The nonsensical ponderings of Eric Frisch...

Ironically, as I logged on this evening to write this entry, I was met with revcathian's post, also about silence.  Apparently these things come in waves.

Have you ever experienced true silence?  Can you remember what it sounds like, what it feels like?  Now I know what you're thinking, and you're right: there is really no such thing.  No matter how quiet it is, there is always something making noise.  For me, this is even moreso the case... since my ears actually make their own noise all the time (stupid tinnitus and not protecting my hearing early enough).  But that's not the point... think about that "pin-drop" kind of silence.  Think about the last time you heard (or didn't hear) it...

Last night, I had the opportunity to take part in a performance of John Adams' Pulitzer Prize winning work On The Transmigration Of Souls.  It was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic as a memorial to the victims of September 11.  Adams describes the piece as "a musical space for reflection and rememberance, of meditation on an unanswerable question", and his description is accurate.  It involves a full orchestra, choir, and children's chorus... totaling over 190 performers in our case.  The work is very mimimal and etheral; very modern and abstract.  All of this takes place over a running pre-recorded tape of city sounds and readings from the missing person signs which appeared all around Ground Zero in the days following the attacks.  All in all, it is a VERY moving work.  You can listen to a sound clip here if you're interested.

At the end of the piece (it's about 25 minutes long), the conductor brought his arms down.  Normally, this is a signal to the audience that the performance is over, which triggers applause.  Not last night.  Last night there was... silence.  For a long time.  At least 30 seconds.  Now you have to understand, I've been in performances before where there was silence before applause at the end of a piece.  But not like this.  This was a completely surreal experience.  To be on stage with 190 other performers, and knowing there are hundreds of people in the audience, and to hear absolutely nothing.  It was powerful.

So think about it... when's the last time you experienced silence?