Chalice Well is
a holy well situated at the foot of Glastonbury Tor in southwest
England, thought to be originally the island of Avalon from Arthurian
legend, and the site where Joseph of Arimathea placed the chalice known
as the Holy Grail. According to legend, the Tor, a masculine symbol, is
hollow underneath and the entrance to the underworld, guarded by the
Grail. The well, on the other hand, is a symbol of the feminine aspect
of deity, and its waters are believed to possess healing qualities.
This soundscape
composition takes
the listener on an imaginary journey down into the well, passing
through several cavernous chambers on its descent, filled with rushing
and trickling water, including the chamber of the feminine spirit. The
journey continues to the glass chamber, then to the gates of the
underworld, only to be confronted by the image of the Grail, and
finally
coming to rest in the space where wind and water, the masculine and the
feminine, are combined.
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| Scenes: | The Well & Descent | Chamber of the Feminine | Glass Chamber & the Underworld | The Grail & Chamber of the Spirits |
| Time: | 0:00 |
4:10 | 8:26 | 10:40 |
| Audio: |
Part
1
|
Part
2
|
Part
3
|
Part
4
|
| Spectragram: |
|
|
Part 3 |
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Technical
note:
20
files, both short and long, of granular type material (e.g. granular
synthesis, phonemes, various types of water sounds, glass breaking and
gated locks) were convolved
with each other in various combinations using SoundHack to produce
about 200 hybrids, each normalized with high frequency boost, and later
EQ'd with fades added. Four related hybrids, each stereo, were placed
in an eight-channel configuration, with up to four such 8-track layers
being mixed into the final version. A few of the elements, such as the
convolved vocalizations, were spatially rotated. In general, the piece
can be heard as an extension of part 3 of Island,
namely
the Cistern or Well section, since the dripping and splashing
sound are in common.
Source material provided by the World Soundscape Project (trickle, locks, river, rain), David Monacchi (bubbles, splashes, and well), and Damian Keller (glass break, waterstream).