‘Cathedrals’ is a collection of field recordings made between 2018 and 2019 at locations in or near several Australian UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, "learning places for sustainable development,… sites for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity".
In part inspired and in part assisted by Leah Barclay’s ‘Biosphere Soundscapes’ project, the recordings document three locations:
- Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve on Jinibara Country (QLD), in the region of Noosa Biosphere Reserve
- Wamoon/Wilson’s Promontory on Koori Country (VIC), site of Wilson’s Promontory Biosphere Reserve
- Pukumako/Calperum Station on Meru Country (SA), site of Riverland Biosphere Reserve
During the period of recording, the iconic Notre Dame suffered extensive fire damage. Many wealthy people pledged money towards its restoration, totalling over €1 billion. This response in return received backlash via social media posts entitled ‘Rebuild This Cathedral’, featuring pictures of multiple environments under threat from climate change and anthropogenic activity, critiquing the mass neglect of our natural cathedrals.
As much as its architecture, a cathedral’s identity is expressed in its soundscape, a field of acoustic energy revealing the daily rituals and liturgical observances of the site.
In framing these recording sites as sacred spaces for humans and non-humans alike, each with their own daily cycles of dawn and dusk choruses and seasonal changes, this album seeks to impart a reverence for these and other environments, with an aspiration for the listener to consider other natural cathedrals in need of restoration and rebuilding.
credits
released February 8, 2021
Recorded and edited by Jesse Budel.
For the recordings at Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, special thanks to Helpmann Academy for the provision of a 2018 Grant, as well as Leah Barclay, Vicki Hallett and Alice Bennett for their support onsite as part of the 2018 Ecoacoustics Congress in Brisbane.
For the Wamoon/Wilson’s Promontory recordings, special thanks to Andrew Thomas for his support as an old hiking buddy and confidante.
For the Pukumako/Calperum Station recordings, special thanks to Country Arts SA and the Regional Arts Fund for their support of the Riverland Biosphere Soundscape Lab which made these recordings possible, as well as attendees Alysha Herrmann, Alex Randell, Jess Martin, Keira Simmons, Therese and Christopher Williams, Beau Devlin, Tom Hunt, Georgia Koerber and the Australian Landscape Trust.
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