Nothing] No.1 (by Luc Ferrari)

About the Piece

This is a short excerpt from the work ‘Almost Nothing’ composed by Luc Ferrari. The work was made from recordings taken across the course of a whole day, and then edited down through splicing.

Presque Rien No. 1 – Excerpt

The Luc Ferrari placed his microphones on the windowsill of his house and recorded the sounds of life in the fishing village around him.

He then took these recordings into the studio and selected his favourite sounds (through splicing) before editing the chosen sounds back together in order to create a concentrated, but realistic, soundscape picture of the village.

About the Composer

Luc Ferrari began his musical career as a pianist but became interested in tape music after hearing works by Edgard Varèse on the radio. He travelled to America to meet Varèse in 1954 and began to learn from him about making music with sounds.

He returned to Paris and co-founded the GRM with Pierre Schaeffer in 1958. He composed many works of electroacoustic music in his career making extensive use of field recordings and anecdotal sound.

Extra

The full piece is available from INA/GRM, as part of a box set of works by Luc Ferrari.

Via their online shop.