The Way of the Spirit is the result of a collaboration between Barry Truax and that explores the interrelationship between the inner and outer worlds of consciousness. All sounds are derived from the two live instruments: the deeply philosophical Japanese one string ichigenkin and shakuhachi end blown flute, both associated with Zen for their expressions of the duality of life and spirit, simplicity and complexity, material and immaterial. The circle of loudspeakers places the listener within the live and digitally enhanced instruments as the dialogue between the two develops in intensity.The Way of the Spirit was premiered at the Sonic Boom Festival in Vancouver in March 2006.
The Way of the Spirit is available on the Cambridge Street Records CD, Spirit Journies.
Note: the 8-channel version of this work was created with Richmond Sound Design's AudioBox computer-controlled diffusion system.
Technical noteThe work was realized using material provided by the composer's PODX system which incorporates the DMX-1000 Digital Signal Processor controlled by a PDP Micro-11 computer with software for real-time granular synthesis and signal processing developed by the composer in the School for the Contemporary Arts at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV, with additional material processed with Tom Erbe's SoundHack convolution program. The sounds were recorded on 8-track digital tape and the AudioBox, and mixed in the Sonic Research Studio at ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV. Original impulse response file provided by Worldwide Soundspace library, some of which is now available in Peak's "Impulseverb" for OSX.