Living Symphonies is a landscape sound installation that portrays the moment-to-moment activity of a woodland ecosystem at Compton Verney.

Each organism within the forest is portrayed within the piece, creating a symphony that unfolds in real-time across undergrowth, trees and canopy, with each species — from fungi and moss to insects, birds and mammals — composed from thousands of fragments of sound, scored and recorded with an array of musicians.

Based on an in-depth ecological research period, working with local wildlife experts and volunteers, Living Symphonies continuously grows and evolves in the same way as the forest itself. Musical motifs swarm and flutter across the space, heard through a network of speakers hidden throughout the site. The piece responds to the time of day and real-time atmospheric conditions, with the composition transforming as the weather and light change through day and night.

Living Symphonies FAQs

Download the Living Symphonies leaflet here.

Accessibility

Living Symphonies is a sound-based project that responds to a woodland environment and is located in the only section of woodland on our site that is not next to a road. We recognise that the location of the woodland may be a barrier to access for people with limited mobility. We are working on improving physical access to the wider parkland, particularly for our outdoor installations including Living Symphonies. For this project, we have had steps and handrails installed in the sloping paths in the woodland to help people to access the site of the sound installation more easily. In addition, we are working to raise the necessary funds to obtain an accessible off-road vehicle such as a tramper, to enable visitors to access our grounds and parkland more easily

Composed and realised by Jones/Bulley (James Bulley and Daniel Jones)

*We express thanks to our neighbouring farmer, who has kindly given their kind permission for Compton Verney to host this installation.

Image: Gregory White