The Explanation
The sound of the heartbeat and the inhaling and exhaling of breath – an adult’s and a child’s – at the opening of this soundscape echo the personal and internal nature of their private prayers as an internal to external human experience.
The Process
Inmates from Nottingham Prison contributed their personal prayers, and children from Great Ponton school their own. A sealed box in Saint Wulfram’s Church, Grantham, yielded private and personal prayers from unknown contributors. Children at Southwell Minster School whispered the prayers during their drama class.
Instructions
The drama students were asked to whisper their allotted prayers, both to anonymise the individuals and more closely represent the sound of a person praying silently in a deeply personal manner.
The Intention
The human experience listening to the audible layering of prayers represents the internal personal voice that we all know so well but that no one else ever hears. The crying baby and the footsteps going from right to left was to give a more human experience as these sounds often intrude into even the most personal of moments.
Outcome
I was given permission by Southwell Minster to play the soundscape at the Chapter House. A comments book was left for feedback. A grant was gained for this project by the Jerusalem Trust.