Antonio Sant'Elia (April 30, 1888 - October 10, 1916)

Photo#1 : A perspective drawing by Sant'Elia, 1914

Photo#2 : Perspective drawing from La Citta Nuova, 1914.

Photo#3 : Example of Futurist architecture












Antonio Sant'Elia (April 30, 1888 - October 10, 1916) was an extremely influential Italian architect.

Antonio Sant'Elia was born in Como, Lombardy. A builder by training, he opened a design office in Milan in 1912 and became involved with the Futurist movement. Between 1912 and 1914, influenced by industrial cities of the United States and the Viennese architects Otto Wagner and Adolf Loos, he began a series of design drawings for a futurist Città Nuova and the ("New City") that was conceived as symbolic of a new age.

Many of these drawings were displayed at the only exhibition of the Nuove Tendenze group (of which he was a member) exhibition in May/June 1914 at the "Famiglia Artistica" gallery. Today, some of these drawings are on permanent display at Como's art gallery (Pinacoteca). (They used to be in the Villa Olmo)

The manifesto Futurist Architecture was published in August 1914, supposedly by Sant'Elia, though this is subject to debate. In it the author stated that "the decorative value of Futurist architecture depends solely on the use and original arrangement of raw or bare or violently colored materials". As described in this manifesto, his designs featured bold groupings and large-scale disposition of planes and masses creating a heroic industrial expressionism. His vision was for a highly industrialised and mechanized city of the future, which he saw not as a mass of individual buildings but a vast, multi-level, interconnected and integrated urban conurbation designed around the "life" of the city. His extremely influential designs featured vast monolithic skyscraper buildings with terraces, bridges and aerial walkways that embodied the sheer excitement of modern architecture and technology.

A nationalist as well as an irredentist, Sant'Elia joined the Italian army as Italy entered World War I in 1915. He was killed during the Battles of the Isonzo, near Monfalcone. Most of his designs were never built, but his futurist vision has influenced many architects, artists and designers.

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Sant%27Elia

Roundhay Garden Scene/Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge by Louis Le Prince (1888), Handel's oratorio, Israel in Egypt by Sir August Manns (1888)

1888, the year of the death of the composer Charles-Valentin Alkan (Chopin's friend and neighbour) is also the year of the earliest surviving recording of music and earliest recorded film.

Combined on this video is the earliest surviving recording of music (a live performance of Handel's oratorio, Israel in Egypt conducted by Sir August Manns, recorded by Edison engineer George E. Gouraud at Crystal Palace, London, England, 29th June 1888) and the earliest surviving recorded film (shot by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince in Leeds, England in October 1888): Roundhay Garden Scene (filmed 14 October 1888) and Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge (filmed late October 1888).

In the Roundhay Garden Scene (filmed in the garden of the Whitley family home in Oakwood Grange Road, Roundhay, Leeds, England) are the following people (from the left at beginning of sequence): Adolphe Le Prince (the film maker's son), Miss Harriet Hartley, Mrs. Sarah Whitley, (the film maker's mother-in-law), and Joseph Whitley (the film maker's business partner). The original film was shot at 12 frames per second and lasts 2 seconds. Traffic Crossing Leeds Bridge was filmed in Leeds, England in late October 1888, at 20 frames per second.On Friday 29th June 1888, from 2pm, a performance of Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt was captured on a number of wax cylinder recordings. This performance was part of the trienniel Handel Festivals mounted in the UK. They were recorded from the press gallery in Crystal Palace by Edison-representative Colonel Gouraud, as a way to test and show off Edison's phonograph. Three of these cylinders still survive.

The conductor was Sir August Manns, conducting an orchestra of some 500 musicians and a choir of over 4,000 voices, in front of an audience of 23,722 people.

These are the earliest deliberate recordings of music known to exist (earlier recordings from the 1870s are considered lost). Fortunately these can be played back at a quite definite pitch, as we know the pitch of the Crystal Palace organ at this time.

Unfortunately, the recordings are in very poor shape, audibly speaking. You are going to have a very hard time grappling with the sound, and trying to make out anything. Each cylinder contains a number of tracks. This is what you are hearing:

Cylinder 1 (0:00 - 2:27) -

The first text is "[Mo]ses, and the children of Israel sung unto the Lord and spake saying", from the chorus at the opening of Part II (very hard to hear the orchestra in this).

Following this is "I will sing unto the Lord for he hath triumphed" from the next number in Part II (you should be able to hear the altos and tenors singing at the start of this). Near the end you might make out the word "gloriously" sung in Handelian semiquavers.

Cylinder 2 (2:30 - 5:10) -

The first track on this cylinder is effectively inaudible. We do not know what the music is on it.

The second track is no.24 from the Oratorio: "Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power". Unfortunately, the stylus sticks in this track.

The third track is from the same number at "Thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy", also with some stylus sticking problems.

Track 4 is yet more of this movement, ending with "For He hath triumphed gloriously".

Cylinder 3 (5:14 - 7:45) -

The first track is the last part of movement 37: "...ever, the Lord shall reign for ever and ever".

The second track is a fragment of number 39: "For ever and ever"

The third track is a continuation of the previous one from "...shall reign for ever and ever", and continuing as far as "For He hath triumphed gloriously".

The last track is the very end of the oratorio, from "...horse and his rider, the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea".

It's all very hard to make out. You can perceive a very slow tempo being employed at least.

Incidentally, Colonel Gourard was also present at the "phonograph party" in 1888 which captured Sullivan's voice, and his voice too exists on wax cylinder.

For more info about these rolls, there is a fantastic website to read here: http://www.webrarian.co.uk/crystalpalace
For more information on: Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Aim%C3%A9_Augustin_Le_PrinceFor more information on: Sir August Manns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Manns

Edison phonograph cylinders (1888): Handel - Israel in Egypt

Earliest surviving film and sound recording 1888