SITE AWARENESS IN MUSIC – recontextualizing a sensation of another place KNUT OLAF SUNDE Version 2.0 – 22 February 2019 – 1 – Site awareness in music Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 5 Urtext ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 Background ...........................................................................................................................................6 Navigation .............................................................................................................................................6 A reader’s guide ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Artistic result ..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Site awareness ................................................................................................................................................... 7 First phase: Comfort Music – Exclusion ............................................................................................................ 9 Second phase: Chasing an idea – Athos and Delphi ........................................................................................... 9 Third phase: Mirnyj – Sensation of another place ............................................................................................ 10 Fourth phase: Himdalen – Land music .............................................................................................................. 11 PART I: SITING....................................................................................................... 13 Sound ................................................................................................................................ 15 Vibration ............................................................................................................................................... 15 Hearing ................................................................................................................................................. 15 Pitch ..................................................................................................................................................... 16 Amplitude ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Timbre ................................................................................................................................................. 16 Speed ................................................................................................................................................... 16 Tuning .................................................................................................................................................. 17 Soundscape ........................................................................................................................................... 17 Low frequency vibration ..................................................................................................................... 18 The missing fundamental ................................................................................................................... 19 “Aural Ganzfeld” .................................................................................................................................. 20 Aural illusions...................................................................................................................................... 20 Landscape ......................................................................................................................... 21 Land music....................................................................................................................... 23 Format and context ............................................................................................................................. 23 The zone of uncertainty ...................................................................................................................... 25 Transfer................................................................................................................................................ 25 Escapism .............................................................................................................................................. 26 Environmental music and sound art .................................................................................................. 27 The concert hall and tradition ............................................................................................................ 28 Export to the outdoors ........................................................................................................................ 29 Time .................................................................................................................................. 31 Information density speed .................................................................................................................. 33 Method ..............................................................................................................................35 Material ............................................................................................................................................... 35 Type of place........................................................................................................................................ 35 Guidelines ............................................................................................................................................ 37 How ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 Examples from other practices ....................................................................................... 39 PART II: WHAT DO WE REALLY KNOW? ....................................................... 43 Perception, interpretation and intuition ............................................................................................ 44 Place and remembering ...................................................................................................................... 45 Context dependency ........................................................................................................................... 47 Knowledge gap .................................................................................................................................... 50 PART III: THREE WORKS AND A TRAVEL LOG ............................................. 53 Comfort Music ................................................................................................................. 55 Constituents ........................................................................................................................................ 56 – 2 – Site awareness in music Process ................................................................................................................................................. 56 Choice of location ............................................................................................................................................ 57 Arrival and entrance ........................................................................................................................................ 59 Synopsis ........................................................................................................................................................... 59 Insights ................................................................................................................................................ 63 References to Comfort Music........................................................................................................................... 63 Chasing an idea – Athos and Delphi ............................................................................... 65 The holy mountain .................................................................................................................... 66 The quest ......................................................................................................................................................... 66 Gregorian chant............................................................................................................................................... 66 The Great Canon of Repentance ...................................................................................................................... 67 Attending the Canon in Athos ......................................................................................................................... 68 References to the Holy Mountain .................................................................................................................... 78 Delphi in fumes ........................................................................................................................