BREATHING MODE

 

In 2009, at the suggestion of GEUS, I contacted the seismologist Bo HolmJacobsen after having asked for the pure sound of the Earth’s tone, in the belief that everything must possess a sound. Bo Holm Jacobsen’s reply has remained with me as a recurring thought to dwell upon — perhaps even as a form of rest: the thought that we are standing on the Concert Pitch.

 

Dear Thomas,

I attach the sound file that is probably the one in question; What you hear is the movement of the Earth over a period of three months, transposed precisely 19 octaves.

 

You will hear two sharp cracks, which are two major earthquakes from December 2004. The last of these is the Sumatra earthquake. I should warn you against listening to the sound at high volume, as the two cracks are very sharp. Once they have passed, however, you may

turn up the volume and enjoy the pure reverberation of the Earth, very close to the note A (closer to Ab) — in practice, 

the note A 19 octaves below.

 

The phenomenon is that the Earth expands for approximately ten minutes and then contracts for approximately ten minutes. This mode of vibration is called the “breathing mode”, and because of  its perfect symmetry, its resonance time  is very long — in practice, several months.

 

Best regards

Bo Holm Jacobsen

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I composed the final work from this material and the result is a collage of times and moods that relates, in a ream like and associative way, to humanity’s conceptions of the sea: as myth, force of nature, and inner landscape. Listeners are drawn into the mysterious and fascinating world beneath the ocean.

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Visually, the compositions are accompanied by historical imagery that expands the work’s narrative and creates a sensory experience.  

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Historical images of human encounters with, and imaginings of, the sea are interwoven with deep-sea creatures, early submarines and sub-surface life, and technologies that give us access to a fraction of the deepest oceans.

 

The Album features the original recordings  by Danish seismologist Bo Holm Jacobsen whose pioneering work  has made it possible to hear the Earth’s natural oscillations by translating seismic measurements into the audible range—a rare opportunity to experience the resonant voice of our planet.

 

-Thomas Agergaard

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