rīvus ~ The Great Animal Orchestra
In a large marquee on the Stargazer Lawn (with only the planets and a few bright stars with so much light pollution) is The Great Animal Orchestra by Bernie Krause and United Visual Artists.
Krause began soundscape ecology in 1986 and has recorded 15,000 species in nearly 50 years. The immersive soundscape comes to life with visualisations, created by United Visual Artists, of each animal’s contributions to the ‘orchestra’ in vulnerable habitats in Africa, North America, the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon.
His wonderful field recordings are accompanied by audiovisual representations of their sonic fingerprints. Different habitats have very different affects.
I closed my eyes- the sounds of the sea shine, the noise of the Amazonian jungle at night is richer than a Mahler symphony. A jaguar’s deep growling is visceral, close and personal. Nature and culture have grown out of step, out of reach, out of sight, and out of hearing with different rhythms and ways of being. 
Krause is imploring us to listen before the great animal orchestra is silenced. An echo of Rachel Carson.
