An innovative installation based on the sounds of ancient Greek pots has opened at the University of Aberdeen’s Marischal Museum.
The work entitled, Resonare/In Absentia, will be played next to the Greek vases that are on display in Marischal Museum for the next month.
The music was composed by Bill Thompson, of the University’s Music Department. He said: “In this piece, I was granted access to the museum's collection of ancient Greek pottery. I wanted my work to somehow honour them without misappropriating their identity, as so often happens with museum artefacts.
“I decided to focus on the resonance that dwells within each vase, building a multiple CD/speaker installation that combines these delicate hums and whispers. My intention was to metaphorically ‘leave no fingerprints’ in that I intended to focus on the untreated and un-manipulated resonances.
“Later when I edited the source recordings, miniscule unintentional sounds made by myself became apparent. Instead of editing these out, I decided to incorporate them into the installation to remind myself that even with the best intentions, it is impossible to not leave some trace when coming into contact with another culture.”
The museum’s collection of ancient Greek pottery is one of the finest in Scotland, dating to the 5th and 4th centuries BC and normally buried as grave goods.
A selection of some particularly fine items bequeathed to the University by Alexander Henderson in 1863 is on permanent display in the museum.
Most of the pots on display were used during ‘symposions’, gatherings of men for drinking, conversation and music. Rather than trying to reconstruct the music that was played over 2000 years ago, this piece attempts to give voice to the resonance that has quietly reflected the sounds around them since they came into existence.
Neil Curtis, Senior Curator of Marischal Museum said: “I am very excited by this new way of recording and displaying the collection. The contrast between the untouchable pots in glass cases and the enigmatic sounds Bill has created is striking, while hinting at lost sounds of their manufacture, use, burial, discovery, collection and display.
“It also raises interesting ideas about how museum objects are recorded and interpreted, demonstrating an aspect that is usually ignored.”
The installation was launched as part of the concert DISCOVERIES XXXIII in Marischal Museum.