Synthesizer ANS is a photoelectronic optical musical instrument designed by Soviet engineer Yevgeny Murzin , the world's first polyphonic musical synthesizer . The working model of the ANS was completed in 1958 , in 1959 Murzin received the copyright certificate for his invention [1] . He designated the synthesizer with the abbreviation "ANS" - in honor of the composer Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin .
Content
- 1 Characteristic
- 2 Documentary
- 3 notes
- 4 Literature
- 5 Links
Feature
According to modern researchers of electronic music, Murzin created his instrument under the influence of the ideas of circle engineers A. Avraamov [2] - A. Shorin , E. Sholpo , B. Yankovsky [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] ) The idea of 72-step temperament was most likely suggested by Jankowski [8] [9] .
The principle of operation of the device is based on the method of optical sound recording used in cinema. In optical recording, the sound signal controls the luminous flux, which creates an illuminated strip of variable width or density on the film strip. To reproduce an optical phonogram, a light source and a photocell are used , between which a film is stretched. A change in the brightness of the light flux when passing through a film causes a change in the current through the photocell. The received electrical signal is amplified and reproduced through the speaker .
In the ANS synthesizer, this method is used to generate sound and record musical score. The synthesizer contains 5 transparent rotating disks with a pattern printed on them, which changes (modulates) the light flux passing through the disks. The pattern on the disks is selected in such a way that when light passes through them, 720 regions are formed, in each of which the light is modulated with increasing frequency. Thus, 720 unique sound waves are generated. The synthesizer uses a system with 72 sounds in an octave, which allows you to get closer to the sounds of the natural system [6] .
The synthesizer does not have a keyboard. The musical work for the synthesizer must be prepared in advance and played automatically, the mechanism used can be considered as a kind of sequencer . The work is recorded on a transparent plate coated with paint. With the help of a cutter, part of the paint is removed from the plate and gaps are created. When playing the score, the luminous flux modulated by the discs passes through the slit restricting the portion of the score, goes through the plate and is captured by photocells. The clearance in the plate allows the flow of light modulated with a certain frequency to get on the photocell and create a sound. The position of the gap in the plate determines the height, and the width of the gap determines the volume of sound.
During the execution of the work, the plate moves in front of the slit using an electric drive.
In fact, the pattern on the plate is a sonogram (spectrogram of sound). To simplify the recording of musical works, a special device (encoder) is used, on which the sounds of the 12-tone system are highlighted, and a mobile carriage with a scale of basic overtones is also provided. However, no restrictions are imposed on the score itself, so it can be arbitrary.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, young innovative composers Alfred Schnittke , Edison Denisov , Sofia Gubaidulina , Andrei Volkonsky , Stanislav Kreichi , Peter Meshchaninov , later Alexander Nemtin and others experimented with ANS.
In 1971, composers Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov, Sofya Gubaidulina, Eduard Artemyev and Oleg Buloshkin recorded their works using this synthesizer. This material was published by the company "Melody" in 1990 as a record "Musical Offering" (С60 30721 000).
In the 1960s and 1970s, ANS was used to record soundtracks for feature films and documentaries on then fashionable “ space ” themes. He created the soundtracks for films, mainly Eduard Artemyev (for example, the film " Solaris " by Andrei Tarkovsky).
Murzin’s only instrument in the world was stored at the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University and at the Theremin Center at the Moscow Conservatory until 2008, and then was transferred to the Glinka State Concern and Music Center in Moscow (presentation took place on October 16, 2008 [10] ). The tool is maintained by Stanislav Kreichi .
In 2003, British experimental group Coil released the album ANS , which included compositions created using this synthesizer.
In 2006, the album of another famous experimental project, Bad Sector , was released, which used the ANS synthesizer.
On September 20, 2013, the ANS cross-platform software simulator, Virtual ANS, was released .
Documentary
- Murzin synthesizer . A documentary from the series "First in the World". Author and director: Alexey Artemyev. The Gold Medium television company was commissioned by the Kultura State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company. 2018 Russia-Culture . 09/02/2018. 15 minutes.
Notes
- ↑ Photoelectric music synthesizer. USSR copyright certificate 118695
- ↑ Nikoltsev I. D. Microchromatic in the system of modern musical thinking. Abstract to the claim. - 2013. - C. 21
- ↑ Smirnov A. I. Project “Generation Z”. The sound of light and paper. Son produit par la lumiere et le papier. // Catalog of the exhibition “Vois ce que j'entends”, Center des Arts Enghien-les-Bains, France, 2010. Pp. 16-27. (Russian and French).
- ↑ Smirnov A. The book “SOUND in Z. Forgotten experiments in sound art and electronic music in early 20th century Russia” // Sound & Music, London - Verlag de Buchhandlung Walther Konig, Cologne, 2013. - p. 33-35, 229.
- ↑ Smirnov A., Pchelkina L. .. Russian Pioneers of Sound Art in the 1920s // Catalog of the exhibition 'Red Cavalry: Creation and Power in Soviet Russia between 1917 and 1945.' Rosa Ferre Ed. La Casa Encendida, Madrid, 2011, p. 210-232. [Separate article: [1] (P. 12)]
- ↑ 1 2 Anfilov G. Composer as a painter (On the ANS synthesizer and its creator Evgeny Murzin). - http://asmir.info/lib/murzin.htm
- ↑ Smirnov A .. ANS Synthesizer. Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, 2nd ed. - 2013. - Oxford University Press
- ↑ Smirnov A., Pchelkina L. Ibid.
- ↑ Anfilov G. Ibid.
- ↑ Synthesizer ANS transferred to the Glinka Museum
Literature
- Nazaikinsky E.V. TVM // Music and Computer Science. Moscow: MGK, 1999.
- Murzin E.A. ANS. At the origins of electronic music. Moscow: Composer, 2008.
Links
- ANS - the world's first studio music synthesizer
- ANS is an electronic instrument for composers. Booklet of VDNH, 1964
- Synthesizer ANS at the exhibition of works by Pavel Filonov
- Lecture workshop on the ANS synthesizer (S. Kreichi) at the Museum of Musical Culture. Glinka (video)
- Stanislav Kreichi about ANS synthesizer
- (inaccessible link) Stanislav Kreichi. Speech synthesis, or the history of talking machines
- Software analogue of ANS synthesizer
- ANS reproduces the drawing of the artist Svetlana Bogatyr “The Unknown Worlds” on October 21, 2009, State Metallurgical and Metallurgical Museum M. I. Glinka, concert dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the birth of E. A. Murzin (video)
- “The ANS Synthesizer: Composing on a Photoelectronic Instrument” by Stanislav Kreichi
- The audio sculptures of E. Phillebraone sound through his virtual synthesizer , which works like an ANS, but with three-dimensional CAD drawings. (eng.)
- Electroacoustic music
- ANS synthesizer discography
- Photograph of 1961 in the APN photobank
- Culture Channel , “Absolute Hearing” Aired on 06/25/2014