Look & Listen: Chinese Bells, Ancient to Digital

Venture into the sonic world of ancient Chinese bronze bells, from tiny handbells to a 135-pound behemoth, including a matched set of orchestral bells from 2,500 years ago. Learn about the unique technology that allowed the most advanced bells to produce two tones, doubling the tonic range of each set—the most spectacular was composed of sixty-eight bells. Listen to new music videos created by digital composers from the United States and Canada using the sounds of these ancient instruments. Curator Keith Wilson leads a close examination of bells dating from the tenth to sixth centuries BCE. Composers Doug Van Nort (Ontario), Norman Lowrey (New Jersey), and Hugh Livingston (California) discuss their beautiful audiovisual creations made by utilizing the sounds of the bells recorded at the museum. Keith Wilson is curator of ancient Chinese art at the Freer and Sackler Galleries. Doug Van Nort, an artist, researcher, composer, and improviser, is the Canada Research Chair in Digital Performance at York University