Chartres
Mar 23, 06:24 PM
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"I’ve always been deeply fascinated by the sonic characteristics of sacred spaces. One of my very first experiences of field recording was walking into St. Paul’s Cathedral in London equipped with a pair of binaural microphones and recording the choral evensong. That night a change in how I perceived sound occurred, as if revealing an alternate dimension. I have since visited many different spiritual spaces - Buddhist Zen temples and Shinto shrines whilst recording in Japan for the British Library Sound Archive and visiting many of the beautiful French churches and cathedrals in Provence where I now reside. I have immersed myself in listening to the subtle atmospheres of these spaces and appreciating how their fragile sonic fragments contribute to creating such intimate listening environments.
"In working with this recording, originally recorded by Colin Hunter at Chartres Cathedral on the outskirts of Paris, I was drawn to its sparseness. I had the opportunity to visit this cathedral last summer and remarked at how unusual and impressive its interior was. One thing that caught my attention particularly was this beautiful 14th Century grand organ, which at the time of my visit was under refurbishment. I suppose with this work I imagined a time when this organ would play - filling these chambers with its powerful drone - a comforting accompaniment to the prayers of pilgrims and passers by. The sacred intimacy confined to a shrine, the peace and serenity we find in places of worship, a solitary candle burning slowly…
"Working in Ableton 12, I mainly used pitch shifting and granular synthesis techniques to work on sculpting elements from the original recording to form new sonic textures and implement these into a soundscape. I built this from memories and imagination, vague and mysterious much like the sounds we often encounter in such sacred spaces."
Chartres cathedral reimagined by Mat Eric Hart.
———————
This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.
Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
"In working with this recording, originally recorded by Colin Hunter at Chartres Cathedral on the outskirts of Paris, I was drawn to its sparseness. I had the opportunity to visit this cathedral last summer and remarked at how unusual and impressive its interior was. One thing that caught my attention particularly was this beautiful 14th Century grand organ, which at the time of my visit was under refurbishment. I suppose with this work I imagined a time when this organ would play - filling these chambers with its powerful drone - a comforting accompaniment to the prayers of pilgrims and passers by. The sacred intimacy confined to a shrine, the peace and serenity we find in places of worship, a solitary candle burning slowly…
"Working in Ableton 12, I mainly used pitch shifting and granular synthesis techniques to work on sculpting elements from the original recording to form new sonic textures and implement these into a soundscape. I built this from memories and imagination, vague and mysterious much like the sounds we often encounter in such sacred spaces."
Chartres cathedral reimagined by Mat Eric Hart.
———————
This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.
Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage