The Forestry Commission, perhaps a little surprisingly, is taking the arts seriously as a way to connect people with nature. A new and deceptively sophisticated installation has been touring four Forestry Commission sites, and I went along to its first venue - Thetford Forest.
I approached a patch of forest several hundred metres from the visitor facilities, enjoying the spring songs of goldcrest and – a nationally scare species – firecrest. Trying to tell them apart proved a good aural warm-up for what was to come. Soon I became aware of a new set of sounds, somehow as integrated into the forest as the birdsong and the breeze. I followed bell-like harmonics, deep, quiet drum rolls and occasional bursts of sonic energy, until I found myself on the edge of a natural amphitheatre populated by tall trees.
This is Living Symphonies, the brainchild of artist/composer duo Daniel Jones and James Bulley. Descending into the amphitheatre I felt I was surrounded by a gamelan – like ensemble of hidden speakers playing what at times sound like oriental gongs and prayer bowls. Now and then strings and flutes join them. The sounds are coming from the ground and the tree-tops, melding across the whole 30-metre diameter sonosphere and always accompanied by the resident ensemble of chaffinches, wrens and chiffchaffs.
From time to time the mood changes, sometimes sounding more orchestral, darker, sometimes lighter and more rhythmic. I sought out the composers to find out just what was governing the sounds I could hear.
I approached a patch of forest several hundred metres from the visitor facilities, enjoying the spring songs of goldcrest and – a nationally scare species – firecrest. Trying to tell them apart proved a good aural warm-up for what was to come. Soon I became aware of a new set of sounds, somehow as integrated into the forest as the birdsong and the breeze. I followed bell-like harmonics, deep, quiet drum rolls and occasional bursts of sonic energy, until I found myself on the edge of a natural amphitheatre populated by tall trees.
This is Living Symphonies, the brainchild of artist/composer duo Daniel Jones and James Bulley. Descending into the amphitheatre I felt I was surrounded by a gamelan – like ensemble of hidden speakers playing what at times sound like oriental gongs and prayer bowls. Now and then strings and flutes join them. The sounds are coming from the ground and the tree-tops, melding across the whole 30-metre diameter sonosphere and always accompanied by the resident ensemble of chaffinches, wrens and chiffchaffs.
From time to time the mood changes, sometimes sounding more orchestral, darker, sometimes lighter and more rhythmic. I sought out the composers to find out just what was governing the sounds I could hear.
I dictated my notes on a simple portable device, and playing them back reminded me
of my own real-time response, which you can hear, too.
of my own real-time response, which you can hear, too.
Ecosystem model
I found Daniel Jones at a computer in the cramped trailer that is the Living Symphonies’ nerve-centre. On the screen was a schematic of the amphitheatre, each tree and speaker mapped. At first, there did not seem to be much going on but then a triangle appeared, moving in a slightly curved line across the screen. “Ah, there’s a buzzard overhead” says Daniel, and shortly afterwards a bee moved a few screen-inches and a wren arrived from somewhere off-screen to the south.
It took me a few seconds to realise that we were not tracking the lives of real creatures – not exactly anyway. We were witnessing digital scenarios constructed from careful observation of the wildlife that inhabits the forest: the species composition, relative abundance and even behaviour patterns. The daily lives of creatures are modelled, including their interactions with each other, with their ecosystem and even the weather. Governing the whole symphonic experience from its overall architecture to its finest motivic detail is a sophisticated software model of the very ecosystem in which the performance takes place. A portable weather station provides real-time data that influences every detail of life in this virtual microcosm.
During the year-and-a-half it took to set up the model, Daniel and James, working alongside ecologists and wildlife rangers from the Forestry Commission, studied animal habitats, food sources and movement patterns, building up an intricate map of the forest.
I found Daniel Jones at a computer in the cramped trailer that is the Living Symphonies’ nerve-centre. On the screen was a schematic of the amphitheatre, each tree and speaker mapped. At first, there did not seem to be much going on but then a triangle appeared, moving in a slightly curved line across the screen. “Ah, there’s a buzzard overhead” says Daniel, and shortly afterwards a bee moved a few screen-inches and a wren arrived from somewhere off-screen to the south.
It took me a few seconds to realise that we were not tracking the lives of real creatures – not exactly anyway. We were witnessing digital scenarios constructed from careful observation of the wildlife that inhabits the forest: the species composition, relative abundance and even behaviour patterns. The daily lives of creatures are modelled, including their interactions with each other, with their ecosystem and even the weather. Governing the whole symphonic experience from its overall architecture to its finest motivic detail is a sophisticated software model of the very ecosystem in which the performance takes place. A portable weather station provides real-time data that influences every detail of life in this virtual microcosm.
During the year-and-a-half it took to set up the model, Daniel and James, working alongside ecologists and wildlife rangers from the Forestry Commission, studied animal habitats, food sources and movement patterns, building up an intricate map of the forest.
photo credit Frankie Pike Real musicians
Each species is depicted by a unique set of musical motifs that portray its changing behaviours. “I didn’t want to imitate natural sounds, like Messiaen [the French composer 1908 - 1992, renowned for detailed musical notations of bird songs]” said James Bulley. “I composed the sounds as abstact musical motifs, it’s the way they relate to each other that is determined by nature.” The sounds are mixed and spatialised in unrepeatable combinations via twenty-four hidden, weather-proof speakers. James describes this as “generative” art – once the artists have created the sonic material and the computer model, they cede control to nature and circumstance. “Using real musicians to record fragments of composed material on acoustic instruments helped create an organic feel and maintain authenticity” he explained. It certainly had the feel of a live performance, with enough expression, improvised detail, and idiomatic technique to give a feeling that musicians, composers, audience and nature itself were connecting in real time.
Laurence Rose 7 June 2014
Each species is depicted by a unique set of musical motifs that portray its changing behaviours. “I didn’t want to imitate natural sounds, like Messiaen [the French composer 1908 - 1992, renowned for detailed musical notations of bird songs]” said James Bulley. “I composed the sounds as abstact musical motifs, it’s the way they relate to each other that is determined by nature.” The sounds are mixed and spatialised in unrepeatable combinations via twenty-four hidden, weather-proof speakers. James describes this as “generative” art – once the artists have created the sonic material and the computer model, they cede control to nature and circumstance. “Using real musicians to record fragments of composed material on acoustic instruments helped create an organic feel and maintain authenticity” he explained. It certainly had the feel of a live performance, with enough expression, improvised detail, and idiomatic technique to give a feeling that musicians, composers, audience and nature itself were connecting in real time.
Laurence Rose 7 June 2014
Living Symphonies is commissioned by Forestry Commission England and tours FCE sites in Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and Kent for a week each during June to September: details in the What’s On section and on the Living Symphonies website. Preview the experience with the video below.
Laurence also reviewed Living Symphonies for The Ecologist – you can read this review here.
Laurence also reviewed Living Symphonies for The Ecologist – you can read this review here.
Also by Jones/Bulley:
Variable 4 is an outdoor sound installation which translates weather conditions into musical patterns in real time. Every aspect of the piece, from broad harmonic progressions down to individual notes and timbres, is influenced by changes in the environment. 5-14 September, Portland Bill, Dorset
Variable 4 is an outdoor sound installation which translates weather conditions into musical patterns in real time. Every aspect of the piece, from broad harmonic progressions down to individual notes and timbres, is influenced by changes in the environment. 5-14 September, Portland Bill, Dorset
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