Dawn Chorus: Transitional Narratives; 3.30am – 5.30am – 2018
This set of twelve digital prints signed and printed by Charrington Editions. It was initially inspired by listening to a dawn chorus in Northumberland, from before dark to the opening out of the day, in May. Together their songs are represented variously as digitally manipulated sonograms and musical transcriptions.
50 x 50 cm Ed. 20 Unframed
Redstart 1: 3.30am: the Redstart is often one of the first birds to be heard in this liminal period between night and day. These first two prints play with simple notations of Redstart song derived from Geoff Sample’s sonograms. See below for Redstart 2.Redstart 2: 3.30am: the Redstart is often one of the first birds to be heard in this liminal period between night and day. These first two prints play with simple notations of Redstart song derived from Geoff Sample’s sonograms. See above for Redtsart 1.Three Blackbirds ‘riffing’: 3.45am: we now move from night to the early pre-dawn, when three Blackbirds begin riffing off each other.Blackbirds and Robins: 3.50am: here the Robin (who had begun singing prior to the Blackbirds) is responding to the Blackbirds and finding its voice between their song – sometimes interrupting it.Turdine Chorus Build Up 1: 4.00am: now the Song Thrush joins the Blackbirds and Robins.Turdine Chorus Build Up 2: 4.05 – 4.10am: the sky lightens and the whole turdine chorus is rolling: robin, blackbird and song thrush (residents) – and redstart, with the soft, repetitive ‘coo, coo, cu cu’ of the Woodpigeon beginning to underscore the soundscapeDawn Chorus Progression 1 with Turdines and Sibilants: 4.15am: the morning air acts a filter allowing the warmer colours (pink and yellow) to glow – and individuals of other species start to sing: wren, great tit, blue tit, chiffchaff, chaffinch, nuthatch, and warblersDawn Chorus Progression 2 with Turdines and Sibilants: 4.20am: now the Chaffinch adds to the growing chorus.Dawn Chorus Progression 3 with Turdines and Sibilants: 4.25am: in our chorus, the Greenfinch, Spotted Flycatcher and Great Tit can now be heard. Full Dawn Chorus: between 4.30am and 5.00am: the full chorus of sixteen birds in our dawn chorus approaches cacophony – a sense of ordered chaos. Thinning Out 1: beyond 5.30am: the day opens out and the chorus continues at a more subdued level, rising and falling in intensity as different species or individuals become vocally active. What we get now is a different mix of species at any particular time, with more space in the overall density of voices.Thinning Out 2: beyond 5.30am: the day opens out and the chorus continues at a more subdued level, rising and falling in intensity as different species or individuals become vocally active. What we get now is a different mix of species at any particular time, with more space in the overall density of voices.Set of 12: This set of twelve digital prints signed and printed by Charrington Editions. It was initially inspired by listening to a dawn chorus in Northumberland, from before dark to the opening out of the day, in May. Together their songs are represented variously as digitally manipulated sonograms and musical transcriptions.
