Hugh Le Caine, the electronic music pioneer, died in 1977 after a lifetime of invention and composing. Le Caine was a physicist working at the National Research Council, and he pursued his consuming interest in electronic music and sound generation at home. During the '40s, he designed a number of instruments including the Sackbut synthesizer, which is now recognized as the first voltage-controlled instrument of its kind. Eventually Le Caine was allowed to bring his private interests to work at the NRC and his full-time involvement with music produced a legacy of new instruments and compositions, the most well known of which is "Dripsody," a piece using only the sound of falling water drops.
Sources: The Canadian Composer, Dec. 1989, p. 10
© 1996 Softshell Small Systems Software Design Inc.
