 Good Reads: The
Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby – the Evolution of Sound in the Electronic Age,
by Mark Prendergast
500 pp. Trade paperback, $19.95. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2003.
Readers of GoodSound! are well
acquainted with one kind of interaction between music and technology: the use of stereo
systems to reproduce recorded music. While that is the most immediate connection between
music and technology for most of us, it is not the only one. Mark Prendergast’s book,
The Ambient Century: From Mahler to Moby -- the Evolution of Sound in the Electronic
Age, is a long look at ambient music throughout the 20th century. What struck me as
most interesting about this history were the ways in which technology influences the very
composition of music.
Consider a composer such as J.S. Bach. Not only is it
possible to enjoy his music simply by reading the scores, but when he wrote his music, he
was writing for ensembles of musicians: In his time, the only way to hear his music was as
performed by live musicians. Compare this with a more contemporary musician, such as Brian
Eno. I don’t believe sheet music for Eno’s ambient work, such as 1978’s Music
for Airports, would reveal the music in the same way it does Bach’s. More
important, Eno can produce his music by himself, relying only on computer technology. The
only way to hear most of his music is via a stereo system. (Recently, a new-music group,
the Bang on a Can All-Stars, have performed Music for Airports in concert.)
Music
The term ambient music can’t be defined with a
list of necessary and sufficient conditions, but can be described as music whose creators
consider, in Prendergast’s words, "atmospheric sound, its timbre, and
personality." Duration and the interplay of musical elements over time is also a
common feature of ambient music. On the classical end of the spectrum, consider John
Cage’s 4’33", a composition for piano during which the pianist never
touches the instrument, thus drawing specific attention to whatever sounds take place in
the performance space during the four minutes and 33 seconds of the piece -- or the works
of Morton Feldman, which are often several hours long. Cage and Feldman, however, are
still more like Bach in that their music is intended to be performed by musicians before
an audience. A good electronic example of the reliance on time is Brian Eno’s series
of Ambient albums, on which the music has a slow, methodical quality. There is a
key difference between the musics of Cage and Eno, however. Pieces such as Cage’s 4’33"
were intended to be actively appreciated; Eno’s Ambient music is intended to
add to the atmosphere of a space without drawing conscious attention to themselves.
Prendergast argues that the development of ambient music
was one of the main themes of music history during the 20th century. As evidence he
examines the music of Mahler, Debussy, and Satie, to the Rolling Stones, Simon and
Garfunkel, and Can, to DJ Shadow, the Chemical Brothers, and Air. While he makes good
points in his discussion of each, I think his case could have been better made by writing
more about the artists who were central to the development of ambient music and leaving
out some of the more famous (e.g., the Rolling Stones), who seem to have been
included simply because of their fame. I understand that Prendergast wanted to make the
case that the concerns of ambient music are deeply entrenched in 20th-century music in
nearly all of its forms, but the numbers of artists discussed -- more than 40 in the first
chapter alone -- make the book read less like a sustained argument than an encyclopedia.
To his credit, Prendergast spends more time on the biggest
figures in this history, giving artists such as Philip Glass, Eno, and Kraftwerk their due
while not overlooking lesser-known musicians such as Spaceman 3 and Grand Master Flash.
Prendergast is particularly good at noting the influences that composers such as Satie and
Glass have had on later artists, even when the latter aren’t usually considered
"classical."
The drawing-out of these influences and the construction of
this large musical family tree takes nearly 500 pages. The result might have been
unwieldy, but a helpful index with many subheadings for each important artist makes it
easy to look up specific information. Under Kraftwerk, for example, you’ll find the
subheading "sampled," which cites every page that discusses a work that includes
a sampled portion of a Kraftwerk song (there are six entries).
Technology
Much of the music discussed in The Ambient Century
could not have been made before the invention of 20th-century technology. This is, of
course, true of a lot of music: rock’n’roll wouldn’t be
rock’n’roll without electric guitars. The use of electronics in ambient music,
however, is different from a simple reliance on electric instruments. Most contemporary
ambient music relies on computers more than on traditional instruments, and it is easy to
see how the development of synthesizers has also played a key role.
The brief history of synthesizers and related electronic
devices in the first chapter made me want to read a more detailed history of the late
Robert Moog and his revolutionary synthesizer. The development of this instrument gave
musicians great freedom in developing new sounds, and, given how integral that is to
ambient music, I would like to have read more about how it works and how musicians became
familiar with it. Computer technology is mentioned in passing in many parts of the book,
but I would like to have seen a more comprehensive history here as well. These are not
really criticisms of The Ambient Century; Prendergast is more concerned with the
music itself than with its production. It is a credit to the book that it makes the reader
more interested in its subject and raises questions for further investigation.
Prendergast also points out how playback media (LPs, CDs,
MP3s, etc.) play a role in the composition of music. Not only is it the case that artists
tailor their compositions to fit the dominant medium, but the media can also influence the
future of music. In discussing the compact disc, for example, Prendergast makes the case
that the digital remastering of old albums has made all of that material easily accessible
for electronic musicians to sample in their recordings.
Moby’s music -- on Play, for example -- has
relied on inserting samples of old a cappella recordings into new music that he has
written. In the past, composers have tipped their hats to their predecessors with musical
quotations, but this new act is importantly different. Technology allows contemporary
composers to not only pay homage to their predecessors but to re-use the very work of
their predecessors in new ways. If I want to pay homage to Miles Davis, I no longer need
to play like him or write something that sounds like him -- I can sample him directly into
my new composition.
A few statements in The Ambient Century suggest that
the forward momentum of technology will be good for music; he specifically mentions the
MP3, SACD, DVD-Audio, and Blu-ray technologies. I don’t agree that MP3 has been good
for the high-quality reproduction of music, and we’ve already seen SACD and DVD-A
wither away as CDs remain strong. I also fear that the next format war, between Blu-ray
and HD-DVD, will only serve to further cement DVD as the lasting video format.
One issue that lies beyond the scope of Prendergast’s
book is how the rise of MP3s might influence the level of quality that artists demand from
their recordings. It’s troubling to think that the quality of available music might
actually decrease because of the lack of interest on the parts of the public and the
artists themselves. If I’m an artist and want to get my music out to people, why
spend time attaining the highest possibly quality of sound if everyone is listening at
128kb/s?
Conclusion
Mark Prendergast’s examination of ambient music in the
20th century is a wonderful book to have on hand, and his list of 100 essential ambient
recordings gives those new to ambient music a good place to start. Prendergast’s
discussion of each musician ends with a section titled "Listening," in which he
suggests various recordings. This is incredibly helpful, especially for veteran fans of
ambient music who may not be familiar with the more obscure artists discussed. Anyone with
an interest in music and its technologies will find the connections Prendergast draws
worth consideration, and will deepen their appreciation for the large role technology
played in the last century of music.
Prendergast maintains a website for The Ambient Century
at www.ambientcentury.co.uk.
...Eric D. Hetherington
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