Nature-Symphony 15
— December afternoon rural quietude

Opus 47 (2023) — Timing: 63'

derived from a field recording of wind chimes, birds and cows

Nature-symphonies — a transformational discovery (background notes)…

It was in 2012 that I tentatively started recording natural soundscapes, and within a few months got the idea of purchasing some high-grade precision-tuned wind chimes to record out in the wilds, hung up on tree branches. …

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… I quickly found that not only was the sound of each set of chimes individually beautiful and to some extent inspiring in quality when recorded out in the wild like that (mostly high-up in the Teign Gorge, Devon, UK), but also, almost all of the combinations of different chimes worked out beautifully musically, though naturally some combinations made a more 'challenging' listen than others.

Much more recently I tried making a half-speed version of part of each of the most appealing or otherwise 'promising' chimes ensemble recordings. They were each a revelation — immensely beautiful, with quite dramatic transformation of the original sound. That is, not just a matter of being slower and an octave lower, but the whole musical and emotional effect changed.

But then, in late August 2023 I got this little urge to do something really stupid (all the world's 'sheep' know I'm stupid anyway, so I thought I might as well do it anyway!), and try putting a particularly evocative chimes ensemble recording in a virtual cathedral, of all things, just to see how crazy it might sound.

I tried that with a particularly usable and effective reverb VST plugin called Orilriver, and was bowled over by the results. Shivers up spine, and plenty of goose-bumps for good measure! I then did listening spot tests using Orilriver in preview mode on a wide selection of my half-speed chimes recordings, and every one was incredibly, amazingly, transformed.

It was clear that I'd sort-of unwittingly stumbled into producing powerfully beautiful stochastic / probability-driven music works that have a lot in common with the ethos and methods of Iannis Xenakis, but with a big practical difference. Whereas typically he worked out probabilistic structures and processes to shape many of his works, this lunatic composer instead left that task to 'Mother Nature', then transforming those sounds in a way that Xenakis did in most of his electroacoustic works, to enhance their ability to excite the listener's own inner creativity and to generate profound and powerful experiences in the process.

It can be no surprise, then, that in these new works of mine there would be passing (albeit partial) resemblances to certain Xenakis works — Bohor comes particularly to mind, and even, in a funny way, some aspects of Terretektorh.

It was then a real no-brainer to recognise each such piece of mine as one of my numbered public music compositions. For the purpose of a liberating simplicity I chose to classify ALL of this type of work that I produce as what I'm calling nature-symphonies. That hyphen is important, because they are not just symphonies about nature, but are a very specific type of composition — nature-generated symphonies.

The term 'symphony', although closely guarded with a very restricted meaning by small-minded traditionalists, actually just means 'sounding together', which apparently was its original meaning. For me to want to use that term, there need to be at least two contrasting elements that are in some way combined or worked together in some way that is much more effective and deeply inspiring than the sum of those elements.

Although, in terms of my own nature-symphonies, that would mean ensembles rather than solo chimes sets, I've found that certain of my recordings using just one chimes set still produce effective and powerful nature-symphonies because of some element of the natural soundscape within which the chimes were sounding. A weir or waterfall, for example, or the wind itself, or a liberal amount of bird sound (much of which latter sounds remarkably musical at half-speed).

As for title for each work, they won't all necessarily have a title beyond Nature-Symphony [nn]. I'll add an imaginative title only where the finished piece suggests one to me. — Well, er, except that I do have one title earnestly looking for a work for it to be applied to, but currently I don't see how it could fit any extant or future transformed wind chimes works of mine! Not telling why!

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Basic details

*The first recording in this session being made; the original for this work is the final (fifth) one.*

Instrumentation — Wind chimes with birds and cows.
Original field recording location / date — Just down from Hunting Gate, highest point of the Hunter's Path high up on north side of Teign Gorge, Drewsteignton, Devon, UK, on 10 December 2013. Listen to the original recording to appreciate the subsequent transformation.
Processing — Four main layers were used, at two different speeds and therefore pitches (two layers per speed) and for each speed the two layers were placed in canon and also in canon with the two layers at the other speed. The overall pitches were chosen to give the interval of a minor seventh below the octave-lowered top two layers.

Additionally, multiple layers were used to create more interesting cattle choruses, using three layers of original speed, but the lower two layers successively a major third below the one above, so introducing an augmented triad into the scenario. Although that delectable and potent chord doesn't jump out at the listener, it does make the cows' singing sound somehow, shall we say, rather colourful, and definitely more 'nature-connected' than a mere common-or-garden major or minor chord!

I give some more specifics about the chimes used, and the subsequent processing, on my Freesound page for the work — though I baulked at spending time to give a full run-down.
Primary distinguishing features — This is a dramatic transformation from the original quiet recording, when the wind had dropped down a lot and left long intervals of little or no chimes activity. I set out therefore to organise the sounds so that something more immediately vivid and engaging would emerge, which still conveyed the original seasonal quietude, but would bring it much more to life. I'm impressed by the way the processed chimes sound has made a certain uneasiness about the original quietude really stand up and be counted! — Yet I find it still an uplifting and gently joyful piece, no matter how anyone else would respond.

The work starts with a carrion crow giving starters' orders — this then leading us straight into the first iteration of the cow's chorus, during which very gradually the chimes start mysteriously edging in and eventually taking over. The work finishes with a return of the cows' chorus, but now in augmented triad triplicate and of course in canon — the carrion crow returning to have the last word (sounding its very own 'Last Trump' maybe?)

Nature-Symphony 15— December afternoon rural quietude

Basic details

Nature-Symphony 15
— December afternoon rural quietude