The Book of the Time-Travellers of the Worlds – a Fathomless Zero – Chapter 2

Programme Notes

This composition marks the sequel to my collaboration with artist Parul Thacker. Following the success of Chapter 1, it was an exciting opportunity for Parul to exhibit more of her stitch drawings at the Museo Novecento in Florence. I feel privileged that she invited me once again to provide a sound installation to accompany her artwork.

Our collaboration, which culminated in Chapter 1’s exhibit during the Venice Biennale, was a rewarding experience. However, I faced challenges composing from home, as I was unable to take the unique acoustic properties of the exhibition space into account during the creative process. For this reason, I was thrilled when the Museo Novecento offered me the chance to compose this electronic music on-site, within the very space where the exhibit would take place. Although the timeline was tight, I am deeply satisfied with the bespoke outcome.

Chapters 1 and 2 share some common threads: both incorporate sounds recorded during our Arctic residency in 2023, and both feature spiritual texts by Sri Aurobindo, recited by Parul. However, the energy and pacing of Chapter 2 diverge significantly. While Chapter 1 is meditative, calm, and soothing, Chapter 2 adopts a more hypnotic, frenetic, and uneasy atmosphere. It evokes the raw, unrestrained quality of places like the Arctic, where our disconnection from nature becomes palpable. The vastness of Parul’s suspended textile circles creates a disorienting effect, drawing the viewer into an expansive, almost boundless space, yet offering only fragmented glimpses through her fabrics. Chapter 2 becomes a more intense and introspective experience, with the sound of howling winds and the thunderous calving of ice, as if nature’s raw forces are booming through the space, uncontrollably asserting their presence.

In essence, Chapter 2 is an exploration of contrast: from the serenity of its predecessor to the wild, untamed energy that challenges the listener’s sense of control and harmony with the natural world. Through these compositions, we invite the audience to reflect not only on the relationship between art and environment but also on the delicate balance between human presence and the overpowering forces of nature.

– Frank Horvat

Credits: Frank Horvat (composer, sound designer, field recordist), Mohi Bahauddin Dagar (rudraveena), Parul Thacker (creative inspiration, narrator), Svalbard Archipelago (aural inspiration). Narrations from the Savitri by Sri Aurobindo. Excerpts from: ‘Book 2 – Book of Travellers of the Worlds, Canto 1: The world stair’.

Learn more about the making of this composition here.