No amaro è il tormento II and No amaro è il tormento II Live, was an audiovisual installation and performance that aimed to manifest concerns regarding the acoustic ecology of Venice caused by human’s eager exploration of the city and by the business surrounding it. By recontextualization, exaggeration, and contrast, the quadraphonic audio and minimal lighting environment direct the visitors’ attention to sonic conditions. The piece sought to communicate appreciation for tranquillity, translating anthropogenic activity outside the space to elements of sound and light.
The sound consisted of field recordings in Venice, generative piano recompositions of Sì dolce è il tormento by Claudio Monteverdi, sine waves, and pink noises, all played back in quadraphonic surround. The loudness of the field recordings was programmed inversely proportional to the loudness of traffic noise outside, the brightness of the lights, inversely proportional to the loudness of the field recordings, etc. Similarly, various elements of sound and light were affected by another element while ultimately dependent on street noise.
*While the installation was originally for Chiesa dell'Ospedaletto (Santa Maria dei Derelitti), through computation of the acoustics of the church, the experience can be simulated in various spaces.
