THE ORCHESTRAL FOREST: AUDIO SAMPLES

Audio samples from the live performance of The Orchestral Forest

A Temperate Rainforest: Coedydd Maentwrog, Wales

Narration and soundscape build the sonic world of a temperate rainforest: a stream dances through the undergrowth and rain falls on leaves, birds weave a symphony of song.

1 - Introduction incl. excerpt of Tabakova 'The Patience of Trees'

Dobrinka Tabakova The Patience of Trees (20’)

A Temperate Rainforest: Coedydd Maentwrog, Wales

Footsteps enter the rainforest soundscape and birdsong turns to alarm calls, before calm returns. Humans are in awe of nature’s beauty and the two coexist.

2 - Sample of Temperate Rainforest soundscape

Felix Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream (12’)

A Spruce Plantation: Fernworthy Forest, Devon

The muted sounds of a coniferous plantation are gradually overwhelmed by forestry machinery; they grow increasingly violent until a final tree falls with a reverberating thud.

3 - Sample of Spruce Plantation and Forestry soundscape

Vagn Holmboe To the Pollution of Nature (8’)

A Clear-Felled Forest: Craigieburn, Scotland

The deafening silence of a felled forest, devoid of life and nature. A sole piano mournfully enters, reflecting on the destruction – but Boulanger’s music then shifts, a glimmer of hope towards new life.

4 - Sample of Clear-Felled Forest soundscape

Nadia Boulanger Vers la vie nouvelle (4’)

A Wildwood: Carrifran, Scotland

A young, native wildwood planted just 25 years ago is alive with birdsong. Voices – taken from news reports, speeches and environmentalists – overlay the beginning of the Nyman, highlighting the value of temperate rainforests, acting both as a call to action and a vision of hope for the future.

5 - Sample of Wildwood and Nyman overlay soundscape

Michael Nyman Strong on Oaks, Strong on the Causes of Oaks (4’)

Recorded music is taken from the live performance by Sinfonia Smith Square in autumn 2024