The sound of an East German musical instrument
Subharchord – subharmonic sound generator, developed to create electronic sounds for films, radio and television. Produced in East Germany 1967–1969 (assumed). Read more at digitaltmuseum.no .
In 1968, three NRK employees crossed the border into East Berlin. Shortly afterwards, an electronic musical instrument called the Subharchord was secretly sent to Oslo.
Originally by Frode Weium in 2013, updated 18.10.2021
The story of this strange instrument interweaves big politics and electronic music. The electronic sound generator Subharchord was developed in East Berlin in the 1960s, at the "Labor für musikalisch-akustische Grenzprobleme". A total of seven instruments were produced. The conditions for the work were not the easiest. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev condemned electronic music as a cacophony incompatible with socialism.
The subharchord was a studio instrument that could create artificial electronic sounds. Technically, the instrument was very special. It differed from ordinary synthesizers in that it was based on so-called subharmonic frequency division. Of the seven instruments produced, all remained in Eastern Europe except for the one that was sold to NRK. Today, this is one of three preserved instruments.
In NRK
The head of NRK's music department, Gunnar Sønstevold, used the instrument in NRK's studio for electronic music. The instrument could provide sounds and sounds for various television productions. However, it is unclear how much the instrument was actually used. Probably not that much. After a while, the instrument was moved from the studio at NRK to Gunnar Sønstevold's home.
Is there still sound in the instrument?
Since the beginning of the 1990s, NRK's East German Subharchord has been exhibited at the Ringve Museum in Trondheim. For a period, the instrument was at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo, where it was put into playable condition.
- We were excited about the result, conservator Frode Weium said at the time. He led the project and has electronic musical instruments as a special field. While the instrument was being restored, he wanted it to change as little as possible from the original.
Two of the East German engineers and technicians from the 1960s, Gerhard Steinke and Georg Geike, contributed with advice and information. Together with Geike, Ringve Museum carried out a condition assessment of the instrument. The Deutsches Technikmuseum in Berlin sent copies of the original Subharchord drawings to Oslo. The work itself was carried out by Bjørn Roar Svensson. He previously worked at NRK and together with Sønstevold in the 1970s and 80s and knows the instrument well. It was far from the first time aSvensson opened up the instrument when he was looking for reasons why the sound was not coming out as it should.
Concert, film and exhibition
This was an extensive collaborative project, Weium says. After the instrument was put into playable condition, it was demonstrated by the Norwegian musician Biosphere (Geir Jenssen). The concert was held at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology on Thursday, June 6, 2013 in connection with the Only Connect Festival of Sound. There, the director Ina Pillat, originally from East Germany, also presented excerpts from her upcoming documentary film about this Subharchord.
The instrument is now at Ringve Museum, but may soon be seen again in the exhibition Music Machines at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology .
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