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Track listing detail

… while working and walking

Darren Copeland

  • Year of composition: 2015-16
  • Duration: 12:26
  • Instrumentation: fixed medium
  • Publisher(s): Ymx média
  • Commission: New Music Edmonton, with support from the CCA
  • ISWC: T9202508961

Stereo

ISRC CAD501810006

  • 48 kHz, 24 bits

After living in suburban Toronto (Ontario, Canada) for most of my life, my partner and I decided to move to a rural area 22 km west of South River (Ontario, Canada) in March 2014. It is an area of the near North that is familiar to my partner, but one that represented a significant life change for me. Being interested in the sounds of the natural environment for most of my life, the adjustment to this rural location has been an easy one.

In … while working and walking I have combined recordings made while working outdoors or walking around at different times throughout the year of 2015. Some key moments include the cat trying to pounce on a squirrel, burning brush, wind, water dripping in spring, the neighbour’s pigs feeding on food scraps, and ice sounds from the lake. It has been my experience that many sounds pass by without being noticed while I am in the process of completing different tasks. This piece is an attempt to capture and savour those fleeting moments. The everyday soundscape is richer than I often realize.

[iv-17]


… while working and walking was realized in 2015-16 and premiered on March 18, 2016 during the Darren Copeland and Friends concert produced by New Music Edmonton at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada). The work was commissioned by New Music Edmonton with support from the Canada Council for the Arts (CCA).


Premiere

  • March 18, 2016, Now Hear This 2016: Darren Copeland and Friends, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Edmonton (Alberta, Canada)

Composition

  • 2015 – 2016

About this recording

This recording was realized by the composer using one Holosonics Audio Spotlight loudspeaker at Geary Lane in Toronto (Canada) and the NAISA Spatialization System at the composer’s studio. Sound recording of the Audio Spotlight was done by Hector Centeno.

Performers

Recording

  • Holosonics Audio Spotlight: Hector CentenoGeary Lane, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)
  • NAISA Spatialization System: Personal studio, South River (Ontario, Canada)

River Valley Snapshots

Darren Copeland

  • Year of composition: 2011, 11-13
  • Duration: 8:07
  • Instrumentation: fixed medium
  • Publisher(s): Ymx média
  • ISWC: T9101549353

Stereo

ISRC CAD501810007

  • 48 kHz, 24 bits

The sound sources for River Valley Snapshots were recorded by my colleague Andreas Kahre and myself at a number of parks, play areas and natural ravines connected to the North Saskatchewan River and the river valley area of Edmonton (Alberta). These recordings consisted mainly of hydrophone recordings of fish and other underwater noises in the river and in nearby ponds. Both Andreas and myself made several pieces from these recordings which were used in a permanent sound installation called Sound Columns that is open every summer at the entrance way of the outdoor Queen Elizabeth Pool in the Kinsmen Centre in Edmonton.

In River Valley Snapshots I juxtapose underwater sound-making of fish and other creatures from the North Saskatchewan River with sounds occurring above the river or adjacent to it. The rhythmic clatter of the fish in this work appears and disappears amongst the sounds of cars passing in the rain over the metal grills of the Walterdale Bridge and children playing in a water park. The spatialization performance engages the two worlds in a playful dance and brings their environments closer together. The wet nature of this soundscape reveals the peculiar microclimate of the Edmonton river valley, which counters the Canadian prairie stereotype of dry and open landscapes.

[ii-18]


River Valley Snapshots was realized in 2011-13 and the concert version premiered on July 18, 2015 at Warbler’s Roost in South River (Lount Township, Ontario, Canada). River Valley Snapshots is a component of Sound Columns, a sound installation co-created with Andreas Kahre for the re-opening of the Queen Elizabeth Pool in Kinsmen Park (Edmonton, Alberta) on July 25, 2011, and was commissioned by the Percent for Art program of the Edmonton Arts Council.


Premiere

  • July 18, 2015, Premiere of the concert version: World Listening Day Performances, Warbler’s Roost, South River (Ontario, Canada)

Composition

  • 2011

Revision

  • 2011 – 2013, concert version

About this recording

This recording was realized in April 2015 at the Sohm Barn on Bunker Hill in Machar Township (Ontario, Canada) using two Holosonics Audio Spotlight loudspeakers — performed by Matthew Miller and the composer — and the NAISA Spatialization System — performed by the composer. Ambisonic recording of the Audio Spotlight loudspeakers performance was done by Hector Centeno. Many thanks to Bob Sohm for the generous use of his barn.

Performers

Recording

  • 2015-04, Holosonics Audio Spotlight: Hector Centeno • Sohm Barn, Ontario (Canada)

Bats and Elephants

Darren Copeland

  • Year of composition: 2011
  • Duration: 35:31
  • Instrumentation: fixed medium
  • Publisher(s): Ymx média
  • ISWC: T9113338651

Stereo

ISRC CAD501810008

  • 48 kHz, 24 bits

Bats and Elephants is a long-form sound art piece based exclusively on bat recordings from Avisoft and elephant recordings from Wild Sanctuary and the Elephant Listening Project. In order for humans to hear the full range of sounds made by these two species one must transpose their sounds. The vocalizations of bats sound similar to that of birds as their recorded vocalizations are transposed down to the range in which humans hear. And as one stretches and plays with the sounds of elephants they too have their sonic identity altered. As the piece unfolds this process of transposition is combined with more extensive transformations of the source material.

[ii-18]


Bats and Elephants was realized in 2011, and premiered on November 26, 2011 by Darren Copeland and Benjamin Thigpen on Holosonics Audio Spotlight loudspeakers at the Time and Space concert as part of the SoundPlay 2011 festival at Theatre Direct’s Christie Studio in Toronto (Ontario, Canada). It received the 2012 Harry Freedman Recording Award from the Canadian Music Centre (CMC) and was featured in the concert Listening Like Bats on June 23, 2012, at Gallery 345 in Toronto (Ontario, Canada).


Premiere

  • November 26, 2011, Darren Copeland, Benjamin Thigpen, Audio Spotlight • SoundPlay 2011: Time and Space, Theatre Direct’s Christie Studio — Artscape Wychwood Barns, Toronto (Ontario, Canada)

Composition

  • 2011

About this recording

Although the work is often performed using the Holosonics Audio Spotlight loudspeakers, this recording was realized at the composer’s studio using just the NAISA Spatialization System.

Performers

Recording

  • NAISA Spatialization System: Personal studio, South River (Ontario, Canada)