Cistern Pauline Oliveros performed her
Composition with Goddard in the Dan Harpole Cistern in 2009. The hall itself
was kept dark. Visitors had to use a ladder to get into the hall and use a
flashlight to look through the room.
Oliveros and Goddard did not use any
words or lyrics in their performance. Instead, they focused on vocal ranges and
sounds in combination with the reverb that is created through the empty space
that only contains pillars to keep the hall intact. Due to the reverb, the
listener can not easily know how many performers are in the hall since it
sounds like there are several people in different positions in the hall,
producing different sounds. The sounds themselves are in harmony with each
other, which gives the impression of a choir in churches or other religious
institutions.
Apart from the vocal sounds, there were
also sounds from different sources, that interrupt the harmony of the vocals.
Giggling or sounds of objects that are being hit against the pillars of the
Cistern disrupt the harmonious flow and make the performance seem more chaotic.
Due to the disruptions and the echo that comes with them, the choir-like voices
are drowned out by the noise.
The focus of the composition seems to be
at the behavior of different sounds in the empty space of the Cistern. It can
be noticed that the steady sound of a choir produced by humans seems to be
weaker than the sounds that are created by object that have a direct impact
with other objects such as pillars. This can be seen through the stronger echo
that is produced. However, the impulsive sounds produced by humans, such as the
giggles or changes in tone appeared to have stronger reverb and were therefore
easier to be noticed by the listeners.
The strength of the reverb is also highly
subjective and depends on the position of production and the position of the
listener. If the sound is produced at the end of the hall while the listener is
on the other end of the room, it is clear that the reverb will lose its’
strength on its way to the listener and therefore will be perceived as being
weaker while the sounds that are produced with little distance to the receiver
will be perceived as stronger, due to the short distance of travel for the
echo.
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