An event celebrating Russolo’s ‘Art of Noises’ essay takes place at UCC on 13 December 2013

Entitled 1913-The Art of Noises–2013, the event is presented by the French Department and the School of Music and Theatre, UCC and includes a number of performances and talks throughout the day.

Composer and music lecturer at UCC, John Godfrey explains the event:

“One hundred years ago, the Futurist artist Russolo produced his famous essay The Art of Noises. Inviting us to ”walk through a modern city with our ears more open than our eyes", he opened the door to the use in music of environmental sound formally considered non-musical.

He built ‘Intonarumori’, instruments that mimicked the sounds of the human soundscape and brought them under direct control. After a century of musical change, ‘noise’ has become an essential element of so much of our music. Through papers and performances, 1913-The Art of Noises–2013 will celebrate and explore a range of ideas to do with Futurist noise and its influences. The final concert will feature the renowned French noise-artist Vomir, and performances by Strange Attractor using especially-constructed copies of Intonarumori from Russolo’s original plans."

The event is free and open to the public. A full programme of the event is available here.