The Field Harp is an ensemble of 16-25 single-string electric aeolian (wind-activated) harps. Aeolian harps are usually considered passive instruments, akin to wind-chimes. The Field Harp is instead designed to be held, oriented, and played in active collaboration with the wind. Each string is a point in the field. The wind blows differently across each point. The subtle differences across the field of sound enables us to sense the atmosphere as a heterogenous thickness with eddies and currents. Its collective dimension asks whether we can act together in relation to the atmosphere, our shared existential medium. I would like to organize a performance of the Field Harp with volunteer harpists. Once the Field Harp is activated, audience members also would be welcome to enter the field and explore its nuances. This performance/workshop is very weather- and location-dependent. An alternative would be for me to create a 16-25 channel installation – as a field of speaker cones - of the recorded sound of the Field Harp.
Keywords: Aeolian, Sound, Atmosphere, Instruments