It could be the ultimate marriage between science and music: a new “space symphony” illustrated with the latest stunning images from NASA.
The premiere of “Cosmic Cycles,” which American composer Henry Dehlinger describes as “an almost total work of art,” took place in Washington last week.
“It’s not just music, not just pictures,” he told AFP before this first concert. “It’s more of an immersive experience.”
A similar attempt was made more than a century ago by the English composer Gustav Holst with his famous work The Planets. But at that time there was still a lot to discover in astronomy.
Since then, humans have walked the moon, sent rovers to Mars, and launched incredibly powerful telescopes into space.
The images were selected by the US Space Agency and made into seven short films that served as inspiration for Henry Dehlinger.
“I almost had to pinch myself to remember that this wasn’t science fiction, it was real science,” he said.
Piotr Gajewski, music director and conductor of Maryland’s National Philharmonic, explained that NASA was placed at the center of the process.
“Rather than offer them a piece of music and put pictures on it, they started putting together the videos” from “their best work,” he explained.
For Wade Sisler of NASA’s Goddard Space Center, the result is up to the challenge.
“It’s a different adventure than any I’ve helped start before,” Sisler, 64, told AFP.
“Like Van Gogh paintings”
The seven-movement symphony begins at the heart of the solar system, with our sun – images of its swirling surface and explosions hurling particles into the vacuum of space.
Conductor Piotr Gajewski, music director of the National Philharmonic, during a rehearsal of “Cosmic Cycles, A Space Symphony” in Arlington, Virginia on May 11, 2023
AFP
The next two sentences focus on exploring our own planet, particularly through images taken by astronauts in orbit.
Also spread throughout the exhibition: “an intriguing collection of data visualizations,” says Wade Sisler. For example, the pictures of ocean currents “look like Van Gogh paintings when you set them in motion. The colors are beautiful, you see patterns you didn’t see before.”
A fourth part about the moon is followed by portraits of every planet in the solar system – including images of the surface of Mars taken by the robots sent there.
The symphony even looks at asteroids before concluding with a majestic finale centered on nebulae and black holes.
NASA has made the videos available on their YouTube page, along with a digital version of their soundtrack.
“A Big Secret”
It was decided not to fully synchronize the music and videos, but to be “more fluid,” explained conductor Piotr Gajewski. This approach allows him to create “different moments in every performance”.
Composer Henry Dehlinger during an interview with AFP following a rehearsal of Cosmic Cycles, A Space Symphony in Arlington, Virginia, in the United States, May 11, 2023
AFP
Knowing that these images and space missions are real is astounding to audiences, Wade Sisler said, in the digital age where “you can make anything appear with artificial intelligence.”
“People are interested in real results and they’re like, ‘Wow, we really looked at that asteroid,'” he says.
According to Piotr Gajewski, the beauty of these grandiose images makes them perfect accompaniments for orchestral works.
“What makes us suddenly emotional when we hear one piece of music, or proud when we hear another?” he asks. “It’s a big mystery, and of course space is the other big mystery, so they complement each other really well.”