Pacific Fanfare was composed to mark the 25th anniversary of both the Vancouver New Music Society and the World Soundscape Project at Simon Fraser University. It is comprised of ten soundmarks recorded by the WSP in the Vancouver area either from the early 1970’s or more recently, and thus reflects the changing soundscape of the city. The various sound signals are heard both in their original state, and digitally resonated and time-stretched in order to let them “resonate” in our own memories.

To Hildi

“Not only have there been enormous changes in the soundscape itself but also in the way the soundscape is documented and thought about. Audio technology and recording equipment can now be used in similarly portable ways as a camera. As a result, the soundscape can be recorded, reproduced, composed and processed by more people than ever before. The activity of ’sketching’ a city’s acoustic image has become a new forum for speaking about place and environment. The Vancouver Soundscape documents are not only meant to expand listeners’ horizon towards Vancouver’s soundscape and raise consciousness about its quality, they also want to raise questions such as: how do we listen and behave acoustically in everyday life; how can we acquire a “sense of place” and belonging from our soundscapes; are there ways to design liveable soundscapes in urban environments?“

— Hildegard Westerkamp, from the introduction of the compact disc Soundscape Vancouver 73 + Vancouver Soundscape 96 (Cambridge Street Records, CSR 9701)

Vancouver Soundscape Revisited, an acousmatic work, is an impressionistic portrait of the musicality and poetry of past, present and future soundscapes of Vancouver. The piece was composed using archival sounds dating from the World Soundscape Project in the early 1970’s and from recordings of Vancouver made in the early 1990’s by Bob MacNevin on behalf of the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University (SFU).

My method was to select a few hundred sounds from the collection, which I edited and catalogued by spectrum, category, function, pitch, and context. I then experimented with various combinations and modifications of the material until interesting sonic alchemies were found…

The original version of the piece was in eight tracks and in nine movements. This is the stereo version of the piece in seven movements.

[ix-97]

Vancouver Soundscape Revisited was realized at the Sonic Research Studio of Simon Fraser University (SFU) (Vancouver, BC) in May, 1996 as part of Soundscape Vancouver 96 and premiered in its 8-channel version on June 7, 1996 in Vancouver as part of the Vancouver New Music Festival. The production of Vancouver Soundscape Revisited was supported by a Media Arts Audio Production grant from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) and a travel grant from the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec (CALQ). I thank all of the participants in this composition, many who have been recorded without their knowledge. In particular I thank Bob MacNevin and Barry Truax for use of the Simon Fraser University (SFU) recordings and my Soundscape Vancouver 96 colleagues: Darren Copeland (Toronto), Hans Ulrich Werner (Köln) and Sabine Breitsameter (Berlin) for their support and encouragement. A special thanks to Hildegard Westerkamp, to whom this piece is dedicated. Hildi was the heart and soul of Soundscape Vancouver 96 and helped me bring the piece, and my perception of Vancouver, to life.

Composition

• May 1996, Sonic Research Studio — Simon Fraser University (SFU), Burnaby (British Columbia, Canada)

Premiere

• June 7, 1996, Concert, Vancouver (British Columbia, Canada)

Remixing

• version 2.0