History
The Workshop was set up to satisfy the growing demand in the late 1950s for "radiophonic" sounds from a group of producers and studio managers at theEarly days
In 1957, Daphne Oram set up the Radiophonic Workshop with Desmond Briscoe, who was appointed the Senior Studio Manager with''Doctor Who''
In 1963 they were approached by composerChanges
As the sixties drew to a close many of the techniques used by the Workshop changed as more electronic music began to be produced by synthesisers. Many of the old members of the Workshop were reluctant to use the new instruments, often because of the limitations and unreliable nature of many of the early synthesisers but also, for some, because of a dislike of the sounds they created. This led to many leaving the workshop making way for a new generation of musicians in the early 1970s including Malcolm Clarke,Latter days
By the early 1990s, BBC Director General John Birt decided that departments were to charge each other and bid against each other for services and to close those that couldn't make enough revenue to cover their costs. In 1991 the Workshop was given five years in which to break even but the cost of keeping the department, which required two dedicated engineers, a software developer (Tony Morton) and a secretary (Maxine) as well as the composers, proved too much and so they failed. Dick Mills, who had worked on ''Doctor Who'' since the very beginning, left in 1993, along with Ray White, Senior Engineer, and his assistant, Ray Riley, with the Maida Vale technical team taking on their role, and engineer Fiona Sleigh smoothing the transition. In 1995, despite being asked to continue, organiser Brian Hodgson left the Workshop, and his role was carried out remotely from Broadcasting House by people with other priorities and little enthusiasm. Malcolm Clarke and Roger Limb left. By the end, only one composer, Elizabeth Parker, remained. The Workshop officially closed in March 1998, but Elizabeth stayed on for a couple of months to complete her last job. John Hunt, (who took over much of the specialist editing side of the workshop previously done by Dick Mills) continued working in Studio E, now called "Radiophonics" until well into 2000, occasionally managing to fit in a bit of traditional Radiophonics work. Mark Ayres recalls the Workshop's tape archive being collected on 1 April, exactly 40 years after the department had opened.Legacy
Following the decision to close the Radiophonic Workshop, the studios were cleared and most remaining equipment was disposed of, with some of it being sold to the composers. The tape library was largely forgotten until the room was ordered to be "cleared". Fortunately the Maida Vale studios technical team became aware of this and were able to hide the tapes away in various dark corners of the building before they could be thrown away. Eventually Mark Ayres and Brian Hodgson were commissioned to catalogue its extensive library of recordings with help from other composers. In October 2003, ''Alchemists of Sound'', an hour-longLive reunions since 2009
In May 2009,2012 online revival
In September 2012 Arts Council England and the BBC announced a joint venture whereby the concept of the Radiophonic Workshop would be revived as an online venture, with seven new, non-original composers and musicians. The new Workshop was based online at The Space, a joint venture between the BBC andComposer Matthew Herbert's first work for The New Radiophonic Workshop takes audio from 25 previous projects featured on the website – from theater performances to poetry readings, creating a "curious murmur of activity". It can be heard by clicking on a button labeled "listen to The Space" at the top of any page on the website.The New Radiophonic Workshop, not to be confused with the reactivated Radiophonic Workshop whose members are original BBC personnel, an entirely separate entity from the original unit, was assembled by Mathew Herbert as an online collective of composers for The Space arts project.
Techniques
The techniques initially used by the Radiophonic Workshop were closely related to those used in ''musique concrète''; new sounds for programmes were created by using recordings of everyday sounds such as voices, bells or gravel as raw material for "radiophonic" manipulations. In these manipulations, audio tape could be played back at different speeds (altering a sound's pitch), reversed, cut and joined, or processed usingInfluence on popular music
The Radiophonic Workshop published "Radiophonics in the BBC" in November 1963, listing all equipment used in their two workshops, diagrams of several systems, and a number of anecdotes. The Radiophonic Workshop also contributed articles to magazines of its experiments, complete with instructions and wiring diagrams. British psychedelic rock groupMembers of the Radiophonic Workshop
1958–1998
* Desmond Briscoe (1958–1983) *2009–present
* Peter Howell (2009–present) *Discography
Main albums
* ''Selected other works
Radio dramas
*''Sound effects and music contributions
*Radio **''''Doctor Who'' incidental music
The ''Works about Radiophonic Workshop
*Radio **''The Sound Makers'' (1963) **''The Electric Tunesmiths'' (1971) ***Repeated as part of ''Selected Radiophonic Works'' in 2008. **''The Space Between'' (4 October 1973) **''Wee Have Also Sound-Houses'' (1979) ***The title to this programme is a reference toSee also
* Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop *References
Further reading
*External links