Consanguinity: Man vs. Sound

composed by Katie Blake in collaboration with the Achelois Collective and commissioned by the Crosstown Arts organization in Memphis, Tennessee in September 2019.

Program notes for Consanguinity

2.27: Man vs. Primitive Sound

2.27 illustrates the dawn of Man and his senses with an introduction of a pastoral scene. Improvisations on bird calls and other earthly happenings create the soundscape of an archaic, pre-Man existence. Incantations of simplistic words echo in the darkness, while the muffled shuffling of bodies and feet reflect gatherings and interaction. The contrast to primitive senses appears with Bach’s Jesu meine Freude BWV 227 (the title’s namesake); this motet vocalizes Jesus’ teaching of holy love against mortal sin and the vanity of existence. Interspersed with Bach’s work is an initial melody from Clermabault’s Miserere mei Deus, another motet with sacred text that represents the rejection of earthly desires in favor of penance and a conscious progression towards piety. The juxtaposition of these two motets with the primordial soundscape reflect the correlation between bodily senses and consciousness: Man is a being.  

2.12: Man vs. Created Sound

As 212°F  is the temperature at which liquid water converts to steam, 2.12 portrays Man’s migration from an agrarian society to the Industrial Era.  Scattered percussive effects mimic the grinding of gears, while the jet whistles of factories sound throughout. The sounds of feet shuffling, having once represented human gathering, now embody factory workers trudging along. Quiet utterances of “help me” are heard in the distance.

2.35: Man vs. Unnatural/Weaponized Sound

2.35 depicts the sounds of the nuclear era and the subsequent world-wide conflict. Uranium-235 is one of the two common isotopes of elemental Uranium; as it is the only naturally occurring fissile isotope, Uranium-235 is widely used in nuclear weaponry and power plants. In this movement, a lone horn call is heard in the introduction, beckoning to earlier times. War-like sirens and marching dominate the movement, while distorted metallic effects from acoustic instruments and equipment glisten. “Help” has transitioned from verbal whispers to frenzied morse code, becoming even more urgent. A distorted rendition of the previous Bach melody is heard on harp, as if mocking the once pastoral scene. Solos on the Eb clarinet convey feelings of distress, confusion, and fear  towards the end of the movement.

52.3: Man vs. Artificial Sound

52.3 presents the modern age, defined by instant gratification and spontaneous connection without risk or responsibility. 52.3 kJ/mol is the heat of fusion for tungsten, an element commonly found in the hardware of iPhones. Going beyond physical sound by depicting mental or informational “sound” through constant media interaction. Cries of anguish and frustration for atrocities committed world-wide are heard throughout the movement. The chants of “No Justice, No Peace” and determined marching echoes in the background as civil unrest drives for a place of true equality. The cacophonous nightmare drives towards a pivotal climax. The final moment of the work poses an aural question to the listener: in a world where we are subjected to an overstimulation of the senses, do we choose to tune-in or do we tune-out?