Scores for Rotterdam investigates this relationship through vocal experiments recorded at three sites of the city, selected for their distinct sonic qualities: metro station Wilhelminapier, the Maastunnel and the concrete forest beneath the railway viaduct at Mevlanaplein.

The urban setting is mirrored in vocality as the non-verbal singing voices offer guidance to imagine the space around them. Unexpectedly, the baritone singer at the metro station resembles the “buffo” character (from the comic genre opera buffa) as his voice traverses and “dismisses” the city noise but also playfully engages with it.

I collaborated with Mercedes Azpilicueta to develop the concept for this work, find the sites, and write three graphic scores performed by Zuri Ramirez & The Codarts Composers Ensemble. A public activation of the score for Mevlanaplein, a public space traversed by a raised rail line, creating a cathedral of concrete pillars, was staged in May 2019 in partnership with de Groene Connectie initiative.

In the exhibition, an installation by Azpilicueta, composed of three textile bodies translate these experiments onto tangible pieces, marking architectural patterns and the dynamics of sounds passing through them. The textiles seem to clothe invisible bodies, which are made perceptible by the voices they emit.