Atmospheric Pressures: Reflections on Voice in the Anthropocene
From the standpoint of music studies, the relationship between voice and air is one of figure to ground or event to medium. In comparison to the voice, in other words, the air appears inert, transparent, and theoretically uninteresting. However, in our current era of global warming and rising CO2 emissions, air has become front-page news. What insights can we gain from turning the tables on the voice and taking air seriously? This talk brings music studies into conversation with recent writings on climate change to form a new framework for understanding singing and other vocal emissions in the anthropocene.
J. Martin Daughtry is an associate professor of ethnomusicology at New York University. He teaches and writes on acoustic violence; voice; listening; jazz in New York; air; Russian-language sung poetry; and the auditory imagination.
The Department of Music acknowledges the generous support of the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Fund at Yale University for assistance with this series.