West Stairwell is an exploration of sounds captured within one of the Charlotte Street Arts Centre’s main thoroughfares.
The Charlotte Street Arts Centre (CSAC) has shared the first composition by sound artist Charles Harding, made entirely from sounds collected within the walls of the Centre’s 140 year old home.
‘Basically, the way I’ve been approaching this [residency] in the first month is as an analysis of this building,” said Harding. “The hums… the creeks and cracks…the beeps from the security system…and also the sounds the building affords to people as they use it.”
For his composition West Stairwell, Harding placed a variety of microphones throughout one of the building’s main thoroughfares, a stairwell which runs from the basement floor to the top floor.
“Usually a lot of the sounds in these places aren’t the focus of people’s attention,” said Harding. “If you’re going through a staircase you’re trying to get from one floor to the next. You don’t spend a lot of time in these spaces.”
As both a contrast and a compliment to the low hum of the stairwell’s reverberating handrail, Harding brought in a cymbal to create and capture a similar tone of a different pitch.
“I wanted to use not only things that were already existing in the space, but also bring in a musical instrument that was metal, similar to the metal railings, as a play on musicality and performance. The piece itself is a mix of the things the space afforded with a performance on an instrument.”
Over the next seven months Harding will continue to explore the sounds of the Charlotte Street Arts Centre sharing new recordings along the way.
“If there are ghosts in here, I’ll find them,” he said.
Learn more about Charles Harding’s work by visiting charlesharding.ca
Charles’ residency is made possible through support from the New Brunswick Arts Board.
