Circumscribed journeys through soundscape composition

Abstract

The soundscape composition is the journey that circumscribes the relationship, the conversation between composer and sound sources. (Hildegard Westerkamp) Environmental sounds hold an unusual place in our imaginations. On the one hand, hey make up the often unnoticed ambiences of our daily lives: they are so much with us and surrounding us that it takes a special effort to bring them into the foreground, and pay attention to them. On the other hand, environmental sounds form a powerful conduit to memory. Hearing a particular sound or ambience can launch a chain of related memories, whether experienced consciously or working subconsciously, that reconnects us with particular places and times in our lives. It is precisely these confluences of memory, time and place that interest those who compose with soundscapes. © 2002, Cambridge University Press. All rights reserved.