Music Bridge for House of Musical Arts Oman
14 Jan 2020
We were commissioned to design, build, programme and compose music and sound for a site-specific interactive installation. The location is a bridge that connects the House of Musical Arts with the Royal Opera House Muscat in Oman.
Our proposal turns the bridge into a technological instrument. Using a system of non-intrusive passive technologies: sensors and speakers all linked and controlled by a central computer system, the bridge can be programmed to create an unlimited number of immersive, interactive experiences for those crossing it.
By walking across the bridge, visitors trigger and explore one of a suite of 6 immersive musical scenes that have been variously arranged and composed specifically for the bridge’s 26 speaker surround sound system.
The installation encourages visitors and those using the bridge to explore both Eastern and Western musical ideas, past, present and future.
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The bridge changes every hour to feature a different musical scene, each of which vary in style and types of interaction:
- Harp Echoes — visitors are able to trigger different phrases and transpositions of the ancient Phrygian musical mode which set off echoes along the length of the bridge.
- Classical Oud — visitors are able to trigger different phrases from a classical oud performance in maqam Bayati over an evolving harmonic accompaniment.
- Omani Seascape — as they cross the bridge, visitors are enveloped in a evolving portrait of Oman’s coastline and its related folk songs.
- Omani Mountainscape — as they cross the bridge, visitors are enveloped in a evolving portrait of Oman’s mountainous regions and their related folk songs.
- Pachebel’s Canon — across the length of the bridge, visitors are able to explore different music phrases and layers of the composition.
- Debussy’s Claire de lune — across the length of the bridge, visitors are able to explore different music phrases and layers of the composition.
Director General and Artistic Director of ROHM Umberto Fanni:
“At Royal Opera House Muscat we are always striving to find new ways to delight and entertain audiences. The Musical Bridge is an innovative moment for us as we create a world-first interactive musical instrument. Through this bespoke system, visitors young and old can enjoy the freedom of music-making and learn something about Arabic and Western classical music in the process.“
If you’d like to find out more about our projects as installation composers and designers, head over to our website here.
