The composer Alan Hovhaness incorporated recordings of whale songs into one of his symphonies, but a new group of composers are working another sound from the sea into their tune: foghorns.
A musical performance featuring on-shore bands and what the creators of the event promise to be “an armada of vessels positioned off shore” is being planned for later this month. The event, in South Tyneside, is part of the Festival of the North East
and will be performed in the area around Souter Lighthouse between
South Shields and Sunderland.
Fine art researcher Lise Autogena, from Sheffield Hallam University’s Cultural,
Communication and Computing Research Institute, has worked with artist
Joshua Portway and composer Orlando Gough to create Foghorn Requiem, which they say is designed to “mark the demise of the iconic nautical siren that has traditionally haunted the UK’s coastline.”
“The idea is to create a piece of music that incorporates space and landscape directly into the composition. For Foghorn Requiem, we have used acoustic modeling and developed technology that enables us to perform a musical piece, where sounds originating miles away from the audience will combine with more conventional instrumentation,” said Autogena.
More information is here.
Musical piece won’t offer much peace and quiet
