CanonicalHour Alexander Tyrrell datsheet (PDF)

Alex Tyrrell
144 Andrewes House
Barbican, London (U K)
EC2Y 8BA
alex ityrrell@g mail.co m
(+44)7922693 119

Title : Canon ical Hour
The term Canonica l Ho ur( s) ha s re leva nce in protestant Ch ristian ity, Catholicism and Juda ism: in
genera l it relates to th e delinea tion o f fix ed p eriod s for p rayer. It relates to a lo ng trad ition of
canonized and regu lar prayer in Ab rahamic relig ion s. My piece, a s a pseudo relig ious or sim ply
medita tion experience, seeks to utilise the pow er o f electroacou stic so und and music to pro vo ke a
medita tional atmosph ere fo r th e listen er in th is tradition. A lthough a theis t in na ture, this p ie ce
places va lue on the notion o f prayer as a med itationa l p ractice, and a ttemp ts to find relevan ce in
sound as a facilitato r o f canon ica l p rayer.
The sound s will be take n from my own med ita tive reco rd ings, as well as field record ing s and spoken
voice reco rdin gs tha t e ncourage contemp la tio n. The aud io w ill be played back or performed at
random so a s to infe r a sense of chaos and o rd er a t once.
The piece will requ ire either :
1. 9 speakers (which will be pro vided b y myself, and hung fro m th e ceiling) and a po wer
supply. Where listen ers will be fre e to sit and dwell in the sound en viron men t .
2. Or 4 wide rang ing sp ea kers arranged on th e po ints o f a square facing to the midd le o f the
sound en viron men t on the ground . The listeners will b e free to sit and dwell in the sound
environ men t.