E U S T A C H I A  F O R  V O I C E S

Jacob Kirkegaard © 2017. Duration 17 minutes

Eustachia for Voices is a new vocal work composed from tones generated in the inner ear. These tones, called spontaneous otoacoustic emissions (or SOAE), are produced - without external stimulation - in the ears of some people. Whereas the combinations of tones emitted from one ear can be dissonant, microtonal and complex, tones emitted from the other ear can be harmonious and 'in tune'. Each emitting ear produces something akin to an acoustic fingerprint; these are the basis of the composition

The SOAEs used for this composition were recorded and collected by Kirkegaard from the ears of members of the Danish choir Aarhus Pigekor. All 'ear chords' were recorded, filtered, analyzed, and then interpreted for voices. This choral work thereby connects two intimate organs of our body: the ear and the voice. The ears are the composers, the voices perform the tones emitted by the ears

Composed by Jacob Kirkegaard with voice arrangement by Katinka Fogh Vindelev. Eustachia for Voices was first performed live by the Aarhus Pigekor in August 2017 in Denmark. Choir leader: Helle Høyer Vedel. The event was part of SonicArk 2017 (and part of Aarhus Culture City 2017) and lead and curated by Swiss artist Andres Bosshard