To Hao Hao & Xing Hui...

The title Sacred Voices,  was suggested by the use of and manipulation of sound materials which are considered to symbolise religion, culture, or species. The piece was composed mainly from material that had been recorded during a research trip to China in May, 2013. Much of the material was derived from a rare opportunity to record Giant Pandas in their enclosures at the Dujangyan Panda Reintroduction Centre, alongside a recording made in Xi’an of monks singing in a Buddhist Temple and carts being driven up hutongs in Beijing. These sounds (voices) are explored in a manner straddling on the very edge of real and unreal sound worlds and act as expressions or traces of places or moments in time.  

Sacred voices attempts to convey the idea of a series of momentary structures and forms experienced in space and time.  Throughout the work, sounds are presented as ‘moments’ in time and, space- the source of which is left up to the listener to imagine.  These moments are then expanded and explored throughout the piece- with each idea being mined for potential developments. The idea for this derived from my fascination with the manipulation of  field recordings, but also with sound design and spatialisation, both within the concert hall, and in a piece itself.

Along with 我們的歌 (Our Song), this work forms a collection of acousmatic works exploring sounds recorded in China in May, 2013 as part of the SCEN Music Project(www.scenmusic.info). In contrast to 我們的歌 (Our Song), where the sounds presented clearly provided a sense of place and culture, I wanted to carry out a manipulation of some of the same sound material, but without forcing any expectation of a particular place or culture onto the listener. In this piece, the manipulation of source material through both space and time was central to my train of thought. 

Sacred Voices was composed from December, 2013 to January, 2014 in the studios of De Montfort University (Leicester, England, UK). The work was commissioned by Reinhard Fuchs and Forum Liverpool with support from Scotland China Education Network, University of Aberdeen Confucius Institute and De Montfort University Confucius Institute. It was a finalist in the Concours Destellos 2014 competition.  Special thanks to John Young.

Sacred Voices (2014)- Finalist Destellos 2014

All Saints Church is an iconic building in Bakewell, the most popular town in the Peak District. When I visited, the church was closed to the public, so I sat in front of it to listen to the sounds of the surrounding area. The church is surrounded by greenery, providing plenty of habitat for birds. However, because the church is located along a road where cars frequently pass by, I found it difficult to concentrate on the sounds of the birds.

As I waited for the surroundings to quiet down, I gradually began to relax and clear my mind. Suddenly, the church bells rang, accompanied by a few very clear bird calls—the sounds I had been hoping to hear. The church bells interrupted my relaxation but also seemed to awaken the sleeping birds in the trees. Fortunately, I recorded the entire experience on my recorder.

Bakewell All Saints Church - Awakened by the sound of bells

All of the streams are sampled from the tributaries on both sides of Ladybower Reservoir. (Recorded by Zoom H5)

Although the world is noisy, the streams still play the harmonious music of nature.

溪流的乐章｜The Symphony of Streams

Echoes of National Parks is a soundscape composition created in 2023. All sound materials used in the composition were recorded by the composer during their participation in the "What Does Your National Park Sound Like" project. 

https://www.petestollery.com/nplandingpagepublic?fbclid=IwAR3gP9JvRLCKiGOyPetPeST- D44oiytn3pWVt_hGwoOa9b7-QTMw_DNq09I

The composer visited various national parks in the UK, capturing a wide range of fascinating sounds. The composition includes elements such as flowing streams, bird songs, church bells, trains, and the noises of transportation. Through this piece, the composer aims to provide listeners with a deeper auditory connection to nature, urging them to appreciate and conserve the unique soundscapes found in national parks.

Premiered at the Sound Junction in Sheffield on 1st December 2023.

国家公园的回响｜Echoes of National Parks

This is an excerpt from a longer soundscape which I have released as part of Pantanal Dawn. The full recording is available at Bandcamp:

https://douglasquin.bandcamp.com/album/pantanal-dawn

The album features soundscapes and wildlife from Brazil's Pantanal, the planet's largest freshwater wetlands. There are numerous species of caiman in the Pantanal, the most common of which is the jacare. The waters here were teeming with caiman which can be heard growling, barking and splashing as they hunt for fish. Some of their vocalisations are infrasonic, well below the range of human hearing. As dawn broke, I would occasionally see the surface of the water around caiman rippling. This was caused by powerful low-frequency sounds emanating from individuals, especially the larger ones. Numerous other birds and insects complete the soundscape.

One of the things that struck me about this recording is that it comprises mostly reptiles and birds. These creatures are the only living descendants of a common ancestral group reaching back hundreds of millions of years––the archosaurs. I felt as though I was listening to the resonant memory of deep time.

Photo: © Uwe Bergwitz/Shutterstock

Caiman Dawn Excerpt

The piece was composed for my friend, Ed Ruchalski. It begins with the sounds of bells from a flock of sheep grazing in the field across from my house. Gradually, the harmonics of a friend's voice fade in––only harmonics/drone with feedback, no fundamental. More harmonic overtones from our village church. The sheep bells gradually crossfade into sounds from the Falkenstein Cave in Germany where we filmed a number of performances for the STRATA film in 2021. The specific chamber deep within the cave is called The White Giant. The sounds of The White Giant fade out as a chorus comes in. The final grace note is a recording of our resident tawny owl.

Bellwether For Ed Ruchalski 2024

The set off of the last London to Brighton Mini Run, 20th May 2023 recorded by Cheam Recreation Ground, London. 

The Last London to Brighton Mini Run

As long as you go to Japan, you will fall in love there.

Silence often doesn't equate to silence itself. The sound materials for this piece are all derived from recordings made by Boyi during his participation in "The Sound of Adventure," a collaborative project between Cities and Memory and Exodus Adventure Travels. The project is an exploration in sound of the sense of adventure you feel when experiencing a place for the first time. In September 2023, Boyi travelled to Japan in search of sounds filled with an adventurous spirit.

In Japan, amidst bustling environments, you can hear delightful bird songs that offer brief moments of auditory respite, momentarily alleviating the weariness of travel. Despite their surroundings' cacophony, these sounds retain a pristine purity. Their most captivating essence emerges when they persist unadulterated by noise, bravely standing against the tumultuous world. "Exploring Silence - JAPAN" harmoniously blends ambient music and evocative soundscapes. Continuous drone and background sounds act as a cohesive frame, enveloping these captivating soundscapes and . inviting the audience to step into Japan's auditory world and experience the adventure of silence.

https://soundcloud.com/zion-bai/sets/the-sound-of-adventure-japan

Premiered at the Sound Junction in Sheffield on 20th April 2024.

寻找寂静 - 日本｜Exploring Slience - JAPAN

Dawn fieldrecording in Nonsuch Park photobombed by grey squirrels. 13th April 2024

Springtime Grey Squirrels (Nonsuch Park at Dawn April 2024)

Short work based upon a recording of a small brook called the Moss in South Yorkshire. It's the valley shown in the picture.

Riverrun (2002)

Two Common Pipistrelle flying up and down a road in Westbere, Kent. Recorded on 7th July 2020. Recording has been de-noised but otherwise  untreated/edited.

Bats (Common Pipistelle)

基督徒Christian | 声音艺术家Sound Artist | 音樂製作人Music Producer |詞曲創作人Song Writer | 鍵盤手Keyboard｜聲景研究員Soundscape Researcher 

BA, Xi'an Conservatory of Music, CHN - Electronic Music Production
MA, University of York, UK - Music Production
PhD, University of Sheffield, UK - Electroacoustic Composition (2023 Spring)

09/2023 Sponsored by 'The National Lottery Heritage Fund & North York Moors National Park' for participation in 'The Western River Rye Catchment Soundscape project.
08/2023 Sponsored by 'Cities and Memory' for participation in the 'EXODUS 50: THE SOUND OF ADVENTURE' project in Japan.
09/2022 Bach International Music Competition - “Composition” First Prize.
03/2022 York-Chinese Top 10 Singers - Champion.
07/2021 "The Young Communist Party Member" - Third prize from the Shaanxi Provincial Radio and Television Bureau to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China.
06/2021 Xi'an Conservatory of Music Pop Music Composition Competition - First Prize.

Support me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ku73w-phd-funding

寻找寂静 - 日本｜Exploring Slience - JAPAN

Boyi Bai

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