Birmingham ElectroAcoustic Sound Theatre, or as it is more commonly known, BEAST, is a sound diffusion system specifically designed for the performance of
electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music is a genre of popular and Western art music in which composers use technology to manipulate the timbres of acoustic sounds, sometimes by using audio signal processing, such as reverb or harmonizing, on acoustical instrumen ...
. It is a long-running project of the Electroacoustic Music Studios at the
University of Birmingham
, mottoeng = Through efforts to heights
, established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
, founded in 1982 under the directorship of
Jonty Harrison
Jonty Harrison is an electroacoustic music composer born 27 April 1952 in Scunthorpe, and currently living in Birmingham, England.
Career
Jonty Harrison studied with Bernard Rands at the University of York, graduating with a DPhil in Compositi ...
. Since 2014 BEAST has been directed by
Scott Wilson, along with Annie Mahtani and James Carpenter as technical director. Simply put, it consists of a set of loudspeakers connected to a computer, usually controlled by a diffusion console.
The loudspeakers
BEAST can consist of up to over 100 channels of
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...
s, often arranged largely in pairs or rings,, and includes ultra-low frequency loudspeakers (''bins'') and custom-built trees of high frequency speakers (''tweeter trees'') which can be suspended above an audience.
The minimum set-up that BEAST would ordinarily use for stereo diffusion comprises a set of loudspeakers which Jonty Harrison terms the ''Main Eight''.
[
][
] These four pairs of loudspeakers, using BEAST nomenclature, are termed ''Main'', ''Wide'', ''Distant'' and ''Rear''. The ''Main'' and the ''Wide'' speakers together form the main, frontal sound image, the ''Main'' speakers being placed to act somewhat like the loudspeakers in a typical studio, and the ''Wide'' speakers acting to stretch that sound image out across the audience's sound stage. The ''Rear'' speakers, which are behind the audience, provide immersion and the possibility of movement around the audience. Finally, the ''Distant'' speakers, which are positioned to hold their image behind the ''Main'' speakers, create a sound whose perspective is distant to that of the ''Main'' pair. Other speakers are added to this ''Main Eight'' to allow additional possibilities for sound movement and differing sound perspectives. More recent work with BEAST has explored the possibilities offered by 'massively multichannel' approaches to composition, and 'n-channel' work.
The diffusion console
BEAST is a dynamic system: during a performance the
performer
The performing arts are The arts, arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art object ...
operates an often custom-built console, called the diffusion console, with which he or she can individually and dynamically control the level of each loudspeaker, or groups of loudspeakers. This enables him or her to actively articulate the piece's implied spatial sound detail within the real space of the performance venue, in order to realise and interpret the
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
's intentions.
[
] The system also includes equipment for the live processing of sounds so that, for instance, the sounds of a live
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist can be processed and incorporated into the soundstage.
The BEAST diffusion console has developed significantly over the years. The earliest systems depended on those commercially available
mixing desk
A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals from electric or electronic instr ...
s which had direct outputs from each
fader. The stereo input signal from, for example, a tape-machine was split passively into the input channels on the desk, alternating left and right. The direct output from each channel fed the amplifiers for the loudspeakers, thus giving the individual control of each loudspeaker required for diffusion. The main disadvantage of this system was that it offered very little flexibility, making it difficult to move between sources in different formats (for example,
quadraphonic
Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...
, octaphonic or pieces with live input). In some situations complicated rewiring would be required for each source format used, which could be prone to errors particularly during the stress of a performance.
[
]
The first custom built console BEAST developed was still based on a commercially available mixing desk, but which had been extensively modified, adding a matrix input section and balanced outputs. The matrix input section allowed a number of inputs to be assigned to any fader input using a series of push buttons. Where multiple sources were used during a concert, this allowed each work to have their assignment preset on the matrix. BEAST's positive and negative experiences with this experimental desk led them to design a new one: their last analogue desk, called the ''3D''. This was a fully custom built console with an extensive matrix input which was very easy and flexible to use.
With the electroacoustic community's renewed interest in multichannel formats, and in particular octaphonic set-ups, came the need for BEAST to address how such pieces should be diffused. The diffusion of multichannel formats was too complex a task for the standard BEAST console, even the 3D, and BEAST turned to software solutions to solve these problems: first
MAX/MSP
Max, also known as Max/MSP/Jitter, is a visual programming language for music and multimedia developed and maintained by San Francisco-based software company Cycling '74. Over its more than thirty-year history, it has been used by composers, per ...
and most recently, a system created in
SuperCollider
A particle accelerator is a machine that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to very high speeds and energies, and to contain them in well-defined beams.
Large accelerators are used for fundamental research in particle ...
by
Scott Wilson and
Sergio Luque Sergio Luque is a composer of vocal, instrumental and electroacoustic music. His work often involves computer-aided algorithmic composition and stochastic processes.
His music has been performed by the Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Les Jeun ...
. Now, rather than using an analogue desk, a digital multichannel sound interface is used, and controlled via specially written applications using
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
faders. This offers the maximum flexibility, with one fader, for example, being able to control only one loudspeaker, a stereo pair or an octaphonic circle depending on how the system has been configured. Using this system, multiple octaphonic groups, placed in different positions around the audience, can be used to diffuse octaphonic source material in a manner similar to that used for stereo. In this case, each fader controls one octaphonic group.
[
] A new set of three fully digital desks, using the
Open Sound Control
Open Sound Control (OSC) is a protocol for networking sound synthesizers, computers, and other multimedia devices for purposes such as musical performance or show control. OSC's advantages include interoperability, accuracy, flexibility and enhan ...
protocol, were made for BEAST by Sukhandar Kartadinata based on his GLUI platform. Clones of these desks have been adopted by other users and systems.
Performances
Since its debut in December 1982, BEAST has performed hundreds of concerts in the UK and Europe, both on its own and in joint performances with musicians from all over the world. BEAST has appeared at many notable festivals and concerts, including the
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...
, the Inventionen Festival in Berlin,
Hello Digital,
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival
The Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (also known by the acronym HCMF, stylised since 2006 as the lowercase hcmf//) is a new music festival held annually in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. Since its foundation in 1978, it has featured ...
,
Multimediale 2 in Karlsruhe, in the
Purcell Room
The Purcell Room is a concert and performance venue which forms part of the Southbank Centre, one of central London's leading cultural complexes. It is named after the 17th century England, English composer Henry Purcell and has 370 seats. The Pu ...
and the
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...
, The
Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, the
Adrian Boult Hall in Birmingham and the
Henry Wood Hall in Glasgow. It was acclaimed when used as the concert sound system at the 1990
International Computer Music Conference
The International Computer Music Conference (ICMC) is a yearly international conference for computer music researchers and composers. It is the annual conference of the International Computer Music Association (ICMA).
History
In 1986, the Inst ...
held in Glasgow, and at the
Aspekte Festival in Salzburg.
See also
*
Acousmonium
The Acousmonium is the sound diffusion system designed in 1974 by Francois Bayle and used originally by the Groupe de Recherches Musicales at the Maison de Radio France. It consists of 80 loudspeakers of differing size and shape, and was designed ...
*
Surround sound
Surround sound is a technique for enriching the fidelity and depth of sound reproduction by using multiple audio channels from speakers that surround the listener ( surround channels). Its first application was in movie theaters. Prior to sur ...
*
Sargasso Records
Sargasso is a London-based record label and live events promotion company founded by Daniel Biro.
It was established 1993 and integrated into Esfor Limited in 2008. It specialises in mostly avant garde, innovative and contemporary experimental ...
References
The Electroacoustic Music Studios at the University of Birmingham.*, also: http://www.tutschku.com/content/interpretation.en.php
*
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Electronic music