Treatise on Musical Objects: An Essay across Disciplines (California Studies in 20th-Century Music)

Schaeffer’s astonishing book is at last available in English thanks to the wonderful work of John Dack and Christine North."—Robert Worby, composer, BBC Radio 3 and the Langham Research Centre "The Treatise on Musical Objects is Pierre Schaeffer’s magnum opus, a prescient work of sound studies before there was 'sound studies.' Its purview touches on nearly every aspect of sound and auditory culture. Christine North and John Dack have shown tremendous skill, patience, and care in rendering Schaeffer’s

Schaeffer expands his earlier research in musique concrète to suggest a methodology of working with sounds based on his experiences in radio broadcasting and the recording studio. Translators Christine North and John Dack present an important book in the history of ideas in Europe that will resonate far beyond electroacoustic music.. Drawing on acoustics, physics, and physiology, but also on philosophy and the relationship between subject and object, Schaeffer’s essay summarizes his theoretical and practical work in music composition. The Treatise on Musical Objects is regarded as Pierre Schaeffer’s most important work on music and its relationship with technology