Manifest: A Music Composition for Soundscape and Amplified Clarinet Engaging the Windsor Hum
Date
2020-09-25
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Abstract
Manifest is a five-movement composition for amplified clarinet and fixed multi-channel audio. The context for this work is the subject of noise pollution and the effect it can have on people and the ecosystem. In addition to the industrial noise of a manufacturing region, areas of Windsor, Ontario, are afflicted by a bothersome and persistent low frequency excitation known as the Windsor Hum. Unlike visible pollution, noise is an often-neglected concern, and much more discussion is needed to bring awareness to the health issues that arise from prolonged exposure to it. A community of resilient citizens has been enduring the disruptive consequences of industrial noise in Windsor and strive for a peaceful, healthy quality of life. Manifest is a social commentary delivered in the form of musique documentaire, a documentary-inspired approach to electroacoustic music. The foundation for the work was a series of investigative field recording trips to the Windsor region to capture the soundworld that would be used to establish the piece’s setting, while also acquiring an understanding of the predicament people were reporting. Through these recordings, additional research, and interviews with local residents, the relationship between heavy industry, industrial noise, the geography of the area, and the experiences of the people were developed into a narrative structure that was then used as the framework for the piece. The composition presents an immersive journey through Windsor, and the phenomenon of the Hum unfolds en route. The heterogeneous soundscape evokes parklands, a steel mill, and a large active river, all unified by recordings of spoken word, the clarinet, and brief transitional segments. The clarinet with live electronics represents the people and technology and serves as a common element linking these diverse sonic environments, featuring the versatility of this expressive instrument. As a compositional point of departure designed to strengthen the relationship between the clarinet and the soundscape, pitch material was derived from transcriptions and spectral analysis of the field recordings. This report presents the context, conceptualization, creative process, and analysis of this composition.
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music, electroacoustic composition, soundscape, noise, low frequency noise, noise pollution, Windsor Hum, clarinet, musique documentaire, spoken word, interview, cut-ups, live electronics, loops, audio loops, tape loops, sound-processing, field recording, soundfile playback, amplification, spatialization, spectral analysis, transcription, graphic notation, sonic performance, mixed music, quadraphonic, subwoofer, the Hum, infrasound, Zug Island, documentary, sustainability, cymatics, transformation, new music, Canadian music, contemporary music, contemporary composition
Citation
Garbet, B. D. (2020). Manifest: A Music Composition for Soundscape and Amplified Clarinet Engaging the Windsor Hum (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.