ACCORD/TACET

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By setting up microphones throughout the Girondole Grove in the park of the Chateau de Versailles, Beer filters the ambient noises through the pipes of the garden’s empty fountains. The sounds of the visitors’ voices and footsteps are filtered live through the unique resonance of each pipe like an organ, and then broadcast live in the grove. The viewers hears their voices and footsteps travelling around the grove in real time, restructuring the space of the 17th century labyrinth. Using a microphone activation system, the artist orchestrates the natural frequencies of the fountains to create a composition of harmonics with the ambient sounds; and the water of the pond itself becomes sensitised to sound like a microphone. A reference to John Cage’s famous composition 4’33”, tacet is a musical term, instructing a musician to remain silent while others continue to play. The sounds are mixed live with no prior recording.