Sounds for the Theatre Stage
Final Report Abstract
Sound design is an important part of theatre practice. This project has probably been the first in German language to study it systematically and historically. As a cultural practice, it can be understood as a counter-tradition to music that has produced alternative instruments, namely theatre noise machines such as rain and thunder machines. They are marked by their continuous use in European theatrical practice for about 400 years (but sound makers are described and thunder mentioned in stage directions as early as antiquity). It is only with the arrival of electroacoustics in theaters in the 20th century that the devices of sound production change from mechanical to electroacoustic and later to digital. This change from imitation by sound machines to the reproduction of a sound recording represents a paradigm shift in the history of theatre sound design and was a focus of this study. In theatrical practice, the new technology led to a temporary parallel use of mechanical noise machines and audio technology in 20th century theater. It resulted in a migration of some noise machines into the percussion section of the symphony orchestra on the one hand, and their rediscovery in the context of historically informed performance practice of musical theater on the other. With the compilation of sources on mechanical theater sound machines, a historical continuity could be proven. The study of early records of theatrical sounds revealed that initially only the mechanical sound generators were recorded; it was not until the 1950s that outdoor recordings for theatrical productions became commercially available. As an acoustic part of the performance, there are references to thunder sounds in the form of stage directions in many eras. Such indications of theatrical sounds were sometimes composed in music theater scores, and in other instances the sound design was realized as part of the production, i.e., not notated in the score. With investigations of the use of theatrical sounds in opera, this study also contributes to music theater research, in which these additional sounds are only beginning to receive attention. In its many forms, theatre sound design can be understood both as an alternative cultural practice of sound organization, and in its various relationships to music, as a precursor to the expansion of musical material to include the noise spectrum in the 20th century.
Publications
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Vortrag zu Projektzwischenergebnissen im Kolloquium Audiokommunikation, Prof. Weinzierl, TU Berlin
Julia H. Schröder
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Vortrag zu Projektzwischenergebnissen im Kolloquium Audiokommunikation, Prof. Weinzierl, TU Berlin
Julia H. Schröder
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„Forschungsprojekt Theatergeräusche“, Vortrag, Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung, Universität Bonn
Julia H. Schröder
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„Theaterklopfen: unsichtbar und unheimlich“ bei ARS-Tagung „knock. tap. rap“, Vortrag, Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz
Julia H. Schröder
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„Donnerblech und Windmaschine: Die Migration der Theatergeräuscherzeuger ins Sinfonieorchester“, Vortrag, Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung, Humboldt Universität Berlin
Julia H. Schröder
