Salvatore
Martirano

In 1969, Salvatore Martirano along with a group of engineers and musicians at the University of Illinois began work on the design and construction of a musical electronic instrument. The instrument, named the SAL-MAR CONSTRUCTION, is a hybrid system in which TTL logical curcuits (small and medium scale integration) drive analog modules, such as voltage-controlled oscillators, amplifiers and filters.

The performer sits at a horizontal control panel of 291 lightable touch-sensitive switches (no moving parts). The two-state switches are used by a performer to dial sequences of numbers that are characterized by a variety of intervals and lengths. A sequence may then bypass, address, or be added to other sequences forming an interlocked tree of control and data according to a performer's choice. The unique characteristic of the switch is that it can be driven both manually and logically, which allows human/machine interaction. The most innovative feature of the human/machine interface is that it allows the user to switch from control of macro to micro parameters of the information output. This is analogous to a zoom lens on a camera.

The information output is converted from digital to analog form and is routed to oscillators, filters and amplifiers, whose output is sent to one or more of 24 speakers. Four groups of sounds with independant control of route and rate can be distributed among the 24 speakers so that a traffic of sound is created in the space. All sounds are produced in real-time as the composer/performer according to his own prerogatives chooses a route and functions through a store of pre-programmed information.

The instrument measures 8' x 4.5' x 2.5' and weighs about 400lbs. The speakers each weighing about 10 lbs are hung from the ceiling in one of a number of arrays at diverse heights in and above the audience. The SAL-MAR could take half a day to set up but can be torn down in about 2 hours.

The Sal-Mar Construction has been set up and performed in many different environments for audiences of all sizes. For example, performances were given at the West Hubbard Art Gallery in Chicago, a 40' x 60' open space with an audience of 100, at Cooper Union in New York City, a 900 seat concert hall and at the Miller Outdoor Theatre in Houston, Texas, 5000 in the shed and on the surrounding hill.

"...Basically (The SAL-MAR) is an attempt - and in the opinion of most observers a highly successful one - to solve a problem which has intrigued musicians for several years: the real-time generation of electronic music. The conventional electronic synthisizer is severely limited as a real-time instrument since it can produce only a limited number of sound events without manual change of its circuitry. Mr. Martirano's solution has been to incorporate a digital computer within the framework of a large, multichannel synthisizer. Seated at a console of 291 switches, the composer-performer controls the course of the performance by selecting material from an infinity of possibilities, choosing the permutations through which it passes and directing its movement in space..."

--From a statement by ???

Circuits for the SAL-MAR Construction were designed and built by:

• Salvatore Martirano
  Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois
  
• Sergio Franco
  Formerly research engineer, Illiac III Project
  
• James Divilbiss
  Chief engineer on the Iliac project, worlds 1st supercomputer
  Professor of Library Science, University of Illinois
  Specialist in automated library systems
  
• Richard Borovec
  Formerly chief engineer, Illiac III Project
  
• Jay Barr
  Maintenance technition and programmer for Bell Telephone, Champaign, Illinois
  
• Josef Sekon
• Terry Mohn