You are in a concert hall. The lights have been dimmed. It is time to listen for images — something other than music. It is time to listen to what we normally see.

After being awakened by a disturbance in the middle of the night, I will lie in bed picturing the event that roused me. Never will I reflect directly on what it was I heard, but rather on what I did not see. The ear then awakens the eye and asks it to tell the story. Such are the stories of western civilization — even those from the lips of Homer.

The acousmatic storytellers and listeners see their ‘music’ exactly as Homer had seen a sunrise; that is, through the mind’s eye.

The work originates from soundtracks made for Pink Ink Theatre and Ghanaian musician-dancer Modesto Amegago. The source material for the melody in the low register is derived from an improvisation on a traditional Ghanaian tune performed on the flute by Modesto.

Rendered Visible premiered as part of ISEA95_Montréal, the International Symposium for Electronic Art in September 1995 under the title In A Visible Darkness.

Premiere

• September 1995, ISEA95_Montréal: Concert, Montréal (Québec)