Soundscapes
National Gallery, London, July 8th to Sept 6th
In most museums and galleries, sound is pooh-poohed. The ping of a mobile phone brings a scowl; a mere giggle can prompt a prod from the security guard. The only sound that is welcome is the sound of silence. So the National Gallery is about to break a mould. “We want to give people a punch in the stomach,” says Minna Moore Ede, curator of “Soundscapes”, an immersive show that sets art to music in a bid to jumble our senses. “It’s about the converging of two worlds. You begin to hear the music in the visual, and, as a result, you start to see the visual in the music.”
She has asked seven musicians to pick a painting from the permanent collection and make a soundscape based on it. Nico Muhly, who writes opera and ballet scores and chamber music, chose “The Wilton Diptych”, c.1395-99 – a stunning portable altarpiece made for King Richard II. His response is a 40-minute composition that guides you through the artwork. “Halfway through, there’s a soft tinkling noise,” says Moore Ede. “It’s the angels.”
Gabriel Yared, who won an Oscar for scoring “The English Patient”, chose Cézanne’s “Bathers” (above), c.1894-1905. Rather than bring the painting to life, Yared wants to make us feel we have climbed right into it. He lines the room with speakers that spurt voices and orchestral chimes, filling the space with the murmur of the Mediterranean. Jamie Smith, of the art-rock band The XX, makes an electronic reading of Théo van Rysselberghe’s “Coastal Scene”, c.1892, that should be as hypnotic as the painting itself.
Gallery walls tend to get smothered with chunks of art history. Here, information is toast, and the music won’t even be on iTunes – a smart move for a show that relies on emotion and intuition. “I want people to connect with the space,” Moore Ede says. “I want the experience to be overwhelming, engulfing, visceral, in the way that painting is meant to be.”
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