In reverence of a blue heart
Jan 10, 2023, 08:58 PM
"The sub-frequency calls of the planet's largest animal, the endangered Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus), are too low for human ears to perceive. But this inspired some questions: What might these low frequencies feel like? What new sensations might arise? Would these feelings enter our subconscious? If I could play my bass flute deep into the waters of the Antarctic, how might I converse with a Blue Whale? What would we say to each other? How might we play? This work is an exploration of what it might be like to interact, in dream-time, with these extraordinary beings, if we could use our senses, imagine, play, dream and explore.
"I used the original recording (which had already been altered by the scientists so that we could hear these sub-frequencies) and then also created versions of the whale calls with very slight pitch and time adjustments. In addition, I incorporated recordings of the Kenai Fjords off of Seward, Alaska that I collected in 2012 using both hydrophone and shotgun microphones, which captured the resonant sounds of the glacier caving. My performance on the bass flute (plus electronic effects), in relation to the Blue Whale calls and the glacier sounds, produce a kind of tickling effect in my ears. I wonder what you will feel?
"Special gratitude to the exceptional sound engineer Joe Shepard for guidance on these extremely low frequencies in the final mix.
"Blue whales are the Earth's largest animal, and therefore they also have the largest beating heart on the planet, weighing 400 lbs (or more). Will we be the cause of its cessation? Or, will we help take care of this vulnerable being?"
Blue whale reimagined by Jane Rigler.
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.
"I used the original recording (which had already been altered by the scientists so that we could hear these sub-frequencies) and then also created versions of the whale calls with very slight pitch and time adjustments. In addition, I incorporated recordings of the Kenai Fjords off of Seward, Alaska that I collected in 2012 using both hydrophone and shotgun microphones, which captured the resonant sounds of the glacier caving. My performance on the bass flute (plus electronic effects), in relation to the Blue Whale calls and the glacier sounds, produce a kind of tickling effect in my ears. I wonder what you will feel?
"Special gratitude to the exceptional sound engineer Joe Shepard for guidance on these extremely low frequencies in the final mix.
"Blue whales are the Earth's largest animal, and therefore they also have the largest beating heart on the planet, weighing 400 lbs (or more). Will we be the cause of its cessation? Or, will we help take care of this vulnerable being?"
Blue whale reimagined by Jane Rigler.
Part of the Polar Sounds project, a collaboration between Cities and Memory, the Helmholtz Institute for Functional Marine Biodiversity (HIFMB) and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Explore the project in full at http://citiesandmemory.com/polar-sounds.