Abstract
"There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio, than are dreamt of in our philosophy"
Charles Tainter's first recorded words on his newly developed wax cylinder Graphophone, the successor to Thomas Alva Edison's tinfoil Phonograph, 1881.
Horatio Oratorio is an audio-visual exploration through the history of recorded sound using recreations and reworkings of some of the earliest speech and music recordings known to exist. Historic sound reproducing technologies and rare mechanical-acoustic string instruments combine with state-of-the-art electronics in a unique liaison between the contemporary and the obsolete.
In this new take on the classic oratorio form, antique wax cylinder phonographs, gramophones & stroh violins will feature as the soloists, resounding from a miscellany of horns, while a chorus of loudspeakers, some attached to helium-filled balloons, transmit the digitally manipulated sound.
The staging of Horatio Oratorio is also designed to operate as a sound installation before and after the performance. Especially created for the Shunt Vaults under London Bridge Station, this installation will continue for several days after the performance weekend.
Co-produced by Sonic Arts Network's EXPO and the PRSF Live Connections.
In association with Sprawl.
http://www.sprawl.org.uk
A Wire-supported event .
http://www.thewire.co.uk
Performance & sound installation by Aleks Kolkowski and Federico Reuben aka Recording Angels with Sebastian Lexer (sound diffusion)
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |
| Event | Horatio Oratorio - Shunt Vaults, London Bridge, London, United Kingdom Duration: 10 Jul 2008 → 11 Jul 2008 |