Publisher Description

Special Sound traces the fascinating creation and legacy of the BBC's electronic music studio, the Radiophonic Workshop, in the context of other studios in Europe and America. The BBC built a studio to provide its own avant-garde dramatic productions with experimental sounds "neither music nor sound effect." Quickly, however, a popular kind of electronic music emerged in the form of quirky jingles, signature tunes such as Doctor Who, and incidental musicfor hundreds of programs. These influential sounds and styles, heard by millions of listeners over decades of operation on television and radio, have served as a primary inspiration for the use of electronicinstruments in popular music.Using in-depth research in the studio's archives and papers, this book tells the history of the many engineers, composers, directors, and producers behind the studio to trace the shifting perception towards electronic music in Britain. Combining historical discussion of the people and instruments in the workshop with analysis of specific works, Louis Niebur creates a new model for understanding how the Radiophonic Workshop fits into the largerhistory of electronic music.

Author Biography

Louis Niebur is Assistant Professor of Musicology at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Table of Contents

About the Companion WebsiteChapter One: Radio Drama and the Birth of Electronic MusicChapter Two: Ideological Struggles and Pragmatic RealitiesChapter Three: The Golden Age of "Special Sound"Chapter Four: The Coming of the SynthesizersChapter Five: The Second Golden AgeChapter Six: The Price of SuccessEndnotesAppendix: TranscriptionsBibliographyIndex

Review

"Louis Niebur has accomplished a feat of virtuoso research that places in a wholly original context the extraordinary accomplishments of such pioneers as Maddalena Fagandini, Daphne Oram, and the fabulous Delia Derbyshire. Special Sound: The Creation and Legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is elegantly organized and incisively written, a musicological 'page-turner' that elucidates a crucial period in the evolution of British technology andaesthetics. This volume should be required reading for anyone interested in British culture, music, and technical innovation during the mid-twentieth century."-Byron Adams, Professor of Music, University ofCalifornia, Riverside"This stunning and thorough book exploring the BBC Radiophonic Workshop investigates not only broadcasting and programme-making, but also the rise of electronic music in the UK. Dr. Niebur's passion for sounds of radio and television invigorates engaging and often entertaining writing. Moreover, it is transporting to hear such unique sounds, while reading about them."-Jenny Doctor, Senior Lecturer, University of York"Niebur's research into this early history of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is wickedly illuminating." --Times Higher Education"With Special Sound, Louis Niebur achieves a remarkable feat in subtly allying the private concept and design of a bygone BBC Radiophonic Workshop---from its inception, the Workshop implemented a largely closed-door policy to outside composers--with active political, social and academic debates. Niebur presents a gentle, nostalgic veneer to Special Sound's theorising, making the work both accessible for the general reader and analytical enoughfor the specialist...Special Sound is a trip down memory lane for the BBC enthusiast; a unified lucid investigation for the scholar; and a museum of materials, data and analyses for all who applaud a living legacy. TheWorkshop is dead. Long live the workshop." --MAKE Magazine

Promotional

The first book about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop

Long Description

Special Sound traces the fascinating creation and legacy of the BBC's electronic music studio, the Radiophonic Workshop, in the context of other studios in Europe and America. The BBC built a studio to provide its own avant-garde dramatic productions with experimental sounds "neither music nor sound effect." Quickly, however, a popular kind of electronic music emerged in the form of quirky jingles, signature tunes such as Doctor Who, and incidental music
for hundreds of programs. These influential sounds and styles, heard by millions of listeners over decades of operation on television and radio, have served as a primary inspiration for the use of electronic instruments in popular music.Using in-depth research in the studio's archives and
papers, this book tells the history of the many engineers, composers, directors, and producers behind the studio to trace the shifting perception towards electronic music in Britain. Combining historical discussion of the people and instruments in the workshop with analysis of specific works, Louis Niebur creates a new model for understanding how the Radiophonic Workshop fits into the larger history of electronic music.

Review Text

"Louis Niebur has accomplished a feat of virtuoso research that places in a wholly original context the extraordinary accomplishments of such pioneers as Maddalena Fagandini, Daphne Oram, and the fabulous Delia Derbyshire. Special Sound: The Creation and Legacy of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is elegantly organized and incisively written, a musicological 'page-turner' that elucidates a crucial period in the evolution of British technology and
aesthetics. This volume should be required reading for anyone interested in British culture, music, and technical innovation during the mid-twentieth century."-Byron Adams, Professor of Music, University of California, Riverside
"This stunning and thorough book exploring the BBC Radiophonic Workshop investigates not only broadcasting and programme-making, but also the rise of electronic music in the UK. Dr. Niebur's passion for sounds of radio and television invigorates engaging and often entertaining writing. Moreover, it is transporting to hear such unique sounds, while reading about them."-Jenny Doctor, Senior Lecturer, University of York
"Niebur's research into this early history of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is wickedly illuminating." --Times Higher Education
"With Special Sound, Louis Niebur achieves a remarkable feat in subtly allying the private concept and design of a bygone BBC Radiophonic Workshop---from its inception, the Workshop implemented a largely closed-door policy to outside composers--with active political, social and academic debates. Niebur presents a gentle, nostalgic veneer to Special Sound's theorising, making the work both accessible for the general reader and analytical enough
for the specialist...Special Sound is a trip down memory lane for the BBC enthusiast; a unified lucid investigation for the scholar; and a museum of materials, data and analyses for all who applaud a living legacy. The Workshop is dead. Long live the workshop." --MAKE Magazine

Review Quote

Niebur's research into this early history of the BBC Radiophonic Workshop is wickedly illuminating

Feature

AMS, CMS, IASPM, North American British Music Studies Association, International Conference on Music Since 1900, Society for Cinema and Media Studies, all standard music journals (Notes, JAMS, etc...) and all standard film journals (Screen, etc...), BBC Music Magazine, Times Literary Supplement, Tempo, Twentieth-Century Music
Selling point: First book about the BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Selling point: Discusses programs of enduring popularity, including Doctor Who
Selling point: Includes extensive discussion of music of Delia Derbyshire

Details