Empty Orchestra - Universe of Sound

Universe of Sound

'Universe of Sound' is a music installation currently taking place in the old municipal bank, Birmingham. Normally when I hear the word 'installation' I think 'not for me thank you'; I try to appreciate all forms of art, but often the realm of modern art and installations are beyond me. This, however, is not one of those installations. 

Using darkened rooms and large screens, the Universe of Sound is essentially a virtual tour of the Philharmonia Orchestra; but it is so much more than that. All around you, Holst's The Planets is playing whilst you walk through a series small rooms, each with empty chairs and an accompanying music stand with a copy of the score sitting expectantly, waiting for someone to fill the seat and play the line. Each room represents a section of the orchestra - lower brass, harps, woodwind, upper strings etc - and each room has screens featuring the players of the Philharmonia Orchestra relevant to that section. As you sit in each section (we began with lower brass) the sound of those instruments are louder in relation to the whole orchestra, as though you are genuinely sitting amongst them. As I was following the 1st tuba solo, casting my eyes between the music in front of me and the 1st tuba player on screen, I jumped as a trombone entrance sounded strongly from my right hand side - I looked, and there on the screen were the trombones, proudly playing their line.

From a musicians point of view, it is very interesting - you can sit in areas of the orchestra that you've never done so before, listening and interacting with how their part fits into the whole. But as a non-musician, or a non-classical musician, it is still absolutely fascinating; you do not have to follow the scores of music, but you can sit, watch and listen, immersing yourself into the virtual orchestra pit. 

As with all the best audience-friendly exhibitions, there is also an interactive room. The percussion section. Oh I happy I was! I always wanted to play in the percussion section, and I dabbled with the marimbas for a year or two whilst at college, so you can imagine the joy when I turned the corner and saw a row of percussion instruments, waiting to be played. There was also a very friendly chap from the Philharmonia Orchestra, sporting a bright yellow t-shirt, ready to tell us which instruments to play next and how; we were just in time for the tambourine solo. Again, virtual screens talked you through your entrances, but the friendly yellow man would explain things first - one long shake, then tap; long shake, then tap; quick shake, tap; quick shake, tap; quick shake tap; quick shake tap. Then came the bass drum - we could do this together. Libby and I armed ourselves with large, soft beaters then with a queue from the yellow man we hit the bass drum from either side, then counted to two, then hit again. The aim was to gradually get louder as the orchestra grew in sound; as we are both somewhat excitable people we started off a little heavy, but managed to pull back before the big crescendo then drum roll at the end. Amazing.

I shan't run through all sections of the installation, as it will ruin the element of surprise. I do, however, strongly recommend going, whether you are a classical musician or not. There is something hauntingly beautiful about it - the empty chairs, the unturned pages of music. The whole place feels like you are privy to something that only a few people in the world experience - as though you shouldn't be there, as though you are hiding amongst the orchestra; an empty orchestra.

http://www.universeofsound.co.uk/