The installation is in two parts: the river’s sounds are heard in stereo projection; from a wall map and clock listeners are able to identify which stretch of river they are listening to, and gain a sense of the local topography, in addition to the season and time of day when the recording was made. This part of the installation runs for two hours, looped. At a separate station, (through headphones and a player), can be heard the reminiscences of six people who have worked on or near the Hudson and have vividly experienced the river’s power: a fisherman, a North Country judge, an Adirondacks Park ranger, a farmer, an activist in environmental issues concerning the river, and a pilot. This part of the installation is one hour. Each interview is on a separate track. Since 1970 I have recorded rivers in many countries, not to document them, but for the special state of mind and body, which the sounds of moving water create when one listens intently to the complex mesh of rhythms and pitches. As with all rivers, each stretch of the Hudson has its own sonic texture, formed by the terrain, varying according to the weather and season, and downstream, where human sounds are intimately part of the river’s sound, from hour to hour. This work was commissioned by the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, in 1981 as a sound installation, and has since been incorporated into the museum’s permanent Riverama exhibit. BIO Born in New Zealand in 1939 and living in the US since 1973, Annea Lockwood is known for her explorations of the rich world of natural acoustic sounds and environments, in works ranging from sound art and installations, through text-sound and performance art to concert music. Her music has been performed in many venues and festivals including: the American Century:1950 – 2000 exhibition at the Whitney Museum, De Ijsbreker, the Other Minds Festival-San Francisco, the Walker Art Center, the Los Angeles County Museum, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Purcell Room, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, the Palais des Beaux Arts - Brussels, CNMAT, the Asia-Pacific Festival, Donaufest 2006 Ulm, the 7th Totally Huge New Music Festival and Ruined Piano Convergence - Perth, The Kitchen, and the Ear To The Earth Festival - New York. She was recently a recipient of the 2007 Henry Cowell Award for composers “who exemplify Henry Cowell’s spirit of innovation and experimentalism.....” |
