I was lucky enough to take part in a workshop with the brilliant EXAUDI vocal ensemble when they visited City University in April this year.
I wrote a piece called Near and far, in which fragments from Emily Brontë’s poem Stars (1846) coincide with sine tones of various frequencies spread across a stereo field.
The piece explores spatial and harmonic relationships between the singers and electronic sound, sometimes blending or juxtaposing, and gradually changing from sparse to thick and full. The diffuse electronics spread out across the space, creating ambiguity for the listener about the ‘locatedness’ of the sounds and words they’re hearing. Brontë’s poem also deals with spatiality, contrasting as it does the relative magnitude of stars (infinity, the universe) with a human scale (homes, rooms).
Huge thanks to EXAUDI and their director James Weeks for their help on this project.
Recording below from EXAUDI’s concert at City University, London 24th May 2017.
Georgia Rodgers 