Outdoor Culture is delighted to be working with the composer Robert Jarvis on the production of ‘aroundNorth’. Short-listed for the PRS New Music Award in 2010 and only completed in early 2014, this musical piece is a sonification of the stars, triggered by the rotation of the earth.
aroundNorth transforms the night sky into a celestial music box rotating around Polaris, the North Star. As each star passes a virtual line in the sky, it triggers a musical note whose qualities are informed by the star’s colour spectrum, mass, brightness and distance from earth, creating a mesmerising sound map of the universe as viewed from our turning planet.
The composition will be presented as a permanent installation at Armagh Observatory and as a series of live outdoor performances, starting at the National Trust’s property at Stowe on 20-22 February 2014. We also intend to produce online and mobile versions of the experience so that listeners can hear this music in their own locations, when they choose.
aroundNorth is intended to awaken a sense of wonder at the cosmos and our place within it. It also aims to highlight the value of dark skies in making possible what many people believe to be the most impressive show on earth, and a birthright that is denied to millions because of needless light pollution. This sonic artwork is a positive and thought-provoking response to these issues.
If you are interested in hosting a performance of aroundNorth or connecting with the project in any way, please contact Alistair at alistair@outdoorculture.com or on 07920 180710.
‘If the stars were a musical instrument, how would they sound?’ (Robert Jarvis)