Tuning in to Ice

by Jouni Hirvelä

for orchestra and audio files

Description

Tuning in to Ice is an attempt to empathically listen to – or tune in to – the soundscape of Antarctic nature. The work includes field recordings from two different sources: The audio content of the first movement is underwater sounds of Weddell seals. The sounds include strange bursts of clicks and knocks as well as ethereal descending sweeps. The purpose of these sounds is not known, but it is speculated that they would be used for echolocation in the darkness of Antarctic winter.

The files in the end of the second movement consist of powerful grinding noise from a large iceberg moving and creating friction against the iceshelf. The iceberg was located in Terre Adélie more than 100km from open sea. Dominique Filippi writes: ”The iceberg was a big one, more than 40m high! Despite the icebergs are trapped in the ice shelf, they move due to the tide and the low frequency waves coming from the open sea, which propagate under the ice shelf.”

I analyzed the sounds and used their pitch contour, rhythmic content and sound colors as material for the work.

Sounds were used with the generous permission from Paul Cziko and Dominique Filippi.

Instrumentation

2222 2200 01 0, str (88643)

Category

Works for Orchestra or Large Ensemble

Premiere

Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jutta Seppinen, cond. February 13, 2025, Espoo, Finland

Movements

I Weddell Seals, II Glacial Dynamics

Commisioned by / dedications

Commissioned by Tapiola Sinfonietta

PDF for promotional use

 Download

Archive number

MF35816

+ Add information