Ultimo sueño

"The bells of Morelia Cathedral ring out from a beautiful baroque building of pink stone. The deep, rich sounds of these bells was the first inspiration for the piece. But, when I think of the Mexican Baroque, I immediately think of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, so this piece also takes inspiration from her poem Primero Sueño. The whispered text is excerpted from the poem itself, while the sung text is a dreamlike response – a last dream, rather than a first. 

I’m drawn to bells because of their rich waves of overtones. To make the sonic bed for the piece, I took the original field recording of the bell and manipulated it to bring out the small details these overtones. The original bell is accompanied by my own recordings of smaller bells, the strings of a piano, and a low cello drone. I am singing my poetic response to Sor Juana in a style inspired by early chant. The piece concludes with the original field recording.

Cathedral bells at Morelia reimagined by Kamala Sankaram.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage