Description |
Susan Stenger’s new sound installation Sound Strata of Coastal Northumberland is based on a cross-section diagram of coastal geological formations from the River Tyne to the Scottish border, drawn by the local mining engineer Nicolas Wood in the 1830s. Using the diagram as a graphic score, Stenger transformed the geologic into the sonic in a 58-minute work that travels from the coal seams of Tyneside to the porphyritic rocks north of the Tweed, layering instrumental sounds, melodic patterns and signature rhythms extracted from traditional Northumbrian music and dance. Responding to history, culture and place-names as well as the drawing’s structures, she combined surface detail of fiddle and Northumbrian smallpipe patterns with deep shifting seams of brass band harmonies, voice, Border and Highland pipes to create a unique portrait of place.
Sound Strata of Coastal Northumberland tours throughout 2015 to: The Gymnasium Gallery, Berwick; Woodhorn Museum; and The Lookout Tower, Holy Island. This fully illustrated publication with CD accompanies the tour. |