Bonus: Same poem, this time read by Patrick Stewart (parts 1 and 2) [~11m30s total]
Friday, December 14, 2012
Saruman reads Burton
Saruman reads Burton: Christopher Lee reads the original poem The Nightmare Before Christmas [11m], Tim Burton's storybook which inspired the Henry Selick's stop-motion film.
Bonus: Same poem, this time read by Patrick Stewart (parts 1 and 2) [~11m30s total]
Bonus: Same poem, this time read by Patrick Stewart (parts 1 and 2) [~11m30s total]
The Soundscapes of Ancient Cultures
The Soundscapes of Ancient Cultures: Historically, archaeologists have largely ignored acoustical science as a tool for archaeological discovery. This is changing with the advent of acoustic archaeology. "Could the Maya have intentionally coded the sound of their sacred bird into the pyramid architecture? I think it is possible." Hear it for yourself in this video.
While this is a pretty astounding feat of architectural engineering, it's by no means the only example of archaeoacoustics that can be found at Chichen Itza, amongst the mayan people, or throughout the many other cultures who've built structures that integrate unique auditory phenomenon to stimulate the senses. [previously]/[previously]
While we've covered some modern examples and the temple of Kukulkan previously, Archaeoacoustics has continued to advance our knowledge and understanding of ancient cultures and the structures they built. As mentioned in this ArsTechnica article on the sound profiling of stonehenge, "Quite aside from any overt religious message, cult activity, and astronomical import, anyone entering the site would have felt the sense of sound change. Sound echoed, but in a specific way, bouncing from the stones' surfaces, but being rescued from noise by the interstices between them."
A joint paper with Brenda Kiser and David Lubman entitled Ancient Echoes: The Origins of Sound Sculptures expounds:
"Natural sounds found a place in ancient religions and myths. Not only were they a part of everyday reality, they constituted a language. Natural sounds were not noises to be disregarded or even to be enjoyed simply because of the pleasant ambience they created. The soundscape conveyed information useful to sustenance and important for survival. Sound became an important element of ritual. Drums and flutes and the human voice imitated elements of the soundscapes. Sounds used in ritual represented the gods that control nature, were intended to propitiate and even to imitate them. By imitating natural sounds, humans were beginning to control nature. Humans were becoming godlike." [...]
"But even if there is reason to believe that the soundscape remains as the original inhabitants heard it, can we learn anything of ancient peoples' beliefs and culture from listening? I think so. We can only attempt to understand bygone cultures by understanding their beliefs in combination with the artifacts they left behind, including their soundscapes. Visual observation alone will not suffice. The ancient Maya left us an echo recorded in the stone steps of the Temple of Kukulkan. The sacred bird of like still sings. If only we learn again to listen."
"The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza is recognized around the world as an icon of Mexico. As such, even small details around it merit scholarly interest. One small detail ignored by archaeologists until now is the odd chirped echo that resounds from the pyramid's staircases in response to hand claps of people standing near its base. A physical explanation for the chirped echo is proposed: The staircase constitutes an acoustical diffraction grating. Two forms of analytical data are offered in support of this explanation. First, a mathematical simulation of the chirp fundamental frequency vs time is calculated. Then a sonogram of the recorded echo is shown to be in reasonable agreement with these calculations .", according to acoustical consultant David Lubman.
There are other interesting features of the temple at Kukulcan, as well. For instance "at the spring and fall equinoxes (March 21 and September 22) the sun projects an undulating pattern of light on the northern stairway for a few hours in the late afternoon—a pattern caused by the angle of the sun and the edge of the nine steps that define the pyramid's construction. These triangles of light link up with the massive stone carvings of snake heads at the base of the stairs, suggesting a massive serpent snaking down the structure. Additionally, when one looks at the western face during the winter solstice, the sun appears to climb up the edge of the staircase until it rests momentarily directly above the temple before beginning its descent down the other side." Watch it here.
There is also evidence that some of the cultures in South America went even further with the integration of audio-visual-sensory experiences and mind-expanding drugs:
"Miriam Kolar, a researcher at Stanford University's Center for Computer Research and Acoustics, has been studying the 3,000 year-old Chavin culture in the high plains of Peru. Kolar and her colleagues have been mapping a maze of underground tunnels, drains and hallways in which echoes don't sound like echoes.
"The structures could be physically disorienting and the acoustic environment is very different than the natural world," Kolar said. Ancient drawings from the Chavin culture show a people who were fascinated with sensory experiences -- ancient hippies if you will. "The iconography shows people mixed with animal features in altered states of being," said Kolar, who is presenting her recent work at a conference in Cancun, Mexico this week. "There is peyote and mucus trails out of the nose indicative of people using psychoactive plant substances. They were taking drugs and having a hallucinogenic experience."
If that wasn't enough, the mazes at Chavin de Huantar also include air ducts that use sunlight to produce distorted shadows of the maze's human participants. And sound waves from giant marine shells found in the maze in 2001 may have produced a frequency that actually rattled the eyeballs of those San Pedro cactus-using ancients, Kolar said."
For more background and technical information, look here:
Convolution-Scattering Model for Staircase Echoes at the Temple of Kukulcan [pdf]
The Acoustics of Mayan Temples
A Full Simulation of the Quetzal echo at the Mayan pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza in Mexico
While this is a pretty astounding feat of architectural engineering, it's by no means the only example of archaeoacoustics that can be found at Chichen Itza, amongst the mayan people, or throughout the many other cultures who've built structures that integrate unique auditory phenomenon to stimulate the senses. [previously]/[previously]
While we've covered some modern examples and the temple of Kukulkan previously, Archaeoacoustics has continued to advance our knowledge and understanding of ancient cultures and the structures they built. As mentioned in this ArsTechnica article on the sound profiling of stonehenge, "Quite aside from any overt religious message, cult activity, and astronomical import, anyone entering the site would have felt the sense of sound change. Sound echoed, but in a specific way, bouncing from the stones' surfaces, but being rescued from noise by the interstices between them."
A joint paper with Brenda Kiser and David Lubman entitled Ancient Echoes: The Origins of Sound Sculptures expounds:
"Natural sounds found a place in ancient religions and myths. Not only were they a part of everyday reality, they constituted a language. Natural sounds were not noises to be disregarded or even to be enjoyed simply because of the pleasant ambience they created. The soundscape conveyed information useful to sustenance and important for survival. Sound became an important element of ritual. Drums and flutes and the human voice imitated elements of the soundscapes. Sounds used in ritual represented the gods that control nature, were intended to propitiate and even to imitate them. By imitating natural sounds, humans were beginning to control nature. Humans were becoming godlike." [...]
"But even if there is reason to believe that the soundscape remains as the original inhabitants heard it, can we learn anything of ancient peoples' beliefs and culture from listening? I think so. We can only attempt to understand bygone cultures by understanding their beliefs in combination with the artifacts they left behind, including their soundscapes. Visual observation alone will not suffice. The ancient Maya left us an echo recorded in the stone steps of the Temple of Kukulkan. The sacred bird of like still sings. If only we learn again to listen."
"The Pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza is recognized around the world as an icon of Mexico. As such, even small details around it merit scholarly interest. One small detail ignored by archaeologists until now is the odd chirped echo that resounds from the pyramid's staircases in response to hand claps of people standing near its base. A physical explanation for the chirped echo is proposed: The staircase constitutes an acoustical diffraction grating. Two forms of analytical data are offered in support of this explanation. First, a mathematical simulation of the chirp fundamental frequency vs time is calculated. Then a sonogram of the recorded echo is shown to be in reasonable agreement with these calculations .", according to acoustical consultant David Lubman.
There are other interesting features of the temple at Kukulcan, as well. For instance "at the spring and fall equinoxes (March 21 and September 22) the sun projects an undulating pattern of light on the northern stairway for a few hours in the late afternoon—a pattern caused by the angle of the sun and the edge of the nine steps that define the pyramid's construction. These triangles of light link up with the massive stone carvings of snake heads at the base of the stairs, suggesting a massive serpent snaking down the structure. Additionally, when one looks at the western face during the winter solstice, the sun appears to climb up the edge of the staircase until it rests momentarily directly above the temple before beginning its descent down the other side." Watch it here.
There is also evidence that some of the cultures in South America went even further with the integration of audio-visual-sensory experiences and mind-expanding drugs:
"Miriam Kolar, a researcher at Stanford University's Center for Computer Research and Acoustics, has been studying the 3,000 year-old Chavin culture in the high plains of Peru. Kolar and her colleagues have been mapping a maze of underground tunnels, drains and hallways in which echoes don't sound like echoes.
"The structures could be physically disorienting and the acoustic environment is very different than the natural world," Kolar said. Ancient drawings from the Chavin culture show a people who were fascinated with sensory experiences -- ancient hippies if you will. "The iconography shows people mixed with animal features in altered states of being," said Kolar, who is presenting her recent work at a conference in Cancun, Mexico this week. "There is peyote and mucus trails out of the nose indicative of people using psychoactive plant substances. They were taking drugs and having a hallucinogenic experience."
If that wasn't enough, the mazes at Chavin de Huantar also include air ducts that use sunlight to produce distorted shadows of the maze's human participants. And sound waves from giant marine shells found in the maze in 2001 may have produced a frequency that actually rattled the eyeballs of those San Pedro cactus-using ancients, Kolar said."
For more background and technical information, look here:
Convolution-Scattering Model for Staircase Echoes at the Temple of Kukulcan [pdf]
The Acoustics of Mayan Temples
A Full Simulation of the Quetzal echo at the Mayan pyramid of Kukulkan at Chichen Itza in Mexico
Rock gods at the Library of Congress
Rock gods at the Library of Congress: Joe Smith interviews Jagger, McCartney, Bacharach....apparently pretty much everyone. Retired American music mogul Joe Smith has donated recorded interviews with a who's who of 20th century popular music to the U.S. Library of Congress, which is posting the digitized audio online.
The first batch are up now -- more coming at some unspecified future time.
The first batch are up now -- more coming at some unspecified future time.
Stubborn music
Stubborn music: The Canto Ostinato is a minimalist classical composition written in 1976-1979 consisting of "small, entirely tonal cells which are repeated - how many times is left to the performer". Usually performed by two or four pianos, it's also been adapted to other instruments like the harp. The Canto Ostinato ("stubborn song") was written by Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt, who passed away yesterday.
Born in 1923, Simeon ten Holt studied with people like Jacob van Domselaer, Arthur Honegger and . He first came to prominence in the 1950ties with his socalled diagonal compositions, using complementary keys and tritones, then started writing more serialist compositions, all of hwich he'd largely abandoned by the early seventies, as he started to write the Canto, abandoning formalism for a more minimalist, impressionist approach. The Canto therefore has no set lenght, but can take anywhere from thirty minutes to as long as a day. A popular piece in the Netherlands, it has been performed not just in the usual concert halls, but also e.g. in Leiden train station.
A "complete" version of the Canto has been uploaded to Youtube by a Dutch broadcaster.
While the Canto was his best known piece, he produced several more compositions in the same style, some of which are also available on Youtube:
Born in 1923, Simeon ten Holt studied with people like Jacob van Domselaer, Arthur Honegger and . He first came to prominence in the 1950ties with his socalled diagonal compositions, using complementary keys and tritones, then started writing more serialist compositions, all of hwich he'd largely abandoned by the early seventies, as he started to write the Canto, abandoning formalism for a more minimalist, impressionist approach. The Canto therefore has no set lenght, but can take anywhere from thirty minutes to as long as a day. A popular piece in the Netherlands, it has been performed not just in the usual concert halls, but also e.g. in Leiden train station.
A "complete" version of the Canto has been uploaded to Youtube by a Dutch broadcaster.
While the Canto was his best known piece, he produced several more compositions in the same style, some of which are also available on Youtube:
- Lemniscaat (1982-1983) (fragment)
- Horizon (1983-1985)
- Meandres (1997) (fragment)
- Soloduiveldans 2 (1986)
- Capriccio For Violin (1999)
interesting compromises
interesting compromises: "my interest in a lot of old game music now has very little to do with "nostalgia" or any associations i had with the games, and much more to do with the way the different kinds of hardware used created interesting compromises for composers that led them [to] making some really interesting sounds," Liz Ryerson collects sounds from the abyss. In her blog post here she details the history and appeal of five (mostly forgotten) game soundtracks which push the limits of the both the genre and the hardware.
Soundtracks in the post:
She also maintains Lost Worlds, which is a collection of surreal, strange, and interesting game screenshots.
Soundtracks in the post:
She also maintains Lost Worlds, which is a collection of surreal, strange, and interesting game screenshots.
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