The ‘Analyzátor a syntezátor zvuku’ or ‘ASYZ’ Bohumil Matoušek, Antonín ka[…] & Pavel Pitrák, Czech Republic, 1971

The ASYZ 2.0 'Analyzátor a syntezátor zvuku' at the Barrandov Film Studio 1971
The ASYZ 2.0 ‘Analyzátor a syntezátor zvuku’ at the Barrandov Film Studio 1971

The ASYZ was built in the late 1960s at the ‘East European Hollywood’ Barrandov Film Studios in Prague to provide sound effects and electronic music for film productions, with the final version, the ASYZ2 completed in 1971. The instrument was designed by electronic engineers, Antonín ka [name incomplete], Bohumil Matoušek and later by the sound engineer and designer Pavel Pitrák who maintained the instrument throughout the seventies and eighties. The ASYZ remained in use until the 1990s and is now housed at the collection of the Cinepost post production company, Praha.

The original design was a keyboard-less modular type device intended to be used for processing external audio signals and for generating sound effects, the modules being connected using colour coded patch cables. The instrument was controlled by manually switching a rotary dial to select different timbres and pitches or by programming a 16 step three track sequencer, a six octave keyboard was added in the 1990s. The modules of the ASYZ included a Voltage Controlled Oscillator, white noise generator, low and high pass filters, a parametric equaliser, ring modulator, phaser, signal mixer, VCA, ADSR envelope shaper, LFO, random signal generators, envelope followers and auxiliary circuits. The output of the instrument was controlled by a small six-channel mixing console and monitored using a built-in oscilloscope.


Sources:

Milan Guštar. ‘Elektrofony II’

http://czechkeys.blog.cz/

The Denis D’Or or “Golden Dionysis”, Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech Republic, 1748.

 Václav Prokop Diviš (1698 – 1765)
Portrait of Václav Prokop Diviš (1698 – 1765)

The Denis D’or, the “Golden Dionysis”, was an early one-off  keyboard instrument built at the Prämonstratenser Stifte in Klosterbruck, Czechia  by the Czech theologian and pioneer of electrical research Václav Prokop Diviš (1698 – 1765). 1Ruschkowski, André. (1990) Soundscapes : elektronische Klangerzeugung und Musik, Berlin : Lied der Zeit, 15. Described as an ‘orchestrion’ because of its ability to imitate the sounds of wind and string instruments, it is often described as the first electronic musical instrument, yet, due to lack of detailed historical documentation and conflicting contemporary reports this claim remains uncertain.

Several accounts describe the instrument as an electro-acoustic instrument where the strings are vibrated using electro-magnets: “…In 1730 the Moravian preacher Prokop DIVIS generated sound by electromagnetic excitation of piano strings . He called his invention Denis d’or” and “His experiments were based on the electromagnetic excitation of piano strings , but could not prevail despite initially considerable interest to the public .” 2 Harenberg, Michael. (1989) Neue Musik durch neue Technik? : Musikcomputer als qualitative Herausforderung für ein neues Denken in der Musik, Bärenreiter, Kassel, 26.  yet this seems unlikely as the relationship between electricity and electromagnetism only became understood as late as 1820.

Other accounts suggest that the Denis D’Or was an elaborate joke whereby the performer could be electrocuted at will by the inventor

Denis d’or , an electric “Mutationsflügel” with one pedal , created in 1730 by the Moravian preacher Prokop Diviß of Prendnitz in Znojmo…This instrument was 5 feet long and 3 feet wide, with 790 strings . However, the suspension and the tautening of the numerous metal strings were much more elaborate. The ingenious mechanism, which had been worked out by Diviš with painstaking mathematical accuracy was such that the Denis d’or could imitate the sounds of a whole variety of other instruments, including chordophones such as harpsichords, harps and lutes, and even wind instruments. An untimely anti joke was that the player of the instrument could receive an electric shock whenever the inventor wanted. 3Sachs, Kurt.(1913) Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, Berlin, J. Bard, 108.

Denis D’or named by Procopius Divisz , pastor Prendnitz in Znojmo in Moravia , in 1730 he invented keyboard instrument with pedals, which is the time that efforts in the area of instrument making became almost a caricature . The instrument was 1.57 meters long and 0.95 meters wide , and had a reference of 790 strings that could be tuned in  three-quarter hours to 130 notes.  This instrument allowed , among the sounds of almost all known string and wind instruments were represented , and even also loose jokes such that the player were given an electric shock as often as the inventor or owner wished. Apparently only one copy of this instrument was made which was purchased by the prelates of Bruck, Georg Lambeck. 4Mendel, Hermann (1872) Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon; Vol. 3. Oppenheim, Berlin, 110.

Diviš charged the strings of the instrument with a temporary electrical charge in order to somehow “purify and enhance the sound quality” leading to the instrument being described as an “electronic musical instrument” ( Johann Ludwig Fricker after witnessing the Denis D’Or in 1753) . However, with intricate practical jokes in the salons of the nobility being fashionable at the time of the construction of the Denis D’or, it seems likely (and also taking into account the historical development of electro-magnetism) that the instrument was just one of the many proto-electrical gimmicks of the Baroque and Rococo period rather than a serious contender for the title of the first electronic instrument. 5 Davies, Hugh.(2014) Denis D’or, The Grove dictionary of musical instruments, New York : Oxford University Press,33.

Peer Sitter supports this argument in Das Denis d’or: Urahn der ‘elektroakustischen’ Musikinstrumente?:

“Out-of-place” and “loose jokes” with electricity were among the popular board games in the salons of the nobility and bourgeoisie at the time the Denis d’or was constructed. In this context, the ‘electrical’ equipment of the Denis d’or joins numerous electrical gadgets of the Baroque and Rococo. Taking into account older sources and the findings from the history of physics, an electrical influence, an electrostatic drive or even an electromagnetic excitation of the strings is rather unlikely. 6Sitter, Peer.(1998) Das Denis d’or : Urahn der “elektroakustischen” Musikinstrumente?”: Perspektiven und Methoden einer Systemischen Musikwissenschaft, S. 303-305. Bericht über das Kolloquium im Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut der Universität zu Köln

The fate of the Denis D’Or is unknown, Feldhaus describes its last known location:

“He himself (Divis) handled it masterfully. When he invited acquaintances to play the instrument, he delighted in the surprise of the player, who sometimes received an electric shock. This “bad ghost” was placed in the armchair in which the player had to sit in front of the instrument. After the monastery was abolished, the Denis d’or was valued at 100 ducats (1784). Because of its originality it came to the k. k. Art Cabinet. But no one could play on it other than the Brücker monastery organist Wieser. He had to repeatedly appear before Emperor Joseph II. Finally the emperor gave the instrument to Wieser. He took it with him to his homeland, probably to Krems. I often tried, but in vain, to track down this work of art. To this day I haven’t been succeded. Perhaps the public’s awareness will help to determine where Bruck’s instrument came from and what its fate was.” 7 Feldhaus, F.M. (1920) DAS „ELEKTRISCHE” KLAVIER, Geschichtsblätter für Technik und Industrie, BAND VII 1920 ,121.

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References:

  • 1
    Ruschkowski, André. (1990) Soundscapes : elektronische Klangerzeugung und Musik, Berlin : Lied der Zeit, 15.
  • 2
    Harenberg, Michael. (1989) Neue Musik durch neue Technik? : Musikcomputer als qualitative Herausforderung für ein neues Denken in der Musik, Bärenreiter, Kassel, 26.
  • 3
    Sachs, Kurt.(1913) Real-Lexikon der Musikinstrumente, Berlin, J. Bard, 108.
  • 4
    Mendel, Hermann (1872) Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon; Vol. 3. Oppenheim, Berlin, 110.
  • 5
    Davies, Hugh.(2014) Denis D’or, The Grove dictionary of musical instruments, New York : Oxford University Press,33.
  • 6
    Sitter, Peer.(1998) Das Denis d’or : Urahn der “elektroakustischen” Musikinstrumente?”: Perspektiven und Methoden einer Systemischen Musikwissenschaft, S. 303-305. Bericht über das Kolloquium im Musikwissenschaftlichen Institut der Universität zu Köln
  • 7
    Feldhaus, F.M. (1920) DAS „ELEKTRISCHE” KLAVIER, Geschichtsblätter für Technik und Industrie, BAND VII 1920 ,121.