Lise Lebleux

Auf der Suche nach Echo - En quête d'Écho presents the winter sounds of the Salzburg region. As the result of a residency at the Salzburger Kunstverein, I travelled and explored this region, equipped with my microphones. I was able to record a variety of sounds, such as a rock fall in a quarry, the resonance of an organ, or the haunting song of a woman. This sound composition reveals the particular sounds of the landscape and the occupations of the people who live there, such as transporting building materials by helicopter to the top of the mountains.

In this geographical depression, the sound environment is amplified by the surrounding rock faces; the mountain landscape creating a specific kind of echo. During the sound recording sessions, the microphones recorded acoustic effects that were sometimes inaudible to the human ear. One of these acoustic effects is called the "amphitheatre effect", which is specific to the valley. It is characterised by an amplification of sound, a particularly low-pitched sound, caused by the reflection of sound waves off the curved walls of the environment. This phenomenon varies according to height, temperature and time of day. This specific echo of the mountain landscape is also found in the story of the mountain nymph, Echo, who is condemned to be unable to speak except to repeat the last words she heard. The woman's song in the composition Auf der Suche nach Echo - En quête d'Écho attempts to echo the voice of Echo lost in the mountains.