Editing The Mask of Orpheus (section)

==The electronic music==

''The Mask of Orpheus'', in addition to vocal and orchestral music, contains a significant amount of [[electronic music]], which was realised on behalf of Birtwistle by [[Barry Anderson (composer)|Barry Anderson]]. Anderson's premature death in 1987, as well as a paucity of extant sketch material, has made an objective assessment of the collaboration unclear. The issue has been raised of whether Birtwistle has acknowledged the true extent of his collaboration with Anderson as a fellow composer.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Wishart|first=Trevor|author-link=Trevor Wishart|date=December 1988|title=Letter from Trevor Wishart|journal=[[Tempo (journal)|Tempo]]|volume=167|page=58|doi=10.1017/S0040298200024839|doi-access=free}}</ref> Anderson mapped out the electronic music in detail at the [[IRCAM]] studios in Paris between 1981 and 1984.

Each act has its own electronic "aura", which goes on continuously, sometimes prominently, sometimes inaudibly; the voice of [[Apollo]] is heard on several occasions as an electronic sound "speaking" in an invented language. There are also six purely electronic interludes created by computer manipulation of [[harp]] sounds.