Hark! - the acoustic world of Elizabethan England

From: Battery Radio
Length: 52:24

Four centuries ago... did people listen in a different way than we do now? How different were the sounds they heard? And can we tune into their auditory world? Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: Hark! - the acoustic world of Elizabethan England
From: Battery Radio

Hark-rcaeliztitle_small
Winner of the 2009 Prix Marulic for best documentary and winner of the Grand Award and a Gold Medal for Best Sound at the 2009 New York Festivals Awards for Radio Programming.

HARK! investigates the acoustic world of Early Modern England. Tracking down some ancient sounds that still exist, and evoking others which have become extinct, the documentary is an acoustic film building a soundtrack to imagine the noises of Elizabethan society through the ears of those who listened four centuries ago.

The Prix Marulic judges said:
"Sound is used not just to illustrate but to bring new dimensions, to tell new stories to the listener. The programme does not create a realistic soundscape of Elizabethan time, but it gives hints about that in a clever and amusing way. You can even smell the sounds of the pigs! The listener is encouraged, forced even, to think of the soundtrack of today, the noise pollution which surrounds us every moment."

The 52-minute feature was recorded and produced by Chris Brookes, Paolo Pietropaolo, and Alan Hall, with additional recording by Katie Birningham, and was inspired by Bruce Smith's book The Acoustic World of Early Modern England.

Piece Description

Winner of the 2009 Prix Marulic for best documentary and winner of the Grand Award and a Gold Medal for Best Sound at the 2009 New York Festivals Awards for Radio Programming.

HARK! investigates the acoustic world of Early Modern England. Tracking down some ancient sounds that still exist, and evoking others which have become extinct, the documentary is an acoustic film building a soundtrack to imagine the noises of Elizabethan society through the ears of those who listened four centuries ago.

The Prix Marulic judges said:
"Sound is used not just to illustrate but to bring new dimensions, to tell new stories to the listener. The programme does not create a realistic soundscape of Elizabethan time, but it gives hints about that in a clever and amusing way. You can even smell the sounds of the pigs! The listener is encouraged, forced even, to think of the soundtrack of today, the noise pollution which surrounds us every moment."

The 52-minute feature was recorded and produced by Chris Brookes, Paolo Pietropaolo, and Alan Hall, with additional recording by Katie Birningham, and was inspired by Bruce Smith's book The Acoustic World of Early Modern England.

Broadcast History

First broadcast across Canada on CBC Radio 1 Sep 29, 2008. BBC version first broadcast on BBC Radio 3 Oct 5, 2008. CBC version has since been rebroadcast in Finland on YLE and in Australia on ABC.

Musical Works

Title	Artist	Album	Label	Length
The Frog Galliard	Anthony Rooley	Dowland, the Collected Works.	Decca	01:04
Earl of Essex Galliard	Anthony Rooley	Dowland, the Collected Works.	Decca	00:39
Chamberlains Galliard	Anthony Rooley	Dowland, the Collected Works.	Decca	01:00
Cryers song of Cheapside	Consort of Musicke	T Ravenscroft, Songs, Catches & Rounds.	Veritas	02:49
The City Cries	Theatre of Voices	The City Cries.	Harmonia Mundi	02:12
Lachrimae Antiquae	The Kings Noyse w/ Paul O'Dette	Seaven Teares.	Harmonia Mundi	01:20
Oranges & Lemons	Queldryk Chamber Choir	High-Music for high voices.	Paul Ayres CD HIGH	01:20
The Country Cries	Theatre of Voices	The Cries of London.	Harmonia Mundi	00:38
New Oysters	1500 directed by Nancy Hadden	New Fashions: Cries & Ballads of London.	Crd	01:21