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Description (KR)
Sound Collage: Reimagining Poème électronique is an attempt to reconstruct the structure and sense of Edgar Varèse and Xenakis’ Poème électronique in the context of contemporary time and perspective.
The Philips Pavilion project and Poème électronique presented a distinctive fusion of architectural design, spatial sound and electroacoustic composition. At the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, the work aimed to embody a belief in humanity and the future through a sensory experience. This piece explores how these elements interacted and how they may be reinterpreted through present-day tools and perspectives. Poème électronique was realised through a close collaboration between architect Le Corbusier, Iannis Xenakis, composer Edgard Varèse and Philips’ sound engineers. Varèse’s composition was built from electronic and recorded sound, structured spatially using magnetic tape and a system of around 350 loudspeakers. As a result, sound moved through space rather than remaining fixed, shaping a dynamic auditory experience.
The reinterpretation was constructed within a digital audio environment, using field recordings, synthesis, modulation and spectral processing. While the original structure and energy of Poème électronique served as reference points, the materials and methods reflect the language of 21st-century electronic music. The structure consists of seven chapters: ‘Genesis’, ‘Spirit and Matter’, ‘From Darkness to Dawn’, ‘Man-Made Gods’, ‘How Time Moulds Civilisation’, ‘Harmony’, and ‘To All Mankind’, which evoke a mythical timeline of collective memory and sense. Each chapter follows the flow of human experience accumulating and transforming without forcing a specific narrative.
This reinterpretation is based on an attempt to critically examine the ideals and contradictions inherent in mid-20th century technological optimism. Electronic sounds and edited images reveal the discontinuity of sense, the dispersion of memory, and the flaws of humanity.
This piece contains high-intensity audio that may trigger sensory sensitivity.