Collection ID: Mus. Arc. 5.3

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Hiller, Lejaren, 1924-1994
Abstract:
Flow charts created for computer music composition by Lejaren Hiller and included as figures and illustrations in his published articles about the processes used in writing computer music, including his works, HPSCHD, Algorithms I and Algorithms III. The collection also contains unidentified flow charts and diagrams, as well as negatives of other charts created by Hiller.
Extent:
3 map drawers and 1 box
Language:
Collection material in English.

Background

Scope and Content:

Compositional flow charts produced by Lejaren Hiller. The collection consists of 106 flow charts housed in map drawers, and 18 other items in individual folders housed in a flat box. While each item is dated, the dates are approximate based on when the corresponding article authored by Hiller was published. Some items do not contain a corresponding article figure number as Hiller added the number in the article at the time of publication.

When the flow charts were received by the Music Library, they arrived rolled up. After long-term storage, the glue on many of the instructional labels dried out so the labels detached from the charts when they were straightened. Restoration work was completed for an exhibit showcasing the flow charts, wherein many of the labels were reattached. However, a few of the flow charts remain incomplete because it has not been possible to identify the correct positions of the detached labels. In order to preserve each of the flow charts, they have been cleaned by the preservation department and encapsulated in mylar.

A few flow charts also have corresponding photographic negatives. These negatives are filed, where appropriate, immediately following the original flow chart. For some figures only the negative exists, and it has been filed in place of the missing original.

Biographical / Historical:

Lejaren Hiller was born on February 23, 1924, in New York City. He received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University, where he also studied music theory and composition with Milton Babbitt and Roger Sessions. In 1958, Hiller received his M.Mus. from the University of Illinois where he founded the Experimental Music Studio.

In 1957, Hiller collaborated with Leonard Isaacson on the Illiac Suite, the first significant use of a computer in composition. The Illiac Suite (String Quartet No. 4) was so named for the Illiac computer on which the calculations for the score parameters were made. Hiller was able to tap the power of the Illiac for the generation and selection of large quantities of random values in a fundamental type of stochastic modeling known as "the Monte Carlo Method."

Lejaren Hiller's importance to the field of computer music cannot be over-emphasized. His work on the use of computers for the generation of musical parameters such as pitch, rhythm, duration, etc. in pieces of music using traditional instruments, opened a door to new methods of music material generation and simultaneously to the computer-assisted analysis of the process of music composition.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Elizabeth Hiller.
Arrangement:

The collection's series are arranged chronologically by the publication date of each corresponding article. Within each series, the items are arranged according to their location within the article written by Lejaren Hiller. Please note that Items 1-110 have no box indication because the items are stored in map case drawers.

  • I. Flowcharts and diagrams found in Computer Programs Used to Produce the Composition HPSCHD
  • II. Flowcharts and diagrams found in Phrase Generation in Computer Music Composition
  • III. Flow Charts and Diagrams used in Composing the Second Movement of Algorithms III.
  • IV. Flow charts and Diagrams used in Computer Programs Used to Produce the Composition Algorithms I
  • V. Unmatched Flow Charts and Diagrams
  • VI. Additional Graphs, Diagrams and Flow Charts
  • VII. Photocopies of Flow Charts Found in Other Articles
Physical location:
Items 1-110 are stored in map case drawers in the Music Library Storage area, Room B32.
Rules or conventions:
Finding aid prepared using DACS ( Describing Archives: A Content Standard ).

Access

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
112 Baird Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260, United States
CONTACT:
716-645-2924