PAPER INSTRUMENTS

SHEET MUSIC

is a project created by Alwynne Pritchard and Laura Murray (www.lauramurray.co.uk) in which sheets of material are manipulated to create very simple but precisely constructed musical instruments.

Seven materials are used in total - white photocopy paper, newspaper, tin foil, brown paper, plastic foil, paper bag (i.e. double sided sheet) and grease proof paper. The starting point for each instrument is a sheet of A3 material, which is either used complete or cut into strips of 0.5cm, 2.9cm or 5.8cm in width.

There are eight varieties of instrument in total – sheet, knitted, fluffed (designed by Glasgow artist David Sherry www.dave-sherry.com), streamers (in 3 sizes), scrunched (in 2 varieties x 1 (harder sound) and x 20 (softer sound)), corrugated, rolled and tied.

Each instrument demonstrates the subtly different sounds that can be produced when a single mass of material is distributed in different ways. All of the instruments are also reproduced in all seven materials, to give full clarity to the diversity between the sounds of each.

The instruments themselves were exhibited at the USF Verftet, Bergen, Norway (www.usf.no) in November 2006, as well as being used (amplified) at a concert given by Alwynne Pritchard's electronic improvisation quintet FAT BATTERY (www.fatbattery.com) at the AVGARDE concert series at the arts centre on the 11th of November 2006.

Photographs by Alwynne Pritchard

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FILM

INVISIBLE CITIES
 
Consists of four short films to Alwynne Pritchard's Invisible Cities for solo piano, performed by Nicolas Hodges.
Based on video footage by Ulrich Bohnefeld recorded in London 2006
 
Stefan Wimmer, SHIFT moving images, Munich
Jörg Staeger, SHIFT moving images, Munich
Felix Erdbrinck, SHIFT moving images, Munich
Ulrich Bohnefeld, BLUECAPRICORN Films, Wörthsee

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INSTALLATIONS

DARTINGTON INTERNATIONAL SUMMER SCHOOL
 
"The river dart is the backbone of Devon, from Dartmoor to Dartmouth the estuary and its towns comprise 10% of the county. First recorded in 1162 as the river Derte, the powerful river and its exceptional biodiversity have created and supported a unique way of life.

The Dart has its own unique sound, an eerie booming call as it marks its course past the Brad Stones. Legend has it that when the cry of the Dart is heard it is the river calling out for a heart to be given in human sacrifice! Undoubtedly this reaches deep into a Pagan past when the rivers held water deities, and with the unhappy coincidence of various fatal accidents over the centuries it has become compelling legend.

The Dart community poem by Alice Oswald enshrines the unique voice of the river and those who work along its shores, taking their many voices to ‘form a songline from the source to the sea’. Inspired by Oswald’s lyrical work Alwynne Pritchard and partner Thorolf Thuestad have created the Woodland Installation workshop for the prestigious Dartington International Summer School. The composition course starts with a brief introduction to the technologies to be used in preparation for a sound gathering trip across Dartington Estate to the banks of the Dart. The glorious countryside is not necessarily as quiet as city dwellers at first believe. From the calls of canoeists and people fishing to the shrieks of children playing at the waters edge, to the splashing of otters and waterfowl each sound leaves a bright mark across the clear air. Whilst the pulse of water boiling over rocks, the shimmering grasses and bosky undergrowth rich with rare insect species creates a sensuous undertone to the choir of birdsong.

A rich soundscape to work with back in the studio as sound artists Pritchard and Thuestad offer the benefit of their wisdom and support for participants to work with the sounds they have gathered. Open to all the possibilities brought by course participants, they wish to look beyond the obvious pastoral beauty to the ferocity in nature. The possibilities are endless as the sounds can be treated in any way to represent the softness of the sunlight or the deep body thrumming vibrations the fish ‘hear’ with their bodies.

The sounds will be worked and mixed into an installation where the visitor will trigger speakers as they move through the space in an echo of the natural environment. There will also be a concert allowing the addition of instruments, and a map will be created of where the sounds were gathered so visitors to the installation will then be able to take the walk to the river in pursuit of the original sounds."
 
- Sarah Jane Downing, The Big Issue
 
The WOODLAND INSTALLATION course took place in August 2006 and was open to participants of all ages and abilities.

Photographs by Liz Wright and Alwynne Pritchard