Denis Arthur Smalley (born 1946 in Nelson, New Zealand) is a composer 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 instr ...

, with a special interest in

acousmatic music Acousmatic music (from Greek ἄκουσμα ''akousma'', "a thing heard") is a form of electroacoustic music that is specifically ''composed'' for presentation using speakers, as opposed to a live performance. It stems from a compositional tradi ...

Biography

Denis Smalley studied at the University of Canterbury and Victoria University in his native New Zealand, and later at the Paris Conservatoire with

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithologist who was one of the major composers of the 20th century. His music is rhythmically complex; harmonical ...

, with the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM), and at the University of York.John Young, "Smalley, Denis (Arthur)", ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicology, musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), whi ...

and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries of Music, 2001). He initially composed onto tape, but as early as the 1980s realised his works using computer software. His composition ''Pentes'' (1974) is regarded as one of the classics of electroacoustic music. Source sounds for his works may come from the environment—and are often the starting point for his pieces—but he may also develop highly sophisticated timbres from scratch using computer software. He describes his approach as " spectromorphological", featuring the development of sounds in time.Leigh Landy, ''Experimental Music Notebooks'', Performing Arts Studies 2 (Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1994). (cloth), (pbk). A lecturer at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

, England, from 1976 to 1994, he was professor of music at

City University, London City, University of London, is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, and a member institution of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute, and became a university when The City Univ ...

from 1994 until his retirement. His music has been performed around the world and most of his major works appear on commercially released CDs.

Recordings

* ''Impacts intérieurs'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 0409, 2004) * ''Sources/scènes'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 0054, 2000) * ''Névé'' ( Effects Input, EI 03, 1994) * ''Tides'' (

Ode Records (New Zealand) Ode Records is a New Zealand record label. Artists recordings released through the label include Herb McQuay, Deane Waretini. The first release on the label was a single in 1968, "Sally I Do" by Abdullahs' Regime. The label also became an import ...

, MANU 1433, 1993) * ''Impacts intérieurs'' (empreintes DIGITALes, IMED 9209, 1992)

List of works

* ''Base Metals'' (2000) * ''Berne Mobiles'' (1980), installation * ''Clarinet Threads'' (1985), clarinet, and tape, received a Golden Nica (Ars Electronica, Linz, Austria) in 1988 * ''Darkness After Time's Colours'' (1976), received a Euphonie d'Or (Bourges competition) in 1992 * ''Empty Vessels'' (1997) * ''Gradual'' (1974), amplified clarinets, and tape * ''Névé'' (1994) * ''Ouroboros'' (1975) * ''O Vos Omnes'' (1986), eight-part choir, and tape * ''Pentes'' (1974) * ''Piano Nets'' (1990–91), piano, and tape * ''Pneuma'' (1976, 81), amplified voices, and percussion * ''The Pulses of Time'' (1979) * ''Resounding'' (2004), 6-track tape * ''Ringing Down the Sun'' (2002), 6-track tape * ''Spectral Lands'' (2011) for electroacoustic sounds in six channels * ''Tides'' (1984) * ''Valley Flow'' (1991–92) * ''Vortex'' (1982) * ''Wind Chimes'' (1987)

References

External links

His personal site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smalley, Denis 1946 births Living people New Zealand classical composers Male classical composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers New Zealand electronic musicians Electroacoustic music composers Academics of City, University of London Academics of the University of East Anglia Alumni of the University of York 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians

Biography

Recordings

List of works

References

Further reading

External links