Henry: Carnet de Venise

When the French electro-acoustic composer Pierre Henry died in 2017, the home studio he worked in was inherited by the Paris Philharmonie’s Musée de la Musique, where it now sits as a permanent exhibit. Carnet de Venise, an hour-long sound-portrait of Venice dating from 2003, was one of many works Henry created using his studio’s equipment and resources. Released in 2019 to spearhead the opening of the Henry exhibit, it makes for a fascinatingly evocative listen. Using a collage technique where sound recordings of Venetian life are patched together, Henry presents his vision of a city where past and present mingle in half-real, half-ghostly fashion. Snatches of music by Monteverdi echo ethereally, while honking car horns, ticking clocks, chiming church bells and human voices jostle for attention. Henry’s editing skills, allied to a consummate instinct for texture and structuring, make listening to Carnet de Venise a uniquely immersive experience.