WATSON, CHRIS - Cima Verde

The UKs Chris Watson is the worlds leading wildlife sound recordist. He was a founding member of Cabaret Voltaire and The Hafler Trio, and a sound archivist for the UKs Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. He has since joined a film and video production company, working on BBC wildlife documentaries and occasional feature films. Following a period of residence at Monte Bondone in the Italian Alps and Paneveggio Park forest preserve, Chris Watson was invited to explore the acoustic phenomena of Trentino, Italy to capture the atmospheres and sounds of the alpine environment. A series of sound recordings made in situ, resulting in the CD Cima Verde, present the soundscapes uncovered by Watson, which capture the change in seasons from winter to spring, the different degrees of altitude, the reawakening of sounds on the cusp between night and day and the alternating and mixing of audio signals that characterize different natural habitats. Dosso DAbramo, Cornetto and Cima Verde are the three peaks of Monte Bondone. There is air in motion; ice crystals, water vapor and changing pressure mix and merge into an annual dance across a deep blue sky. This is sound into light. Down alpine slopes, across high pastures and into the forests, a frozen mountain of sound thaws out from a mono bloc and into an ordered seven-stage descent through 3000m of unique acoustic habitats. Jumbled chords are snatched from passing ravens, blackgrouse performances, tawny owl signals, and the clear silver song of the nightingale. Shapes and music, rhythm and sound, a series of ritual performances for animal ears.- Fondazione Edmund Mach