Listening spaces
Composer John Cage’s 4’ 33” (1952), a “performance” of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence, is recognised as “haunting” the late twentieth century soundscape. Since January, Piaras Hoban and Áine Mangaoang, two postgraduates in the Music Department, University College Cork, have facilitated weekly listening sessions. Each week, participants are invited to contribute a sound piece to be listened to by the group. This communal listening experience focuses concentration on hearing what is being listened to and thereby making the act of listening more sensitive. The pieces listened to so far have been Automatic Writing (1979) by Robert Ashley, I Am Sitting in a Room (1970) by Alvin Lucier and Ghosts I-IV (2008) by Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). While each piece is different all attempt to evoke and shape an atmospheric sonic space. Sounds of vacant space For John Cage, there is no such thing as absolute silence. It is a relative phenomenon. This perception endures. Cage’s