Singing Our Place

Abstract

The article describes a year-long exploration of the human voice and song and sound as a way to connect with the world and ourselves. The exploration was part of Teater Vivas’ Nordic project ‘Singing Our Place’, which investigates connections between modern people and our surroundings through singing our places together. The author shares her experiences with interactive singing performances and community plays and she shares the questions she has explored through the artistic work: Does singing have anything to do with our relationship with our environment? Can we get to know our landscapes by singing? Can we make a new connection to ourselves and our surroundings through singing? What is the song of your favorite place like? What is the song of your body like? What is the sound of our Future on our common planet?

We live in a time of great change and challenges. The climate is changing, our places are changing and we must debate whether our way of living in the world also demands a change. Is it possible in modern societies to consider singing as a way of knowing and relating to our places and our common world in new ways? Are we still able to listen? To our surroundings and ourselves? Or have we become unable to hear and give voice to the Earth, to Life and to what ties us together? The Nordic project ‘Singing Our Place’ travelled to Tuva, Nepal, Mexico, Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland. The project invited people to express their experience of their places and surroundings trough singing new improvised songs. We live in times of plastic, pollution, noise, conflicts, isolation and fear of the future. The article offers us a sounding vision. Can we sing new paths?

Notes

1 For more information see the Teater Viva website at https://bit.ly/2YvibB2 and https://bit.ly/2HJHquy, the ‘Singing Our Place’ Facebook page at http://bit.ly/2JNqZiu and Katrine Faber on Sound Cloud at http://bit.ly/2U6nLLW

2 For example Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth, Marie Louise von Franz Creation Myth.

3 See ‘The Effect of Music on Plant Growth’ at https://bit.ly/2c08hUs, ‘The Dawn Chorus and Life Forces’ at https://bit.ly/2OQTLfS

4 See ‘Here's what happens to your brain when you listen to music’ at https://bit.ly/2OdLwv7

5 Caroline Bithell A Different Voice, a Different Song: Reclaiming Community Through the Natural Voice and World Song, pp. 233–41.

6 The science behind how nature affects your health’ at https://bit.ly/2Fegjnz