Saqqara
1 sound
“Saqqara”, a duet for metal structure and modular synthesizer, was inspired by the sculpture Pyramidal Structure – Sakkarah located behind Jeffrey Hall. This piece is more literally inspired by the sculpture itself as all of the sounds used in this piece (not including the tones from the modular synthesizer) are recorded noises of myself banging on the metal to hear its resonant tones using contact microphones (see cover photo). Not only are the sounds directly from the structure, but the story guiding my piece comes from the inspiration for said structure, the ancient Saqqara burial grounds in Egypt. After researching the history of this location, I structured my piece around the burial traditions of ancient Egypt. The first section, 0:00-1:45, represents the burial parade where the body is placed in the tomb. The second section, 1:45-3:05, represents the priest re-awakening the senses of the dead and the body awakening to face the afterlife, confused. The last section, 3:05-end, represents the judgement of the soul at the hands of Osiris, the god of the underworld.
