Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory

Eagle, David

Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory

dc.contributor.author	Eagle, David	eng
dc.date.accessioned	2011-01-16T02:54:19Z
dc.date.available	2011-01-16T02:54:19Z
dc.date.issued	2011-01-16T02:54:19Z
dc.description	Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory (2009) David Eagle the knowledge of our origins, and where we are in truth, whose land this is and is to be.1 My goal was to compose a large-scale sonic art work that explores aspects of ecological and social change in the Canadian west. Having grown up in the prairies and as an adult later made it my home, I wanted this work to be rooted in and reflect upon the specific cultural experience and historical perspective of life in the west. In literature there are several novels and other writings that have influenced me in this regard: Icefields by Thomas Wharton, Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell, the perfection of the morning by Sharon Butala, poetry by John Newlove. These literary works describe the prairie and mountain soundscapes with extraordinary beauty and vividness: why, in contemporary electroacoustic music, are these subtle soundscapes strangely absent? There are three related themes that also inspire the work, all involving struggle and a close experience with the environment: exploration and travel, moving through time and across the land, and geological, social and personal transformation. The form of the composition outlines a movement through time evoking prehistory, first peoples, exploration, settlement, the modern era, our present, and reflection. In composing Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory my aim was to communicate with listeners in a musical mode using melodic ideas and instrumental sounds, in a sonic mode using electroacoustic textures and sound objects, in an associative and evocative mode using soundscapes and sound events, and in a semantic mode where the meaning of the spoken word and intonation of the human voice predominate. With sound and music projected through eight channels, the piece blends and juxtaposes recordings of prairie and mountain soundscapes, bird and animal vocalizations, characters and sounds from the past, sounds of motion and machinery, and new instrumental passages and gestures. The composition was realized in the Sonic Arts Lab at the University of Calgary and in my home studio. The total duration is 25:30. Most field recordings were done at Grasslands National Park, Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, Dinosaur Provincial Park, Plummers Road, Willow Creek and various locations throughout the Rockies. Edited archival recordings are from the Glenbow Museum in Calgary and used with permission. Thanks to the Rubbing Stone Ensemble, Hexagon Studio for the instrumental recording, and Monte Sandvoss for the well-tuned tractors. 1 John Newlove. excerpt from “The Pride” in The New Oxford Book of Canadian Verse in English, ed by Margaret Atwood (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1982), 342.	eng
dc.description.abstract	Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory is a large-scale sonic art work that explores aspects of ecological and social change in the Canadian west. There are three related environment-related themes that inspire the work: exploration and travel, moving through time and across the land, and geological, social and personal transformation. The form of the composition outlines a movement through time evoking prehistory, first peoples, exploration, settlement, the modern era, our present, and reflection.	eng
dc.description.grantingagency	Other	eng
dc.description.refereed	Yes	eng
dc.description.sponsorship	Support for this project was provided by the Alberta Creative Development Initiative, through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts and the Canada Council for the Arts. Premièred by New Works Calgary, January 2011, Happening Festival of New Music and Media.	eng
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/30267
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/48379
dc.language.iso	other	eng
dc.publisher.corporate	University of Calgary	eng
dc.publisher.faculty	Arts	eng
dc.rights	Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 Unported	*
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/	*
dc.subject	sonic art work, electroacoustic music	eng
dc.subject	soundscapes, sound events, instruments, sound objects	eng
dc.subject.other	ecological and social change in the Canadian west.	eng
dc.subject.other	prairie and mountain soundscapes, electroacoustic textures	eng
dc.title	Passages and Scenes, Reflection and Memory	eng
dc.type	Other	eng
thesis.degree.discipline	Music	eng