WATER The Sound of H2o

Claude Debussy and the sound of water.

In the music of 'La Mer', Debussy conjures up many of the sensations associated with the sea: the titles of the three "symphonic sketches" - "From dawn to midday on the sea", "Play of the waves", "Dialogue of the wind and the sea" - show how explicit the inspiration was. However, he also wanted his art to sound free, in a particular way, with 'a freedom derived not from a more or less literal reproduction of Nature, but from the mysterious correspondences between nature and the imagination'.

500 years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) recorded ideas about vortices based on his experiments with water. In fact, the subject of water, hydrology, and hydraulics made up a large part of Leonardo's lifetime study. As a matter of historic note - more of Da Vinci's writings were devoted to the subject of water than any other subject. The existence of water and its vortices intrigued Da Vinci, prompting him to speculate about the existence and behavior of vortices in the air and cosmos. The power and meaning of vortices in water also led him to closely study the behavior of water under different conditions.

Above Image, Leonardo, Old Man with Water Studies, c. 1513.

This example of the Camera Obscura is to be used within the Meeting room as the lighting or darkening ability of this space is adequate so as to achieve the best image for the iris. Experimenting now.