RCA Electronic Synthesizer Sounds 1955 demonstration lp

$

88

The Sounds and Music of the RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer. RCA Victor LM-1922 Experimental

This rare and amazing artifact from 1955 is the first lp ever to feature a synthesizer. It is also generally regarded as the first lp of electronic music (though there were also some early musique concrete compilations which were released around the same time). This is a demonstration of the then-unbelievable capabilities of the RCA Synth, with one side of explanations of the technology and science behind the machine (spoken in a stereotypical 1950s nerdy announcer voice, interspersed with synthesized example sounds), then another side filled with actual music produced by the synth. There are classical works by Bach and Brahms, folk songs ("in the style of a Hillbilly Band"), and pop and jazz (including Irving Berlin's Blue Skies "in the style of a dance band"). The RCA Synth would a few years later be installed at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, where luminaries Vladimir Ussachevsky, Milton Babbitt, Otto Luening, and Charles Wuorinen all composed seminal experimental works using it. The lp was produced by Dr. Harry F. Olson, director of the RCA Acoustical Laboratory. It comes with extensive illustrated notes on the cover which supplement the recording, with essays and diagrams on subjects like "The Physical Properties of Musical Tones, " "Synthesis and the Musician," etc. "Introducing the RCA Electronic Music Synthesizer - a system capable of creating any sound which has ever been produced, and any sound which can be imagined by the human mind..."

This lp should be heard by anyone interested in electronic music and instruments like the Theremin, Oskar Sala and his trautonium, Robert Moog, Donald Buchla/Morton Subotnick, Clara Rockmore, ondes Martenot, Ondioline, Arp, Raymond Scott, Bruce Haack, Chappell Recorded Music Library, Jean-Michelle Jarre, Paul Beaver, Bernie Krause, Pierre Henry, Max Mathews, Jean-Claude Risset, Bernard Parmegiani, Herbert Eimert, Robert Beyer, Gottfried Michael Koenig, Jean-Jacques Perrey, Gershon Kingsley, Tom Dissevelt, John R. Pierce, Newman Guttman, James Tenney, Mu-Ziq, Aphex Twin, Autechre, etc...

Vinyl Condition: vg (has a few marks and plays with audible surface noise throughout, no ticks but moderate crackling, more noticeable on side 2)
Cover Condition: vg- (the top seam is 1/2 split, and the bottom seam has a 2" split at center; there is also wear on the front and back, and what appears to be sticker residue on the back)

Check out my other auctions this week for more avant garde/experimental, early electronic/electroacoustic, 20th century classical, atonal/serialist, and Moog and other early synthesizer lps.









Shipping will be 3.85 for 1-2 single records for media rate to US destinations, then 0.50 for each additional (expedited shipping and insurance is also available on request). Elsewhere shipping 1 12" lp to: Canada by airmail is 6.50; Western Europe/UK/Scandinavia is 7.00 surface or 12.00 air; Japan/Taiwan/Australia is 7.00 surface or 13.50 air; other international destinations vary. 7" and 10" records will cost less; heavy box sets may cost more. Combine multiple items to save on shipping.

Payment - I prefer Paypal (which allows for fastest possible shipment) and also accept cash, money order (from US financial institutions only, including BidPay, US Postal, certified bank check, etc.), and Western Union money transfer. If you are paying by Paypal and have won multiple items, please use a single Paypal payment. I will send an invoice email to all winners shortly after my auctions close.

Packing - I pack professionally and adequately using new record mailers exclusively from Cameron Packaging (which I have determined are the best and most protective). For used lps, I remove the lp and inserts from the jacket, cover it in a layer of bubble wrap, and then reinforce it with a cardboard insert. All records are shipped with poly plastic sleeves. If you'd like your package done any differently, just let me know.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions (need more info, want more pictures, etc.); you can use the 'ask seller a question' link above. My condition rating scale is -G+/-VG+/-EX+/-NM/M (only sealed records are M).

This item description is (c)opyright 2005 keymap records; please contact keymap records for permission before reproducing any text.