On the Generation of Sounds is a lecture-performance after Robert Grosseteste in which biofeedback and live electronics meet medieval physics of sound. It is the second work in a series exploring the writings of Robert Grosseteste, following the 2011 choral installation/performance, On the Operations of the Sun.
The project investigates Robert Grosseteste’s thirteenth-century treatise on sound and phonetics, De Generatione Sonorum through live electro-acoustic performance.
The sounds of the human voice are modulated by motion-sensing technologies in response to Grosseteste’s ideas, such as the relationship between the formation of vowels and different types of motion.
On the Generation of Sounds was first presented as part of the Cambridge Festival of Ideas, October 2015.
Technical Requirements for Performance:
- Four full-range loudspeakers surrounding performance area (FL, FR, RL, RR at corners of performance space).
- Tall table/lecture-style podium
- HD projection system with HDMI access
- TRS cabling and 3 × 240VAC power outlets to table