konstellation
Konstellation is a musical piece as a part of Works for Wave Field Synthesis project, presented at Club Transmediale (CTM), in Berlin, in January 2013.
Works for Wave Field Synthesis operates on the edge between technical and artistic exploration and focuses on the distribution of sound in space, utilizing a ring of 192 computer-controlled loudspeakers, forming a 'wave field synthesis array'.
What is Wave Field Synthesis?
Wave-field synthesis (WFS), based on the Huygen principle (named after the Dutch mathematician and physicist Christiaan Huygens), assumes that the wavefront of a particular sound source can be recreated as the infinite sum of smaller sound sources located along this front. Thus, the placement of a huge number of virtual sound sources in or out of this arrangement is allowed in space.
Most spectacular is the effect of locating a sound source inside the head of a listener, an experience that cannot be achieved with other techniques. The large number of speakers is the equivalent to a large number of pixels in the visual world, enabling subtle and precise placements in space and a impossible depth of field. Wave field synthesis is a new technique that relies on powerful computers and on advanced algorithms for calculating the signals going to each speaker.
Works for Wave Field Synthesis consists of two parts, the creation of a modular software framework and the creation of musical works that make use of the software.
Framework
The framework allows to place and move sound sources dynamically with a a set of Max objects, and a Max4Live device. Those objects, developed by Robert Henke, dramatically simplify the usage of the system and make it possible to achieve artistic results without too much technical overhead.
The Max objects include algorithms for randomly spreading sources in a given area, to change the position of sources over time, to rotate, mirror or shift sources or groups of sources, to support distance dependent volume curves, Doppler effects, and much more.
The framework also provides a highly customizable real time source position display including a direct video recording option and several 'user layers' that can be utilized for more audiovisual works.
The Musical Work
The sound piece "Konstellation" is based on Concrete Poetry, an artistically movement emerged in the early 1950 which can be considered as a Visual Poetry. Here, the arrangement of the words is as important as the other conventional elements of a poem, such as meaning of words, rhythm and rhyme.
The visual structure of the poem is as important as his content.
“Works for Wave Field Synthesis got awarded with an Honorary Mention in the 'Digital Musics' category of Prix Ars Electronica 2013.”
(For a better experience, the use of headphones is recommended)