Henri Pousseur - Scambi (1957)

Scambi is unusual for an electronic work in having a mobile structure. It consists of sixteen pairs of segments (called “layers“ by Pousseur) that may be assembled in many different ways. Pousseur’s original idea was to supply these layers on separate reels of tape, so that the listener could assemble his own version. When first created, several different versions were realized, two by Luciano Berio, one by Marc Wilkinson, and two by the composer himself—a longer one of about six-and-a-half minutes and a shorter one lasting just over four minutes. One of Berio’s versions is shorter still at 3:25 (Pousseur 2005, 1; Sabbe 1977, 175n86). Pousseur established two principles for linking the segments together. The first is that there should be as complete a conformity in character as possible between the end of one segment and the beginning of the next, with the objective of accomplishing transitions as imperceptible as possible. The second is that the formal course should be marked by the successive dominance of t