Tue, June 3, 2025  -  14h
Wed, June 4, 2025  -  10h
Maison des Sciences Humaines et sociales Paris Nord (Saint-Denis)

It was in 1957 at Bell Labs in New Jersey that Max Mathews developed the first computer sound synthesis software. French composer and researcher Jean-Claude Risset had two separate residencies at this laboratory before playing an active part in the development of this field of research in France at the dawn of the 1970s. But where, how, and by whom was the first synthesized music produced in France? These two days will delve into the history of digital sound through the prism of the pioneering research carried out in the 1970s across various French institutions. From the Paris region—GAIV, GRM, IRCAM, CEMAMu—to Marseilles with LMA and GMEM.

Organised by 
François-Xavier Féron (CNRS - STMS), Vincent Tiffon (Aix-Marseille Université - PRISM) in collaboration with Alain Bonardi (Université Paris 8 - CICM), Pierre Carré, Jean-Louis Giavitto (CNRS - STMS), Laura Zattra (Conservatoire d'Udine)

With the participation of 
Max Ardito (McGill University), Nicolas Donin (University of Geneva), Stuart Jackson (McGill University), Philippe Langlois (IRCAM), Carlo Laurenzi (IRCAM), Marco Stroppa (Musikhochschule Stuttgart), Corsin Vogel (ENS Louis-Lumière) and, as major witnesses, Jacques Arveiller, Jérôme Chailloux, Andrew Gerzso, Yann Geslin, Guy Médigue, Michel Redolfi, Xavier Rodet.

Event organised as part of the RAMHO project (Recherche et acoustique musicales en France: une histoire orale) supported by MSH Paris Nord and the Association Francophone d'Informatique Musicale.

Program of the Thursday, June 3

Colloquium "Boulez et l’électronique"

de 14h à 17h30 | Amphithéâtre

Concert "Re-jouer Boulez"

18h30 | Auditorium
Length: approximately 1 hour

Stuart Jackson vibraphone
Max Ardito electronics

Pierre Boulez
Deux études de musique concrète
Symphonie mécanique
…explosante-fixe... version for vibraphone and electronics


Program of the Wednesday, June 4

Colloquium "Fabriques du son numérique"

de 10h à 18h | Amphithéâtre

Concert "1978-1979 : Le tournant numérique"

18h30 | Auditorium
Length: approximately 1 hour 45 minutes

Daniel Arfib Le souffle du doux
Marc Battier Géométrie d’hiver
François Bayle La fin du bruit
Gilbert Dalmasso Nomades
Jean-Claude Risset Songes
Michel Redolfi Pacific tubular waves
Iannis Xenakis Mycènes Alpha