a fragment of the fabulous underwater soundscape of Lost Pond.
Part of the SECRET SOUNDS OF PONDS PROJECT

Lost Pond Sounds Found

A live performance on iPad with water bugs sounding in from beneath a surface via underwater microphone. These are the famous water boatman bugs who vibrate their penises at an astonishing rate.

Water Boatmen Meet Electronic Bugs

Mysterious sound recorded in Tovacov, Czechia, in a very clear lake at sunset. Who knows what it is? Recorded with an Aquabeat Hydrophone (https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/aquabeat-hydrophone#/) into a Sony M10.

Is It a Fish?

an unidentified pond creature in Newfoundland. What do you think it is?

Recorded with an Aquabeat hydrophone

Newfie Pond Beast

my first assignment, I used a Chinese instrument from the "Exotic" section of the Instrument Rack

Piece One : Exotiques

COM381 piece 1 Bottle Blower

7.  In the Rainforest							6:52

David Rothenberg, keyboards, clarinet, words

text adapted from E.O. Wilson, Biophilia


From SUDDEN MUSIC, the CD released in tandem with David Rothenberg's book of the same name, published by the University of Georgia Press, 2002.  Reissued in paperback 2016.

07 In The Rainforest

6.  White Crested Laughter						7:56

Michael Pestel, flute
David Rothenberg, clarinet
White-Crested Laughing Thrush (Garrulax leucolophus)

recorded live at the National Aviary, Pittsburgh, March 2001



From SUDDEN MUSIC, the CD released in tandem with David Rothenberg's book of the same name, published by the University of Georgia Press, 2002.  Reissued in paperback 2016.

06 White Crested Laughter

9.  Crow on Snow 								5:18

David Rothenberg, keyboards, soprano saxophone, words

Sounds of crows and other creatures recorded in Hall Quarry, Maine, August 1999.

From SUDDEN MUSIC, the CD released in tandem with David Rothenberg's book of the same name, published by the University of Georgia Press, 2002. Reissued in paperback 2016.

09 Crow On Snow

Live in Sussex performing with one fine nightingale near midnight one evening in May.  Kerry Andrew, voice, David Rothenberg, clarinet. 
Part of Sam Lee's Singing with Nightingales season number three.   https://www.singingwithnightingales.com/

O The Nightingales Sing

So long to the great Ray Phiri, RIP.  After a concert I played with him in Port Elizabeth, I interviewed him on what it was like to work with Paul Simon on Graceland.  He felt credit was denied where credit was due.  About Paul he said, "There will always be those whose are looters of the soul."  We miss you Ray.

Ray Phiri on Paul Simon

The Blyth's reed warbler, the most beautiful singing warbler of Finnish forests, teaches me a tune. Or do I teach him? Mäntyharju, May 2016 near dawn.

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Plate12 Blyth's reed warbler teaches me a tune

Dawn approaches, many other birds join with the nightingale. Animoog on the iPad tries to join in. Using these sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avS7qDTFRSg

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Plate10 Alien Beauty iPad And Nightingale

Clarinet live with nightingale in Helsinki, on our final night, when we were nearly fed up, my favorite recording, approaching the elusive Sharawaji Effect.

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Plate9 Sharawaji Blues

This Brooklyn mockingbird is willing to duet with a police siren.
Some nature thrives in the city, even in sound.

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Fig9 Mockingbird Duets With Siren

Here the great nature sound recordist Lang Elliott offers one of his most beautiful recordings, of bugling elk, from a herd in Pennsylvania.  The full recording is here: https://musicofnature.com/bugling-of-the-elk/

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Fig8 Bugling Elk recorded by Lang Elliott

A contest was held in 2014 to find the most beautiful sound in the world.  Here it is, a rainforest full of insects and frogs (https://beautifulnow.is/sound) that reveals a true visual composition in the sonogram.

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Plate8 The most beautiful sound in the world

Inspired by the death of the last Rabbs Tree Frog, I recorded this piece, also featuring snowy tree crickets, humpback whales morphing into nightingales, for the Safina Center Benefit in 2016.

Learn more in David Rothenberg, NIGHTINGALES IN BERLIN: Searching for the Perfect Sound, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2019. www.nightingalesinberlin.com

Requiem for a Lost Frog

David Rothenberg playing clarinet live with humpback whales off the shores of Maui February 2019. Recorded by Bjarne Kvinnsland

Clarinet Live With Humpback Whales

with low grunts and high whoops, all part of a highly structured underwater animal music

This is a section from Google's fabulous Pattern Radio project, (https://patternradio.withgoogle.com/)— thousands of hours of humpback whale song publicly available for anyone to explore. Here the background noise removed to improve the sound.

Precise location of this sound clip is:
2015-02-19T02:36:39.263Z	2015-02-19T02:36:53.120Z

A varied humpback song

A stereo mix of a portion of the four channel soundtrack to the art installation "The Secret Sound of Ponds" by Benjamin Gottesman, David Rothenberg, based on the work of biologist Camille DesJonqueres whose voice appears occasionally explaining what is happening. The actual piece will never sound the same way twice. On view through mid-August at the Science Gallery Detroit:  https://detroit.sciencegallery.com/seasons/exhibition/exhibition/secret-sound-ponds

The Secret Sounds of Ponds

The sounds from beneath the pond outside the Estonian National Museum in Tartu, mostly the noises of plants respirating, with a few mysterious underwater singing insects. What are they? We don't know.

Tartu Museum Pond

They said Lake Awosting is too acidic to support life.
They were wrong.

Lake Awosting underwater pond sounds

a mysterious water bug from Savoy Mountain Pond

Pond Beast from Savoy Mountain Pond

Some water boatman beetles singing recorded on a plane-free day under the surface of Hidden Lake in April 2020. It is said they make these sounds by vibrating their penises extremely fast. Above the water, without a hydrophone, one hears nothing. Half speed, transposed down two octaves.

The Water Boatman Sings

Two water boatman bugs vibrating their penises underwater.
Hidden Lake, Fahnestock State Park, May 1, 2020. Longer version.

Two Water Boatmen

Two water boatman bugs challenging each other in the early Springtime waters of Hidden Lake, Fahnestock State Park. They make this incredible sound vibrating their their penises underwater against their bodies. One minute version.

Two Water Boatman Bugs

what is this underwater insect? No one knows...  Recorded in May in Hidden Lake, Fahnestock State Park

Mysterious Water Thrummer

Beethoven Quartet Loop

Sculpture From Another Galaxy

Once again, Hanna and David try to reach out across this lockdown world to do something together. Can they reach each other?

Keep Trying

This track is one of the initial results of a new collaboration between artist & poet, Hanna Mattes (Berlin), and philosopher & musician, David Rothenberg (New York). Hanna is also the author of the artist's book The Lunar System (K. Verlag, 2019); and David is contributing to the forthcoming, final volume of the "intercalations: paginated exhibition" series, entitled These Birds of Temptation (K. Verlag, 2020). [Image (c) Hanna Mattes; courtesy of the artist.]

hannamattes.com
davidrothenberg.net
k-verlag.org

David Rothenberg

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