Planets - Constellations 2.0
Composition
The 6th part of the Arecibo message is a visual representation of the 9 planets in the solar system and the sun. The sizes are denoted by how many squares are covered and the 3rd rising planet is the earth - where the original message is from.
This part of the message was supposedly created to allow the extra terrestrials to path their route to earth. However, it doesn't have any information regarding stars which is counter-intuitive given that the message was sent to a star cluster.
Constellations 2.0 (following on from Constellations 1.0 in 2nd year) is a data sonification of the position of stars and their constellations in the northern hemisphere. This leads to a score that is simple yet elegant - leading to a work that has no meter or restriction to the duration of the performance.
Inspired by works, such as The New York Skyline Melody, that uses lines and pictures to depict musical notation, I have created a work that embeds the constellation patterns of stars. My work sits in a musical field that explains scientific principles in a simple yet beautiful manner that is understood and appreciated by all - similar to works such as Distant Harmony.
The score is deliberately bare - there is no indication of instrument meaning that timbre can be open to interpretation (however one should be aware that chords are likely to be encounted).
Pitch is determined by the distance from the central star, stars that are further from the centre are higher in pitch. The constellation lines connecting the stars together represents the sustain. An example of this in practice is shown below but again the score is open to interpretation - especially when a star is connected to two sustains of different lengths (My interpretation is shown below). The stars and constellations are not uniformly arranged, meaning that the work is not fixed by meter nor by tonality.
Tempo is approximately 2 degrees of the circle per second. If this was to be performed live, it would be advised the performer uses the video as the score for the movement of the line instead of 'guessing' where the line would approximately be. Given the shape of the score it allows performers to loop round the circle infinitely. They can start and finish anywhere in the hemisphere and even perform it backwards - producing a different sound world quite literally.
The central star Polaris is always in the centre and should always be heard throughout this work. Its position means that it is the bass note switching between Eb,B,A and D every 90 degrees. In my musical interpretation each bass note is situated at the four corners of the hemisphere. Why these notes in particular? Using the German Extended System we translate the notes into STAR which is easy for the performer to remember. This extended system is what is known as a surjective function (many-to-one) - it is not an isomorphism because the function between the two sets would need to be bijective (both injective (one-to-one) and surjective).
On reflection, there are some opportunities to experiment further with this sonification. For example, having a line that spans the diameter of the circle would mean having two 'lines' of music and could create some new interesting harmonies and rhythms. In addition, I only used the northern hemisphere of stars; so including the southern stars through an extra musical line or the setting for Constellations 3.0 could lead to some more fascinating projects.
(585 words)
Rights for the use of the constellations hemisphere picture have been purchased. You can read the fascinating licencing details by clicking here