ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the use of manipulated tape in Roberto Gerhard's sound compositions for the BBC, with a particular focus on the circumstances surrounding the production of those works and the development of the composer's craft. This is achieved through an investigation of the pertinent primary sources, which include official records, correspondence, production materials and sound recordings including notably the BBC Radiophonic Workshop files and the Gerhard Tape Collection. Gerhard's concern with the dynamic interweaving of the layers of the tape and the orchestra parallels the composer's underlying performative conception of sound composition. Gerhard's sound compositions for the BBC include some of the most innovative works in the composer's catalogue. They demonstrate Gerhard's very individual reading of the mannerisms of the electronic avantgarde testing our dependence on musical dogmas and conventions, which the composer professed to abhor.
