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insects nominated
Other live event: 01 Dec 2009 -- 7pm
Presented by: RobertJarvis
Limited:
British Composer Awards The Law Society
London -- UK
http://www.britishcomposerawards.com

ENTOMOPHONIX – Robert Jarvis’s sound installation for La Cité des Insectes, in Chaud, France, has been selected as one of two finalists for this year’s British Composer Awards in their Sonic Art category. The awards will be announced at a special event at the Law Society in London on Tuesday 1st December, and will be broadcast the following evening on BBC Radio 3 from 7pm.

The surround sound composition was originally created as part of a residency at La Cité des Insectes during the summer of 2007, and is now featured as a permanent sound installation there.

To create the composition, Robert first of all set about the challenging task of recording the sounds of the various insects that inhabit the museum’s grounds. This took some time! Of particular interest were those nuances of sound inherent in the various insect calls that we almost never hear, and yet must be there for a reason. He was also interested in what could be learnt about sonic communication from studying these sounds and what implications there might be in relation to his work as a composer. After devising various methods for recording the different sounds (how to record an ants’ nest, for example, or a fly cleaning its wings) the sounds were then edited into a useable palette for musical composition and the piece was created. His aim was to create something that would allow the listener access to the unique sound world of these small creatures, allowing the listener to imagine life through the ears of an insect.

Whilst creating Entomophonix Robert also kept a weblog of his discoveries and thoughts and this can be seen at www.entomophonix.wordpress.com

Nominations for all thirteen categories of the awards can be seen at: www.britishcomposerawards.com .

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