{"id":26290,"date":"2024-04-11T06:01:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T10:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/entertainment\/a-tour-through-the-most-interesting-acoustics-in-new-york\/11\/04\/2024\/"},"modified":"2024-04-11T06:01:30","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T10:01:30","slug":"a-tour-through-the-most-interesting-acoustics-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/entertainment\/a-tour-through-the-most-interesting-acoustics-in-new-york\/11\/04\/2024\/","title":{"rendered":"A Tour Through the Most Interesting Acoustics in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As three people struck wood with mallets under a viaduct in Queens during the morning rush hour one day in the fall, a man walked up and asked, \u201cWhat do you call this music?\u201d The players could have told him the title of the piece, Michael Gordon\u2019s \u201cTimber,\u201d or given him some idea of the genre. But one, Caitlin Cawley, simply said, \u201cPercussion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Cawley and her colleagues from the ensemble <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/mantrapercussion.org\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Mantra Percussion<\/a> were at the viaduct, which runs along Queens Boulevard and under the 7 train, to test the sound of its vaulted ceiling. It was part of a project to perform \u201cTimber,\u201d an hourlong work from 2009, in man-made sites with idiosyncratic acoustics around New York City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The result, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.resonant-spaces.org\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">called Resonant Spaces<\/a>, begins on Sunday, with performances at three locations, followed by three more on April 21. In addition to the viaduct, they include Castle Clinton and Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan, and in Brooklyn, archways in Prospect Park and Dumbo, and a monument in Fort Greene Park. The free concerts will allow the public to hear New York the way percussionists do: as a limitless source of musical opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Spotify\" class=\"css-9whsf3\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"encrypted-media\" src=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/embed\/track\/6FJVi2wza0fEPQEqJL8LFN\" width=\"600px\" height=\"80px\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cTimber\u201d was originally written for the Dutch group Slagwerk Den Haag. Six percussionists struck amplified two-by-fours \u2014 a take on simantras, planks of wood shaped to create specific tones, which have a history of being used in the Eastern Orthodox Church.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the early performances of \u201cTimber,\u201d the simantras were made from pine, but Mantra Percussion has taken a different route. Michael McCurdy, a member, said that the score didn\u2019t specify the wood. \u201cWhen you are learning <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/09\/22\/arts\/music\/iannis-xenakis-centennial.html?timespastHighlight=Xenakis?timespastHighlight=Xenakis\" title=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Xenakis<\/a>, or anything,\u201d he said, \u201cwhen the composer says \u2018wood block,\u2019 the variety of sounds that can come from that instrument is vast.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For Resonant Spaces, \u201cTimber\u201d will be played with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wood-database.com\/purpleheart\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">purpleheart<\/a> \u2014 a wood so dense, McCurdy said, that the Mantra players exhausted and had to replace a circular saw for cutting the pieces. On that fall morning, he, Cawley and Joseph Bergen carried their boards and other equipment from location to location, on the subway and in rideshare cars, as they tested sites for the concerts to see where the piece would thrive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They allowed me to join with a photographer, and to record audio at each stop.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-152be18c\">Queens Boulevard Viaduct<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gordon described the viaduct\u2019s grandly arched space as \u201creally acoustically wild, almost fantastic.\u201d As the players tested fragments of \u201cTimber,\u201d the sound ricocheted off the ceiling, shooting in all directions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">They tried different configurations \u2014 setting up their mounted boards close together, or far apart, in the center of the vaulted space or at the edge of it \u2014 as passers-by stopped to listen or interact with them. One woman wanted to give Cawley some cash.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gordon was curious about a spot near the subway entrance, with a lower, flat ceiling. The sound wasn\u2019t as spectacular, but the performance still caught the attention of a man who said with astonishment: \u201cIt\u2019s wood. I\u2019m walking over here wondering what\u2019s going on, but it\u2019s just wood. That\u2019s astounding.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After a brief pause, Gordon looked at him and, like any good New Yorker, said, \u201cYou know that you\u2019re wearing a Red Sox hat, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-12a2267a\">Endale Arch<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">After a car ride from Queens, the group arrived at the entrance of Prospect Park, and walked to the Endale Arch. The short tunnel, strikingly lined with alternating panels of pine and walnut, is one of the original architectural features from the park\u2019s creation more than 150 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Under the arch, while runners, confused and frightened dogs, and school groups passed, Gordon and the Mantra players tried the most configurations of any location they visited that day. They found that the sound could be severe, but better if they let it reflect off one of the tunnel\u2019s brick nooks, and best if they spaced out the instruments, especially at either entrance. McCurdy smiled as he asked the others whether they could hear overtones emerging from the resonance.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt was a little harsh and loud,\u201d Gordon said of the space. \u201cIt was amplifying the sound and also bringing out the bright overtones.\u201d Milder, he added, was an area of Fort Greene Park in front of the Prison Ship Martyrs\u2019 Monument, where the Mantra musicians had previously played \u201cTimber.\u201d (They will be back there on April 21). \u201cThat,\u201d Gordon said, \u201cis not particularly loud or reverberant, but it\u2019s much more subtle and kind of beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-7e452c90\">Federal Hall<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The group then hauled its equipment onto the 2 train, getting out at the Wall Street stop to test the rotunda of Federal Hall, the first home of the U.S. Congress and the site of George Washington\u2019s swearing in as president.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On the way, the percussionists played in the subway exit \u2014 a tinny corridor lined with tile \u2014 as well as in Kevin Roche\u2019s <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.curbed.com\/2022\/09\/60-wall-street-1980s-lobby-atrium-kevin-roche-preservation-landmarks.html\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">postmodern lobby of 60 Wall Street<\/a> (now closed for renovation and likely demolition), before arriving at Federal Hall. There was a school group visiting, and the children began to gather around the trio as they played. Afterward, the students asked to try for themselves, and took turns striking the wood.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Of the day\u2019s stops, the rotunda was the most naturally reverberant. \u201cIt was so thick with reverb and delay that you could hardly make out what they were playing,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cThe distinction was almost completely lost. The sound is bouncing off the walls and off the floor, and it just doesn\u2019t stop. You\u2019re just really drenched in sound.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"css-kypbrf eoo0vm40\" id=\"link-42878cd2\">Bethesda Terrace<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">From there, it was back to the subway and up to the Upper West Side for a stop at Central Park, where the musicians made their way to the arcade under Bethesda Terrace. When they arrived, they had competition, not so much from the wedding party shuffling around for a photo shoot or the children\u2019s entertainer making large bubbles, but from other musicians: <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/coverstorydoowop.com\/home\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cover Story Doo-Wop<\/a>, an ensemble of four vocalists and a bass player that had attracted a large audience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But after being offered cash and cutting a deal for the Mantra players to be quick, Cover Story took a break and stood the side while the percussionists set up their instruments and got started. This heavily trafficked area of the park offered the most passers-by yet, but also the most indifferent ones; few stopped to listen, and no one stopped for conversation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Gordon and the Mantra musicians decided not to perform in Central Park. It seemed chaotic, Gordon said, and he got the impression that they \u201cwere not going to get the feeling or the focus of people who actually showed up and wanted to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">AFTER A DAY<\/strong> of hearing \u201cTimber\u201d around New York, Gordon said that he didn\u2019t think the spaces materially changed the music. \u201cThe piece is the piece,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it\u2019s less about what places do to the piece as what it does to our awareness of the spaces we walk through.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That\u2019s what audience members, those who plan to attend or those who stumble across the performances, could get out of Resonant Spaces. \u201cWalking through the viaduct is a phenomenal experience,\u201d Gordon said. \u201cBut it\u2019s one we all have. We go to the park and walk through a tunnel. Central Park is full of them. These places aren\u2019t hidden. But their acoustical properties \u2014 those kind of are.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/11\/arts\/music\/michael-gordon-timber-resonant-spaces.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As three people struck wood with mallets under a viaduct in Queens during the morning rush hour one day in the fall,<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/entertainment\/a-tour-through-the-most-interesting-acoustics-in-new-york\/11\/04\/2024\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26290\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26292"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}