I created a video and sound installation comprised of a woodwind quintet playing in the Northern Saskatchewan wilderness. I filmed their individual performances and layered them to create a harmonic media installation.
The location of the performance has personal resonance. In 2020, I purchased a small parcel of land on the cusp of the boreal forest in the northern parkland region. It is located on Treaty 6 territory bordering the Prince Albert National Park, delineated by a meandering, slow-moving river. There is abundant animal life in the area: the Sturgeon River plains bison herd, deer, elk, black bears, coyotes, and the Amyot wolf pack. I’ve encountered fox, porcupines, skunks and squirrels and frost fringed boroughs where little creatures dwell.
The site is located at the bottom of a valley and sound reverberates great distances. I have heard an eerie chorus of wolf voices carried on the wind and elk bugling in the night. I have captured audio recordings of these animal voices which provide a reference point for the development of the musical performance. The melody is in tune with these more than human voices and I consider it a kind of human response to call of the land and animals.
I have developed a score around on a simple structure that alternates between played notes and rests based on the length of each performer’s breath. The musicians are directed to hold a note for one breath, rest for one breath, before playing again for one breath. They are directed to increase the rest period between notes by one breath increments, until it reaches 5 breaths, then the cycle reverses. I suppose it could be considered as much a breathing score and a musical one. The variation in the individual’s rate of breathing creates an organic composition where individual instruments fall into or out of synchronization. There is no musical progression as such, rather each player contributes a single note in a cord building a layered harmonic composition.
Project Credits
Music Consultation: Stephanie Unverricht
Sound and Consultation: Darren Miller
DOP: Clark Ferguson
Photo Documentation: Carey Shaw
Woodwind Quintet:
Bassoon: Stephanie Unverricht
Clarinet: Celestino de Pedro
Flute: Rowan Froh
Horn: Samuel Dmyterko
Oboe: Tyrell Hardlotte
The artist acknowledges the support of SK Arts.
You must be logged in to post a comment.