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Lena Herzog

Last Whispers. An Immersive Oratorio for Vanishing Voices, Collapsing Universes and a Falling Tree

Installation (first version, AV), 2016; (immersive version, VR), 2022

Blueprint, C++, Unreal Engine, Maya; AlloSphere; VR build and spatialized sound; VR 360 playback [00:30:00, black and white, sound]; murals

Special thanks to Jonathan Yomayuza, Marco Capalbo, Mark Mangini, Amanda Tasse, Maggie Morris, Kevin Tsuki

“Last Whispers” is an experiential, immersive project dedicated to the mass cultural extinction — of languages. It is an incantation of extinct and endangered languages. It is both a modern as well as a traditional choral work. The spatialized sound composition layers recordings of speech, recitatives, incantations, songs and ritual chants, with audible punctuations of sounds from nature and outer space frequencies (made audible), including gravitational waves of supernovas (dying stars) recorded by LIGO, “The Listening Ear.” The impact of “Last Whispers” is amplified through its use of cutting edge image and sound design, and technology. Visually, the audience is dropped into landscapes and symbols devoid of people, as human voices call from deep space. The immersive and spatialized sound projection is interpreted by the human ear as a distinct 360° soundscape. This enveloping visual and sound environment prompts the brain to perceive the voices in the piece as “present” and “real.” “Last Whispers”, premiered at The British Museum and The Venice Biennale.

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