Introduction and Acknowledgments

by Rebekkah Palov

Hello, it has been my great pleasure and concern to edit this presentation of selections and projects of the Harald Bode Archive. In going through Harald Bode’s files, recordings and papers I find myself uplifted, inspired, enriched by his story and his work, and honored to place myself with in this history. At times I find myself mesmerized at the rigor, care and affection Harald gave to the simple act of keeping hand written journals, or in glee filled sessions listening to his demo tapes and recordings. It is great to have this opportunity to share these materials, and hopefully this experience with you. Harald was a person who somehow was able to keep an immutable perspective and focus on his life project — new undiscovered sounds and new ways for people, mensch to express themselves.

The collection of materials assembled is intended in brief to demonstrate the works of Harald Bode. Harald’s contributions to the field are complex and span over 45 years, with significant advances in each decade. Harald’s pursuit of new sounds often times left him ahead of the history and girdling institutionalized programs, avant-garde’s, mass produced instruments, and popular music of the day. He was not an advocate for dismissing traditional sounds, or any idea of obsolescence, and at the same time was a ceaseless champion for new potentials, new possibilities in sound. He was an advocate for diversity as a way to expand human potential for expression. His 1960 system synthesizer is a stellar example. In his demonstration of the new instrument, Harald fed an organ, western melody instrument, a bongo drum, percussive acoustic, and the complex timbre of human voice into the processor. The instrument was not imagined as limited or exclusive to any schema. His intention was an idea of a portable studio full of potential for creative expression. The modular approach he imagined could offer to individuals a broadest range for exploration without the necessity of institutional support. In this way he imagined the world of today with laptop digital audio workstations, programmable sound processing software, sequencers and the like.

Peer Bode, Harald’s youngest son, himself an accomplished video artist and educator, directs the Harald Bode Archive. After Harald’s passing, eldest son Ralf Bode packed all of Harald Bode’s studio and papers, the entire collection has since been in the possession of Peer Bode. The collection includes papers, correspondences, design and schematic drawings, 55 years of journals/notebooks, Harald’s workshop, and original instruments. The Archive’s directive is to make available to researchers this collection for the purpose of enriched understanding and perspective concerning the contributions Harald Bode made to the electronic global world of today, and to share this wonderful history. Much of the work of the archive particularly the important task of continued digitization of materials has been a joint project of the Institute for Electronic Arts (iea), New York State College of Ceramics, at Alfred University and the Harald Bode Archive. Devin Henry currently heads the digitization project, with assistance from Christopher McDaniel. The digital transfers of Harald Bode’s audiotapes, an extensive project has been possible by the generous committed efforts of Andrew Deutsch. The archive is most appreciative to the Department of Music, Concordia University Montreal, Kevin Austin, Dr. Mark Corwin, and Alex Matheson for digital transfers of Harald Bode’s eight track recordings. The Archive also acknowledges the long term support received from the Experimental Television Center, Owego NY., Ralph Hocking, Sherry Miller Hocking, and David Jones, thank you for your commitment to making media history available, in particular information on Harald Bode and for serving as starting point and inspired example for the Harald Bode Archive project. And of course, much gratitude to Jef Chippewa and all involved with CEC eContact! for making possible this, the largest online catalog of Harald Bode materials yet released; we are so very grateful and excited!

The Archive makes special thanks to Dr. Thomas Rhea, for his early and continuing research and writing on Harald Bode. These early texts, especially the articles for Rhea’s Electronic Perspectives column published in Contemporary Keyboard magazine, were very meaningful and important to Harald at the time and are the significant initial texts on Harald’s accomplishments. The Archive and in particular Peer Bode express their gratitude and excitement regarding the work of Caspar Abocab. His research and writing bring new compelling perspective on Harald, his concerns and philosophies, the historical periods Harald lived and their effect on our time. The breath of Caspar’s research includes all Harald’s 55 years of notebooks, extensive research in source German and US archives, interviews, and the archive’s continuing document and correspondence scans. The rich complexity of Harald and his work is being uncovered through Caspar’s dedicated and inspired research. Caspar wrote the radio feature documentary “Living for Sound — The Inventor Harald Bode and the Evolution of Electronic Music” broadcast on Brayerischer Rundfunk and WDR Cologne. He is working on a forthcoming book on Harald Bode. A personal thanks to Jim Finch, for his contribution, it is a real pleasure to make available his great interview, it has always been a personal favorite, as well thanks to Dr. Jon Welstead, for his assistance in making contact with Kevin Austin, Concordia and consequently this project.

A very special thanks to Georg Steinmeyer. Georg was a longtime friend to Harald, his friendship continues to this day. Georg is Exhibition Director of the ongoing Estey Organ Museum, Brattleboro, VT., exhibition “A Lifetime for Sound, A retrospective on Physicist Harald Bode” which served as source for much of the current material presented. Georg is from a renowned family of Pipe organ builders, he and Harald were new transplants from Germany hired by the Estey Organ Company in the early 1950’s, Georg directed pipe organ building, Harald, Electronic Organs. Both these men loved, respected and were/are committed to sound and its power and influence in our lives.

Additional thanks to: The New York State Council on the Arts, Karen Helmerson, Debbie Silverstein, Woody and Steina Vasulka, Gerald O’Grady, Les Nicholas, Hanne Steinmeyer, John Levin, Estey Organ Museum, Joseph Scheer, Gerar Edizel, Mark Klingensmith, Don Weinhart, Lara Odel, Joo Mee Paik, Steven Pedersen, Leslie Bellavance, Linda Jones, NYSCC at Alfred University, Pauline Oliveros, Steven Vitiello, Joel Chadabe, Tom Erb, Peter Weibel, Peter Donhauser, Siegfried Zielinsky. For Caspar Abocab’s German Archive Research and German Radio programs, special thanks go to Helga Montag, Angelika Vetter-Wagner, Elisabeth Thiele and Renate Winkler (Bayerischer Rundfunk), Silke Berdux (Deutsches Museum München), Goethe Schiller Archive Weimar (Germany), Frau Harting (Bundesarchiv / German State Archiv), Herrn Fritsche und Herrn Rieden (University Bonn), Stephan Kühmayer(WAST), Hans-Joachim Maempel (Technical University, Berlin), Gisela Simons (Sound Archive Bayerischer Rundfunk), Elena Ungeheuer (Technical University, Berlin), ), Soundarchive WDR Cologne. Germany.