Institute of Contemporary Arts

The Experiment: The Art of Listening pt.1

It is the hour when from the boughs
The nightingale's high note is heard;
It is the hour -- when lover's vows
Seem sweet in every whisper'd word;
And gentle winds and waters near,
Make music to the lonely ear.
Each flower the dews have lightly wet,
And in the sky the stars are met,
And on the wave is deeper blue,
And on the leaf a browner hue,
And in the Heaven that clear obscure
So softly dark, and darkly pure,
That follows the decline of day
As twilight melts beneath the moon away.

Lord Byron, It Is the Hour

The art of listening: a closer listening, using a mellow sharp ear - a middle ear that concentrates on every pitch of sound, bringing one closer to a fuller absorption of life. For the next two podcasts, December and January, we have a special 'slow winter edition' where we will be exploring exactly what it means to listen to sound, and therefore music.

What is the 'art of listening'? Is there even an art of listening? If so, what is involved in the art of listening? Why is it important for us to understand and explore sounds: is a act of survival, part of our being, or something more this that we can not explain or understand?

For both podcasts Kevin will be in conversation with acousmatic composer Adam Asnan who amongst other things explores Pierre Schaeffer's theories and incorporates these ideas in his own contemporary works. The term acousmatic comes from the Greek akousmatikoi, the name of the esoteric disciples who listened to lectures that Pythagoras gave out loud from behind a veil.

To unveil something of the acoustmatic sound in part 1 of the Art of Listening, we will be listening to a selection of new compositions and artists from London based label entr'acte - artists like Lee Gamble whose work floats and stretches the contours of sound, getting underneath and inbetween, like an 'inner space' probe.

We also have Filter Feeder, whose approach is just as intense but searches out thundering sounds which wouldn't be out of place on Boston's Brainwave radio, or any other beat driven radio station in Belgium!

Next we have the horizon-melting sounds of Esther Venrooy and Heleen Van Haegenborgh who both produce dreamlike tones that provoke images of a far-off mantra-gossiping alien planet, both surging and unexpectant.

Last from Entr'acte we have three collaborative pieces from composer Olivier Capparos and acousmatic composer Lionel Marchetti. The series of pieces are called Livre des morts or book of the dead. The sound seems like some anthropological field recording of an ancient Egyptian ritual - if the ancient Egyptian priest had Pierre Schaeffer as a friend.

Finally, to round off part 1 we have an extract from one of Glenn Gould's radio art pieces, The Solitude Trilogy. These three hour-long radio documentary pieces are a subtle mixture of spoken word on various subject about being or living in solitude. They are mixed together with field recordings and musicial fragments - very thoughtful immersive works. Here we showcase a thirty-minute extract from The Idea of North (1967). This was the first broadcast piece and tells the story of the people living the very remote parts of Northern Canada.

The Experiment is a monthly podcast commissioned by the ICA and presented and produced by Kevin Quigley. This month's guest presenter is acousmatic composer Adam Asnan.

Keep Listening!

www.glenngould.com
www.entracte.co.uk
www.cyrk.org/lgamble.html
www.entracte.co.uk/project/filter-feeder-e44
www.esthervenrooy.com
www.heleenvanhaegenborgh.be
www.discogs.com/artist/Lionel+Marchetti