Aural Diversity: Concert 1
Old Barn, Kelston Roundhill — 6 July 2019.
This page contains documentation of the first Aural Diversity concert. For the subsequent event, see Concert 2 (Attenborough Arts Centre, Leicester, November 2019).
Photos
Photos from Concert 1 were taken by Miguel Angel Aranda.
Film
A short film about the concert is available below.
Funding and sponsorship
The concert was funded by GNResound Ltd and Arts Council England. It was also sponsored by Kelston Records.
Concert overview
The performances were relaxed events, designed for a wide range of listening types, from profoundly deaf through to mild hearing loss, presbycusis, hyperacusis, and more. Many people chose to listen outdoors, or through streaming headphones. People moved around freely during the concert, finding the best listening situations. Several were keen to try out the vibrating floor, which produced striking results — including one person who said they had heard music in their cochlea for the first time.
The Old Barn was a perfect venue for the concert: off-grid and “alternative”. We had silent food and straw-bale seating outside, as well as a swing and beautiful views. Fortunately, the weather was fine.
Programme
Arbometallurgism (c. 6 mins) — Anya Ustaszewski
I am autistic with sensory processing difficulties, especially with regard to hearing. I have hyperacusis with a particular sensitivity to higher pitches. I also have a touch of misophonia.
Instrumentation: “Found”/everyday objects, probably small metallic items.
Description: A flowing piece consisting of metallic sounds, paper/card, and stone/brick sounds, with a percussive section in the middle. Objects are played over a pre-recorded track. Slow tempo, then fast, then back to slow.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in all spaces; streamed to headphones and hearing aids.
Break (3 minutes)
DiversiJazz (c. 8 mins) — Ruth Mallalieu
I have been profoundly deaf since birth. I have bilateral cochlear implants (one aged 13 and one aged 23).
Instrumentation: Clarinet (Ruth) and piano (Jonathan).
Description: A set of short, well-known jazz melodies transposed to allow performance in two registers (low and high, but not extremely high). The accompaniment is pared down (not too “busy” for the ear). Ruth improvises in both registers. Lyrics are provided so listeners can follow the melody.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in all spaces.
Break (3 minutes)
“Where two rivers meet, the water is never calm” (c. 8 mins) — Andrew Hugill
I have severe hearing loss in my right ear and mild loss in the left, tinnitus and diplacusis, due to Meniere’s disease diagnosed in 2009. Full story here.
Instrumentation: Digital keyboard.
Description: A very quiet, minimal audio-visual composition for a specially built digital instrument which reproduces Andrew’s hearing. In diplacusis, two notes at different pitches are heard when a single note is played. The title is an old Ugandan proverb.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in main space; streamed to headphones; watching video score; vibrating floor.
Break (3 minutes)
The Cornish Riviera and The Cornish Mines (c. 5 mins) — performed by Matthew Spring
Instrumentation: Solo voice with banjo (Riviera) and guitar (Mines).
Description: Two folksongs that are traditional in spirit but composed in a 1970s folk revival style.
Listening suggestions: Co-located in main space; following signed interpretations or data projections; break-out spaces; streamed to hearing aids or headphones.
Break (3 minutes)
Map Fragments (c. 10 mins) — Simon Allen
A slow change in my hearing up until 1993 has brought 50% loss from the top down in terms of area on the audiogram, accompanied by hyperacusis, tinnitus and two hearing aids. Frequencies above 2.5kHz start to register as clusters of white noise and rapidly disappear above that.
Instrumentation: Free instrumentation. Each player uses either their own resources or equipment provided.
Description: A montage of music and signed text. Generally quiet, slow.
Listening suggestions: Co-located in main space; following signed interpretations.
Interval (10 minutes)
sanitary tones: ayre #3 (c. 10 mins) — John Levack Drever
I have continuous high-frequency tinnitus in my right ear accompanied by some hearing loss, and increasing intolerance to high sound levels. As well as through my research, being a dad of two kids has made me acutely aware of the impact of everyday sound on sensitive ears.
Instrumentation: Vocal sounds.
Description: Hand-dryer recordings voiced and transformed. Performers are spaced around the performance space. A pre-recorded track is mixed with the live voices. Medium loudness to quiet; no sudden bursts; gentle phonation.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in all spaces; streamed (possibly video).
Break (3 minutes)
Meditations on Hildegard (c. 8 mins) — Matthew Spring
I lost my hearing through meningitis as a child; subsequent ear infections reduced what remained, and I wear two hearing aids (bone anchored and a very old analogue aid). My hearing varies day to day. Tinnitus is constant and I rely on lip reading and positioning. Above middle C I hear pitch well; below this my pitch sensitivity declines.
Instrumentation: Voice, hurdy-gurdy, hanging bells.
Description: Various; some passages quite loud.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in main space; streamed to hearing aids or headphones.
Break (3 minutes)
Vox Random (c. 6 mins) — Anya Ustaszewski
Instrumentation: Voice/speech sounds over a pre-recorded track.
Description: Slow tempo; fairly soft, with some plosive/staccato speech and voice sounds.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated in any space; streamed to headphones/hearing aids.
Break (3 minutes)
St. George’s Island Revisited (c. 3 mins) — Andrew Hugill
Instrumentation: Flute (Anya), clarinet (Ruth), viol (Matthew), percussion (Simon), keyboard (Andrew). Conducted by John.
Description: A short chorale evoking Looe Island and featuring Matthew Spring on viol. Mostly quiet, with a louder section in the middle.
Listening suggestions: Unmediated or streamed.
Short break (1 minute)
Kelston Birdsong (c. 8 mins) — Andrew Hugill
Instrumentation: Flute (Anya), clarinet (Ruth), viol (Matthew), percussion (Simon), digital instruments (Andrew) and sound samples (John).
Description: Quiet, meditative composition mixing acoustic music and birdsong related to Kelston Roundhill. Composed for the hearing profiles of each musician, with few loudness changes.
Listening suggestions: Those who wish to listen on headphones are invited to go for a walk outside (weather permitting). Otherwise, listen in any way you choose.
Sensonic (installation) — Sam Sturtivant
“…the universe is probably full of music that we cannot perceive”
Sir John Lubbock, considering the limits of the audible spectrum (1879)
An installation for vibrating floor and three loudspeakers using infrasound to explore intersensorial music creation. It features low-frequency sounds that may be felt but not “heard” conventionally. The audience is invited to experience this via the vibrating floor only. Those who find low-frequency sounds uncomfortable should leave the concert before this begins. The installation runs until everyone has experienced as much as they wish.
Sam is an electroacoustic composer working near Bath. He has a notch loss in the upper frequencies.
After the concert
An interesting discussion followed about the fate of the recordings. Normally, musicians, composers and engineers would want these issued more widely. We realised that doing so on this occasion would risk contradicting the aims of Aural Diversity, because most people would listen via standardised systems (for example mobile device loudspeakers or earphones). The message for anyone who wishes to experience Aural Diversity music is: you must come to the concerts.