Vertical Movements

A compositional research project

Mountains, Hills, castles, lighthouses and sky scrapers: Elevations, either natural or man made,
play an important role in human life. The Ascent, as in climbing up a mountain or taking a lift to
the 40th floor, a staircase leaning on an apple tree: These physical and spiritual experiences have
caved themselves in our individual and collective memory.
In this compositional research project I investigate further the phenomena of elevation and
compose a piece based on height and verticality. I will examine “Vertigo” as a sensorial state
provoking emotions of i.e. anxiety or enlightment. The score will take into account the verticality
of sound and space and will make use of field recordings, electronics and acoustic instruments to
create a “height-specific” piece.
Sounds are composed not in a timely manner but in a spacial manner, having various simultaneous
vertical realities colliding in time.
In mixing and composition alike frequency domains (as another vertical relation of “high” and
“low”) play an important role, but not if the actual sound is coming from above or below.
Investigating here deeper in psycho-acoustics like the Blauert-fields and making use of them in the
composition is another goal.
Within the research field recordings made on all kind of hills and heights will be recorded as an
experimental sonic archaeology throughout Europe and the world.
Working with higher grade ambisonics these upper and lower movements can be perceived
separated, and the listener can focus the listening on different regions. The praxis of Ascent and Descent over a period of time serves as a compositional blueprint.
The final presentations  are hybrids of Sound installation, live performance and
physical release on Vinyl.

This project has been supported by the Musikfonds scholarship programme within the framework of Neustart Kultur 2020-2021. Big thanks to Petra Goldman and  Cultur im Corbusierhaus, Bradley Schirmer and EMS Stockholm.

 

 

 

recording of a performance for Organ Sequences IX at Taborkirche Berlin. Rendered to cardioid stereo

 

 

 

 

vertical composistion visualisations:

energy distribution of the different regions of low middle and high domain, as measured with the Energy Visualizer plugin of the IEM plugin suite

Spatialisation studies:

just a quick  proof of concept test for upper middle and lower regions rendert to binaural stereo