B is for Bird

This work was supported by the EASTN-DC project and premiered in Lisbon (July 2017), with subsequent performances in Manchester, Stanford, California, and Leeds (2018–19). The syrinx interactive system is described in Ouvirouver, 12/1 (2016), 54–72. A recording is available at https://vimeo.com/229351488.

The work’s principal objective was to explore new forms of musical expression combining interactivity, composition and storytelling within game-audio experiences. Taking inspiration from tales of the fourth-century Daoist philosopher Master Zhuang, it comprises an immersive experience in which participants navigate an ancient folktale set in a 3D virtual Chinese garden via a bird character (modelled by Mesárošová and Ferrer). The focus on birdsong was inevitably informed by Messiaen’s 1950s works, and also Harvey’s sampling in Bird Concerto with Pianosong (2001). However, the compositional methodology was entirely new, centring on a modular synthesiser created by Climent to mimic the syrinx, the songbird’s unique vocal organ, which produces highly complex timbres and rhythms by modulating two columns of airflow. The synthesiser used an oscillator and frequency modulator to recreate electronically the syrinx sounds of multiple birdsong recordings. These were combined with sampled live recordings of the Chinese pipa (a four-stringed lute), employed for its sonic similarities to birdsong. Both sound sources were transformed through fragmentation and manipulation to produce the music encountered within the virtual garden. As players follow the story’s narrative, they trigger pre-recorded fragments of the composition, but they also interact creatively by choosing how specific objects within the garden – each with associated sounds – are assembled. While previous research has produced effective interactive virtual instruments (e.g. Hamilton and Platz, Carrillon (2016)), and virtual spatialization tools (e.g. Dolphin, Cyclical Flow (2011)), this composition provides insights into ways in which musical creativity can be placed at the centre of interactive game-audio applications, resulting in highly poetic immersive experiences.